Wheatgrass flats inside or out?

[greentealady]

Hi We just purchased the Hurricane Manual Juicer (did not want to invest till we knew we would keep this habit up) and purchased a flat from our local health food store. I might attempt to grow it myself but for now we thought this would be easier. Should I keep the flat inside or outside? Is there any mainatenance I need to do with the flat? I am thinking I need to spray it with water once a day. Thanks for your help

[michigan roman]

outside to absorb maximum star light

from here on just buy seeds at a bulk store , get hard wheat seed as opposed to soft , and grow outside in ground til winter when you then grow indoors . its super easy just cover with about an 8th to quarter inch of soil and it grows fast and vigorous

[DebB]

I live in the desert, so I have to grow mine indoors as it would just bake if I set the flat(s) outside.

I'm glad to hear you use hard wheat Roman, because I've been using soft, but just ordered hard to give it a try ~ so I'm glad to hear you've had such great success with it! *Ü*

[Mary Kay]

I'm one who also does wild foraging, and I have heard others say, not to wash your things from outside (well, if it's not obviously too dirty etc) because there are beneficial microbes on them.

So, to be more natural, get more sun, soak up more moonlight etc etc, if you can, I think outside.

Just thought you might like to think about the microbe issue too.

You may also want to try some others as well, I've heard kamut is tastier than wheatgrass (LOL, not too hard believe....), and there was another poster writing about wild grasses.

I almost bought a Hurricane. I ended up with a similar stainless steel manual one and also have an electric Samson, which I'm happy with.

The reason I have two may sound funny, but I plan on handing the ss one down to my kids, and I hope they do the same.....Seriously, in the event of some huge food shortage, government collapse, etc, our children could always juice grass if it gets down to it.

How do you like the Hurricane? I like the fact that the part that houses the screw- like thing, screws in. Mine doesn't. You have to unscrew two butterfly -type nuts and it's a pain in the butt. Certainly they could have come up with a snap-on kind of design.

HTH,

Mary Kay

[greentealady]

Thanks to everyone for your input. It is so awesome being able to chat with people going through the samething or ones that have already gone through it. I did my first juicing of wheatgrass today with the Hurricane. It seemed to take forever. It wasnt hard or anything it just seemed to take a long time. I am not sure what is wrong but the last few mornings (once with the wheatgrass from Jamba Juice and once with my own wheatgrass from a health food store) I have felt kinda sick to my stomach. I go for a short 2.5 mile run in the am, the come home and have a green smoothie then about an hour or so later I have my shot of wheatgrass. Is this to many greens to quick? It could be flukey but is making me a little paranoid.

[michigan roman]

many have to build up a taste for the wheat grass

ive heard tens of people say the same thing about initial grass juice ,
but then they get used ( the spelling of " used ' in the usage [ i mean yoosage ;)] should be ' yoosed ' like in goose ) to it and start drinking alot of it

i grow it in garden and like grabbing a bunch and gnawing on it for a long time like a cow chews on it , its sorta destressing to chew on and it cleans teeth

[Vrindavan]

>> I've heard kamut is tastier than wheatgrass


for juice powder sold in store,
do you know why alfafa has to add to Kamut ?
why not just offer 100% Kamut juice powder ?
is it for taste reason ?

[Ilse W.]

MR - I've been wondering about growing the wheat grass outside like lawn grass. Wouldn't it last all season long, if I just "mow" the top inch or two every week? My pasture grass keeps growing, why wouldn't wheat grass?

[Mary Kay]

As I mentioned, my ss manual juicer is VERY similar to the hurricane. Why not try diluting it by chopping up a couple apples and carrots and juicing at the same time. Yep, the manual juicer is slow, and will be even slower if you do the apples and carrots, but it's yummy and won't be too much wheatgrass hitting your stomach too soon.

So, tell me, how do you like the screw-on design. Is it also a pain in the butt?

And as for the previous poster, I don't know why they combine the two, except that many would probably like the cleansing properties of the combo. However, now that I know about more wild edible greens, I just don't ever see the need to buy green powders. I even freeze lambsquarters for adding to smoothies etc in the winter.

HTH,

Mary Kay

[Mary Kay]

EmmaT,

No, it's just not good to keep cutting wheatgrass and using it all season long. You can only get two cuttings from it before the quality goes way down. It gets stemmy/woody and just isn't as vibrant green. I assume that witht he woodiness of it, there's also not as much juice. I have some in my garden that I've cut down two or thee times and you can REALLY see the difference between that and some fresh stuff I have that I haven't even cut once.

It's really good to use as a cover crop for your garden, oh, in late Oct Nov (here in Ohio anyway), and then in the spring, you've got wheatgrass galore.

HTH,

Mary Kay

[michigan roman]

emma t , i agree with mary kay

i always eliminate a wheat grass bed when it gets about 12" and
move on to the next bed ide started

[Ilse W.]

Thanks for the input, MK and MR. I've started several "containers" (empty 1-pound spinach containers from Costco) and moved them outside. I'll cut them twice and then compost the rest. :)

[T-Bird]

No, it's just not good to keep cutting wheatgrass and using it all season long. You can only get two cuttings from it before the quality goes way down. It gets stemmy/woody and just isn't as vibrant green. I assume that witht he woodiness of it, there's also not as much juice. I have some in my garden that I've cut down two or thee times and you can REALLY see the difference between that and some fresh stuff I have that I haven't even cut once.


And I can tell you my cat goes for only the freshest wheat grass I got going on!

Roman -

I've been taking my wheat grass trays out for the last 5 days of their cycle. Much better taste! Are you direct seeding into the garden and covering with dirt?

Can you give us a few more detail of your technique?

[splendorintheraw]

hi Green Tea Lady - keep your flat inside out of the sun!! It likes it warm, but not hot, and the best thing to do would be to put a small fan on it so it gets a little breeze. Watering it every day, same time of day, has always worked best for me, and as crazy as this may sound run your hands thru the blades of grass, every few days, this helps to remove any hulls and gives them love at the same time. To water it, you can pick the blades up by the corners, and water there. Its also a good way to check to make sure youre not over watering. Too much water will cause mold. We have a whole section on sprouting and harvesting wheatgrass in my website.

[michigan roman]

And I can tell you my cat goes for only the freshest wheat grass I got going on!

Roman -

I've been taking my wheat grass trays out for the last 5 days of their cycle. Much better taste! Are you direct seeding into the garden and covering with dirt?

Can you give us a few more detail of your technique?

yes , direct seed into garden and cover with quarter inch o soil

easiest seed ive ever sown

love chewing on the grass when working in garden :cool:

[T-Bird]

cool - will try that!