Growing Wheatgrass At Home
Or Barley Grass

The barley grass and wheatgrass growing instructions below are the same for either of the cereal grasses. Please realize that even though wheatgrass juice is more popular, the barley grass juice is equally phenomenal. Read this sprouting barley page if your barley is not sprouting.

I love growing wheatgrass indoors and barley grass. It is definitely a conversation starter. The more you learn about it, the more you want to try to consume it. I have even been feeding this cereal grass to my chickens and they love it!

The success stories in regards to consuming these outstanding blood building foods never cease to amaze me!

You can see how I now buy my wheat grain in bulk.

I own the Hurricane stainless steel manual wheatgrass juicer and I really think it is the best wheatgrass juicer. It is a great juicer and so simple to clean.

Also, go to my Amazon growing wheatgrass store if you want a kit with the manual Hurricane juicer or if you just want to individually buy your supplies. Don't be overwhelmed with thinking about growing wheatgrass at home indoors. It is very very simple as I will show you how to easily grow your very own cereal grass along with its powerful captured sun energy - chlorophyll - and don't miss this awe-inspiring living chlorophyll video.

You can also buy the barley grass kit without the juicer at my Amazon wheatgrass and barley grass store, or you can just buy your supplies separately.

Remember, if you get too busy to grow your own barley grass indoors, you can always buy the BarleyLife barley grass powder which is also producing life changing health benefits.

OK, take out your green thumb (don't fret if you don't have a green thumb) and let's get started...

Since, I already had a large supply of hard white winter wheat grains on hand for making my homemade bread, I figured I would give those grains a try for growing wheatgrass.

I had gone through my wheatgrasskits.com supply of wheat grain and figured why don't I try this hard white wheat that I already have.

Remember, you can't grow wheatgrass with the soft white wheat. It has to be the hard wheat when growing wheatgrass.

The picture above shows what these tiny precious wheat seeds look like. I guess good things do come in small packages!

Just use barley seeds for growing your barley grass. Having trouble sprouting your barley seeds, then read this important barley sprouting page.

Search for local suppliers of organic wheat grain or barley seed in your area. Inquire with health food stores and food co-ops to find a wheat grain or barley seed supplier in your area.

Now, there are several varieties of wheat. Yes, there are wheat grain "connoisseurs" who have their favorite wheat grain variety. The wheat you select is very important when it comes to growing wheatgrass as it can make or break your wheat seed growing experience. Some people say different wheat seeds result in more or less mold growing on your wheatgrass product.

Well, I knew I was obtaining a great source of whole wheat grain for my bread making. The whole wheat grain and its milled whole wheat flour is a nutritional powerhouse. Though this particular Montana hard white winter wheat that I buy is not technically given the "organic" label, it comes just about as close to that label as you can get. That is good enough for me.

Pesticide sprays and chemical fertilizers are toxic and the sprayed seeds do not grow well.

When the mold grows on the wheatgrass, I just cut above the mold. Plus, I rinse the wheatgrass off. Here is how I got rid of wheatgrass mold.


OK, you will use soaked wheatberries or soaked wheat grain or soaked wheat seed. Whatever you want to call the wheat, all these names mean the same.

You'll enjoy learning more about the different names for this marvelous wheat grain and more about its structure.

You will also use pre-soaked barley seeds, if you want to grow barley grass.

First, rinse your wheatberries or barley seed to get rid of any dust or grime. I put the grains in a fine mesh strainer and rinse well under the running faucet. Next, you will put the grains in a wide mouth jar or bowl and fill it with filtered water. Have the water cover the grains.

The grains will absorb some of the water. I usually have 2 inches of water above the surface of the grains. You can cover the grains with a towel or plate or whatever you have on hand. I wish I could tell you that I always cover my soaking grains, but I don't sometimes. I figure a little dust in them certainly won't hurt them.

Let the grains sit overnight or for about 12 hours. Over soaking can produce more moldy wheatgrass or barley grass.

Drain and rinse well the grains. Once again, I rinse them in a fine mesh strainer. The valuable grains will slip through most colanders.

Alright, you are going to need a growing tray for your indoor garden.

You can find seedling trays or these hard plastic trays from different nurseries

Call you local nursery to find out if they carry seedling trays. The dimensions on my seedling tray are about 21" long X 11" wide X 2" high. They are very inexpensive. Or you can conveniently purchase this 5 pack of durable black plastic growing trays (with holes) 21" x 11" x 2".

I would definitely buy about four or five. They wear out and crack over time. You want at least two because that way you can start a new green grass batch while finishing up your old homegrown wheatgrass batch. Lately, because the demand has been growing in my family and neighborhood for this fine green elixir, I have been growing four trays at once. My oh my, I need a bigger kitchen!

Next you need some good soil. I just purchase some fine topsoil at my close by Home Depot. Light, less dense, and airy soil works best. I try to buy the soil that does not have the little pieces of bark in it.

The wheatgrass or barley grass cannot put down its roots into these pieces of bark. When I have used this topsoil with the bark in it, I simply try to take out as much of the bark as possible.

I fill my seedling tray with about 1 - 1 1/2 inches of soil.

Analysis of the Azomite shows every element that's beneficial to plants and animals is found in this soil additive. Other elements or micro-nutrients that scientists believe are essential, are also found in the Azomite.

Using Azomite helps insure that your cereal grass contains all of the trace minerals required by the human body for maximum health. These powdered minerals are sprinkled on top of your soil to enhance the minerals in the soil. You just take a handful of the Azomite and sprinkle it on top of your soil, before you place your seeds on the soil.

You will notice your growing wheatgrass or barley grass is greener, more vibrant, juicier and plumper with the soil additive. Yes, the healthier and more mineral rich your soil, the higher the nutrients in the wheatgrass and barley grass that you grow. That is true of all grown produce - better soil equals a plant with higher nutrition in it.

At this point in time, since I have mostly used up all the Azomite that came with my growing wheatgrass kit, I have not been adding anything further to my soil. There are research studies done on wheatgrass juice usage aiding with various health disorders. In those studies, I did not read about particular enrichment of the soils occurring.

If you would like to read some of this promising wheatgrass research, click here. Wheatgrass juice is even being used to offset chemo side effects.

To continue, I just use organic top soil from a gardening center. Higher end potting soil usually includes some peat moss or soil aerators. Sometimes I add compost. I am continuously experimenting to find better soils.

A real simple way to get those extra minerals into the soil is the excellent Azomite. However, I just would not worry about having to have the "close to perfect" soil when you start out though. Just start. And remember, the benefit of purchasing the wheatgrass kit is that it contains everything you need to get started growing wheatgrass - including the Azomite powdered fertilizer.

Get this great organic growing wheatgrass kit that has the Azomite with it. Or purchase this organic wheatgrass growing kit with the Hurricane stainless steel manual wheat grass juicer. This kit includes the Hurricane manual juicer, which is the one I have. I highly recommend this manual juicer, as long as you have a 1 1/2 wide or narrower counter to attach it to.

You can also go to my Amazon cereal grass growing supplies store to individually buy the wheatgrass growing supplies you need.

If you buy the wheatgrass kit and when you run out of the Azomite, you can then determine if you want to order more. Or maybe you want to try composting. Also, if you run out of the Azomite, you will notice your wheatgrass is not quite as vibrant. But don't worry about that. Just do your best and know you are getting great nutrition into your body, even if the soil is not fertilized.

I can feel and see wonderful benefits from drinking the wheatgrass juice, even though I don't always fertilize my wheatgrass. As you advance in your wheatgrass growing skills and take your budget and time availability into consideration, you can choose how to and if to fertilize your soil.

OK, so don't worry about trying for perfection at first, just get started.

If you want to learn more about growing wheatgrass, I recommend Ann Wigmore's The Wheatgrass Book: How to Grow and Use Wheatgrass to Maximize Your Health and Vitality. You can also go to my excellent Amazon barley grass and wheatgrass book store for a wider selection of cereal grass

My daughter loves helping me. I love working with soil, something about getting back to nature...















OK, this is how it will look when your seeds are spread out. Of course if you have used more seeds, it will be a more dense seed covering.








Alright, next place two layers of paper towels over your seeds. Place three layers if you are experiencing more warm and dry weather. This thicker layer of paper towels will help keep paper towels moist for longer, along with keeping the seeds underneath moist too.

Sometimes I recycle my used cereal grass paper towels if they are in OK shape.


Next, you need to wet your paper towels. Two cups of water usually well moistens the paper towel. The glass you see holds 2 cups of water.

I make sure my paper towel stays moist. I moisten it at night and in the morning. Here in Arizona, things dry out quicker. So if I find my paper towel is dry mid-day, I will moisten it again.

The wheat seeds or barley seeds need to stay moist. You do not need to saturate your seeds and soil. Just make sure the paper towel is completely moist.

I place my wheatgrass tray or barley grass tray next to my sink below my kitchen window which faces East and gets a little morning sunshine. My grains grows well in that location. It is best to avoid strong direct sunlight as this can stunt the growth of your valuable growing wheatgrass or barley grass.


Here is my Mother-in-law growing wheatgrass and barley grass. She is checking on its progress.

Everyone can enjoy growing wheatgrass or barley grass!

My Mother-in-law grew fantastic cereal grass that received indirect sunlight. We planted wheatgrass and barley grass in her one seedling tray using her back yard, no fertilizer added soil. It was amazing how her barley grass just kept on growing, batch after cut batch. It continued to grow for over 1 1/2 months! Must be the excellent, nutrient rich Wisconsin soil!

When the seeds start sprouting and they are about 1/2 inch tall, they will start pushing up on the paper towel. At that point which takes about 2-3 days, I will remove the paper towel.

From then on, I just water my growing wheatgrass or barley grass about once per day or every other day with about 2 cups of water each time. It really depends on the weather, humidity and temperature within my home. I try not to over water as I find this creates more mold. You definitely don't want to water so much that your soil turns into mud. Just keep it moist.

If you forget to water, don't over respond by saturating them with water. That will shock them. Just moisten them again and they should recover.

When it comes to watering the cereal grasses, I usually just hold the tray under my faucet and quickly spray over it with my water faucet sprayer. Then I place the tray on a towel next to my sink in case it continues to drain a bit.

This particular batch looks a little funny with the one side growing better than the other. In time, most of the seeds should sprout.

Though you might occasionally grow some funky looking wheatgrass or barley grass, i.e. like this different looking growth cycle in my batch, by and large you will be growing fabulous cereal grass in no time.

You will perfect the growing wheatgrass or barley grass art as you grow more and more cereal grass. You can do this!

There is more growing wheatgrass information on this wheatgrass juice page.

Later in the growth cycle of these sprouts, they turn into a brilliant shade of green. It is so beautiful. All the kids in the neighborhood love looking at it. The view of growing wheatgrass brings lots of smiles to people's faces.

After about 6-9 days, your glorious wheatgrass or barley grass will be 6-10 inches tall and ready for you to harvest. Testing has shown the nutrient level to be especially high when the plant hits about six to seven inches in height. When it is colder, the cereal grass grows slower. In hot weather, it can grow 10 inches in 5 days.

If you don't consume your wheatgrass or barley grass, it will continue to grow and eventually fall over. Don't worry, it won't overtake your home. It does not seem to grow too much more in length once it falls over.

To harvest your cereal grass garden, cut as close to the soil as possible. Many great nutrients are located near the soil surface. Barley grass and wheatgrass juice are phenomenal blood building foods. In fact, you might even find these potent green foods will naturally recharge your love life too!

To learn about the amazing health benefits from consuming wheatgrass juice and even barley grass juice, please click here. Remember, barley grass juice and wheatgrass juice are equally beneficial to the human body.

Let's say you have a bounty of growing wheatgrass and barley grass and you just can't consume it all. Well then you can store it. Just cut the cereal grass and place it in zip lock bags and put in your refrigerator. The cut cereal grass stored in your refrigerator will last for 7 days in the plastic bags. Do not rinse it off first, as it will start going bad quicker. Remember though, it is always best not to store it if you are looking for optimum nutrition.

Click here to learn how much wheatgrass or barley grass to take.

Just cut and juice the fresh growing wheatgrass or barley grass. The longer you wait to drink the juice after you have juiced it, the more nutritional loss that occurs. In fact, it can start to go bad in 30 minutes, and be completely spoiled in 12 hours.

Here are some tips for choosing a wheatgrass juicer or barley grass juicer, if you do not have one.

For my Mother's birthday, I gave her the gift of health, smile producing wheatgrass! Growing wheatgrass or barley grass and then giving it as a gift is a great idea.

Oh yes, my mother likes mixing apple juice with her wheatgrass juice. It takes away some of that grassy bite.

Also understand that the barley grass juice does not have any undesirable taste to it. If you don't like the taste of wheatgrass juice, drink the barley grass juice and receive equally powerful results.

Wigmore produced nothing short of spectacular healings for thousands of ailing people, treating those with skin diseases to cancer patients that were told there was no hope. She treated them over the years with her primary natural health treatment and a true green superfood - fresh squeezed wheatgrass juice.

Wigmore says, "With twenty years of teaching cancer patients behind me, I know that--contrary to popular belief--all types of cancer can be overcome.

..."The body of the cancer patient must heal itself in the very same way any body rebounds from a cut, bruise, or common cold.

"Although there are drugs which seem to help by destroying this or that cancer cell, all they can do is help. The body must replace the lost cells with new cancer-free ones. Once you understand the logic of self-healing and self-cleansing, it is easy to understand how the body can reverse even a serious problem like cancer."

Once again, the more you read about wheatgrass and barley grass, the more impressed you will be with these immune system boosting foods. And if you don't have the time or desire for growing wheatgrass or barley grass, then buy the fantastic BarleyLife barley grass powder which is also bringing about huge health improvements.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to grow wheatgrass at home and how to grow barley grass. Growing wheatgrass at home and growing barley grass at home is so much fun. You will love the green energy brought into your kitchen and body too!

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