Grassy green

Okay, I know I keep saying it...Spring is here...spring is here...spring is here. The only problem is, there isn't a whole lot of green out there. Not here, not yet and it's not because I haven't tried to look. Like Frog and Toad in Arnold Lobel's fantastic children's book (Frog and Toad All Year), I keep looking around every corner to find Spring.
So until Mother Nature cooperates fully, I like to take matters into my own hands and grow a bit of wheat grass inside the house. I start with organic hard winter wheat berries. You can usually get them in bulk at the grocery store- just make sure they're not old. Old grains won't sprout reliably. I experienced this first hand when I tried to sprout some old grains from the cupboard. They worked fine the past few years but this time they produced a sad sparse grass display. So I bought some fresh wheat berries and started again (try, try again might as well be my mantra).

First off, I don't know why they're called wheat berries because they don't look like berries to me. Anyway I take a small handful (or how ever much I want to plant- a little goes a long way) of the seed and put them in a jar, cover with water and let them sit overnight. In the morning, I drain the water and sprinkle seeds on top of a soil filled container.

As far as the container goes, anything goes...well anything you don't mind getting dirty. Drainage holes are nice, but not necessary if one takes care not to overfill when watering (you don't want those little seeds to drown and rot). I like to use pretty old teacups or pie plates. The grass doesn't require a whole lot of soil, so I don't bother with deep containers. Now I cover the seeds lightly with soil and moisten with just a bit of water. A spray mister works great as it won't disturb the seeds.

The grass will sprout in a day or two and be pretty lush after a week. I started this wheat grass about two weeks ago so at this point it's ready for a trim. For fun, give the kids safety scissors and let them cut the grass. Remember from school days those little styrofoam cups with the drawn on face and the grass hair growing out the top?

Oh, and you can nibble on the sprouted wheat grass....it's sweet! I may be inclined to dust off our old wheat grass juicer and make some vibrant green juice. If only that juicer wasn't such a pain to clean.

I'm sure regular grass seed works fine too...but I don't know about eating that.