Watering & Nutrients
Water your wheatgrass every day. Claims have been made that missing a watering day with wheatgrass is similar to aging the human body over a decade. Lack of water has negative effects on the nutrients and overall health of the plant cells.
Watering is usually one of the first things I do in the morning. Juice, plant a flat, water all my flats, go on about my day.
Checking your flat in the evening is always a good idea. Stick a finger in the corner of the flat and see if you pull back water (visibly wet finger). If not your flat could use a spritz.
I wish I could tell you the exact water usage for your flat but it’s going to be different for everyone. If you live in Arizona I would expect you to water much more often than those who live in New York.
I can tell you that in Upstate NY in my office where I grow my wheatgrass I use approximately 30oz of water a day to feed 7 flats of wheatgrass — One for everyday of the week!
Xxx 7 flats of wheatgrass on a rack
If you do live somewhere needing 2 or more waterings per day try to make the finally watering before the sun goes down when the grass is still “awake”. Bathing wheatgrass at night when the grass has no sun to grow is only going to lead to a mold problem.
Nutrients / Fertilizers / Mineral complexes
Wheatgrass101.com just did a case study to determine whether or not a flat of seeds will grow without any soil… no medium at all, and no fertilizer.
So with a flat, wheatgrass seeds, and basically tap water… We proved how indestructibly hearty wheatgrass truly is! The results were only describable by picture.
Xxxxsweet 7 inch flat
Even with those results. I still believe adding nutrient is absolutely necessary.
We believe a large benefit of wheatgrass is coming from the soil.
Wheatgrass is known for its extraordinary ability to leech minerals out of the soil better than any other plant on earth!
Well… I don’t have that kind of evidence…J but I can say:
Wheatgrass has been found to have over 100 elements needed by man. If grown in organic soil, it absorbs 92 of the known 102 minerals from the soil.
… Amazing!
There are some in our community who proclaim harvesting wheatgrass so young is the reason not to bother adding minerals and fertilizers to the soil. “It doesn’t grow a tap root to absorb “nutrients” they say…
I’m not buying it. And I have documented evidence to the power of enhancing your soil with nutrients and minerals like Azomite powder, Kelp, Sea Salts, and other Fertilizers.
Good soil produces dark, healthy, fat tipped, Juicy Grass that simply cannot be replicated with “stock” soil…
There are a few different ways to go here:
Animal
Shhhh!!! “Don’t tell anyone..!”
Yes that’s right my friend… Poopy… ha!
If you look anywhere on wheatgrass you’re going to find people promoting “Animal Free” fertilizer for your grass. In a big way! Honestly I can understand their claim…
I have seen people harvest a flat of wheatgrass millimeters above the “seed bed” (seeds & soil). They do this to try to get every piece of nutrition they can. Even near the root (the white part), grass has significant nutritional value. This section of the grass is also prized to be the tender part when chewing.
Harvesting this close to the soil could result in manure (animal fertilizer) contaminating the knife from cutting to deep or possibly just be on the base of the grass from watering…
Like other foods I tend to rinse my grass before I juice so I don’t really have these worries. I also like to try to re-grow the flat I’m harvesting(unless there’s mold) so I cut the grass 1inch or more above the soil line to give the grass a fighting chance to squeeze out another harvest for me.
(As I write this I have 6 Flats of wheatgrass with organic bat guano fertilizer in a stand growing less than 4 ft from me…)
Each to one’s own I say!
But if you’re feeling froggy, give animal a try. It may just be the Boost you’re looking for.
*Note I would never use ANY kind of chemical fertilizer… because I’m a health nut… but animals ok. Just wanted to straighten that out! J
Bat guano
Worm castings
Non Animal Fertilizers
Kelp: Seaweed Plant Food is an organic storehouse of over 60 naturally occurring major and minor nutrients and amino acids. It’s growth promoting substances (Auxims, Cytokinins, Gibberellins) enhance plant development, color and vigor. Seaweed has also been found to increase plant hardiness and resistance to adverse environmental conditions, such as early frost, extreme heat and lack of moisture. Used as a seed inoculant, seaweed fertilizer increases and accelerates germination, and enhances the rapid development of a healthy root system. Seaweed is an excellent addition to any fertilization program
Minerals
Azomite Powder: AZOMITE® is a mined natural mineral product. For over sixty years livestock and crop producers have utilized this unique material from central Utah to improve livestock and plant growth. Assays reveal that the material contains a broad spectrum of over 70 metabolically active minerals and trace elements.
Asomite is a hard rock formation formed from the dust of a volcano that exploded, much like when Mount St. Helens did in 1980…
If you’re like me and it’s your intention to replace multi-vitamins with wheatgrass… adding Azomite powder to your soil is a great way to boost the mineral content of your juice.
A little heavy when it comes to shipping but a little bit of this stuff goes a long way!