Propogation lecture this Sunday: wheatgrass

Oct 1, 2009

Free Lecture this Sunday: How to Grow Plants from Seeds and
Cuttings 2 p.m. Nursery owner-writer Chris Winslow shares his plant
propagation secrets. Free. (Bring water and a chair.) [next week: The
Art of Plant and Flower Photography, by Dale Rempert.]

wheat 7 by Julie Blake by you.

photo by Julie Blake

HOW TO GROW WHEATGRASS
By Chris Winslow

One of the by-products of shopping at the local farmers markets is that
you learn about alternative ways to grow and harvest healthier foods.

What caught my eye recently at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market were
vendors selling potted wheat grass. I have discovered this stuff is easy to
grow, and once harvested and juiced into a shotglass, it offers you a stunning
array of vitamins, nutrients, amino acids and minerals. It is a sort of eco-
super food.

Wheat grass is the young shoot of the common wheat plant Triticum
aestivum. You can harvest the seedlings after just one week of growth
and juice or dry them. If you're an impatient gardener... I suggest you

try growing a crop of wheatgrass!

Start with an organically grown seed. I experimented with a wheat seed
variety called Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries which I found on-line.

Many growers use vermiculite as soil. I used vermiculite straight and
experimented with mixing in organic compost. Both worked. Some
growers like to germinate the seed in the dark. I experimented with both
light and dark germination and found the results to be the same.

My recipe:
Fill a 4” pot to about ¾ full with straight vermiculite or 50-50 with compost
Cover the surface with wheat grass seed. Cover the seed and water in
gently with a fan type sprayer. Be sure to water two or three times for the
first 2 days, and then daily starting the third day when germination occurs.
The wheat grass seedlings should be ready to harvest after 5 to 7 days of
growth. Then just throw your crop in the juicer, and drink up.

Besides the benefits for humans, some folks buy and grow wheat
grass for their indoor pets. Your cats will thank you for providing fresh
grass to their diet. Dogs love it too. Happy Gardening Everyone!
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H E R B F E S T comes to Sunset Valley Farmer's Market next Saturday,
with vendors, and speakers, presented by the Austin Herb Society.

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Coming later this month to KLRU: The Botany of Desire, 7 p.m. Oct. 28.
This film explores how plants and people relate to each other, with a special
focus on the natural history of the apple, the tulip, marijuana and corn.

ItsAboutThyme_logo[1] by you.

Visit the website at www.itsaboutthyme.com Visit the
nursery at 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 Tel. 512 280 1192
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