Fresh Grown or Powdered: Which is best?

I want to write a bit about about whether it is better to grow, juice and drink your own wheatgrass or buy Wheatgrass Juice Powder. Many people say that you need to drink it fresh within minutes of cutting and juicing it to retain the vitamins. I grow my own wheatgrass and drink it fresh every day, but I am not a chemist, and don't analyze the nutrients of my own wheatgrass. All I know is that it tastes pretty good and I feel fine drinking it.
That said, I have come across a few websites that say that growing wheatgrass in trays gives you far less vitamins and nutrients than wheatgrass grown in the ground. This website claims that wheatgrass should be grown for 200 days in a cold climate, planted in the fall and harvested in the spring when it is 7 inches tall or so. They say this way provides the ultimate in nutrients and is far superior to wheatgrass grown quickly in trays. The website also claims that the grass has been exposed to the sunlight for 200 days so it has a lot more chlorophyl. My logic tells me however that it is only exposed to sunlight once the snow on top of it melts, the seeds sprout, and the grass grows. This period of time probably isn't very long, although it is most definately longer than the grow-in-a-tray method. Another inherent problem with this method is that the wheatgrass can only be harvested for a few days each year, so it is impossible to get it fresh for about 362 days of the year!!! They cut it, juice it, make it into powder, or bottle the juice.
The big question to answer is this: Is it better to grow, juice, and drink fresh wheatgrass that just grew, but has fewer nutrients, or is it better to drink wheatgrass powder that was cut nearly a year ago? I guess I would like to see someone who know what they are doing do a comparison study of these two. For now though, I will keep on growing and drinking my own stuff, mostly because it is more fun and meaningful to me. I figure I can easily drink twice as much if I have to, thus doubling the nutrients I receive, and probably narrowing the gap between my home grown grass and the powdered stuff. Like always, feel free to comment if you have any input on this subject.

If you are going to be bad, do it in these states: Vegetarian-friendly prisons

I just read this article that says PETA has made a list of the top 10 vegetarian friendly prisons. This is pretty funny stuff. Who would have thought a prison, of all places, would be careful to cater to vegetarian palates? The list of food that some of these prisons serve sounds better than what I usually eat myself! It includes things like vegan pizza, veggie lasagna, vegan cookies and brownies, veggie burgers, and all sorts of other tasty grub.
I can't say that I have ever been to prison before, but if I do, I will try my best to run across the border and get busted in one of these states! Maybe in Idaho (#1 on the list), they will let me grow wheatgrass in my cell. And I always imagined prison food disgusting soggy muck that they heaped on your plate.

Does Wheatgrass Really Work?

So here is the big question that bugs drinkers and non-drinkers of wheatgrass for constantly~~ Does the stuff really work? In my opinion, yes it does. Some people feel as though wheatgrass juice can cure pretty much any ailment known. Ann Wigmore thought this way. Personally, I believe it has great power, but it is not the only thing that matters. There are plenty of examples where an unhealthy person eating unhealthy food gets sick, suddenly switches to eating healthy food and drinks wheatgrass juice daily, and gets better. I have met a number of people who have recovered this way. What is hard to figure out is weather or not the wheatgrass did the healing or if it was the switching from junk-food to healthy food. I believe it is a combination of these things. Drinking wheatgrass juice while eating junk everyday probably won't do much for your health. It isn't strong enough to counteract all the harm that bad food does to your body. But drinking wheatgrass juice AND eating great food does work, and it is easy to see the results.
My next question is how do we know which foods are healthy? Personally, I strongly believe in eating a simple vegan diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and simple grains like brown rice and quinoa. I try to stay away from foods that I know are not meant for human consumption, such as processed foods, white flours and white rice, high sugar foods, deep-fried stuff, chemicals, dyes, etc. Anybody with their head on straight should be able to tell which foods are healthy and which aren't. An easy way is to look at the ingredients of something, and if it has all sorts of stuff in it that you have never heard of and don't know why it is in the food, it probably isn't too good for you.
So here is my conclusion: For those of you who eat bad diets, drinking wheatgrass juice and switching to a healthy diet will almost surely show you quick results. For those of you who already eat very healthy food, you probably won't see so much of a difference, although some people clearly do. Nonetheless, nearly everyone I speak to who habitually drinks wheatgrass juice says it helps them. It definitely doesn't hurt to try!

Drink wheatgrass to balance the holiday food

I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season, whatever holiday you choose to celebrate. I personally deliberately choose not to eat animals and encourage everyone to do think about this. The best gift I can give is the gift of life to an animal that would have otherwise ended up on my dinner plate.

Juice in a bottle

I have been reading about a company in Northern Ireland that is developing a packaged shot of wheatgrass juice mixed with apple and lemon juice. Since most of what I have read about wheatgrass seems to say that it is best to drink it right after you juice it, I'm not sure how it will compare. It will most likely take weeks to reach the customer. I checked out the company's website, but they don't even mention it yet. I'm sure it won't hurt anybody, but so far the concensus seems to be that it doesn't stand a chance against a fresh-cut-and-juiced shot. Here is the link to the news article if you want to read it yourself. Please add a comment if you have any more info on this one!

Take a look at this funny wheatgrass video

Click Here to see the Got Wheatgrass??? Video

Mold: Part 2

Here are a few ways to help tame the mold growing on your wheatgrass:

1. Get different seeds. Try to find organic hard winter wheat seeds that haven't been sitting around for too long. You can get them from another store and see if that helps. Certain wheatgrass seeds are better able to resist mold.
2. On hot days, make sure your wheatgrass gets some ventilation. If it isn't windy, a fan can help circulate air and keep the mold at bay.
3. During a hot summer, plant fewer seeds on each tray. This will provide more room on the tray for air to circulate, and should help with the mold problem.

Mold: Part 1

Pretty much everybody who grows wheatgrass has to deal with mold at one time or another. Some people like me have to put up with it all the time!!!

Here is the scoop on the mold growing on your wheatgrass:

Green-Blue Mold: This stuff will grow on the seeds that don't sprout after they have been on the tray for a few days. It will cover the un-sprouted seed and pretty much just stay there. Since it won't climb up the grass, it can't do any harm because you cut the grass above it.

White Cotton-looking mold: This mold is a bit more of a pain than the green stuff. This will grow on your seeds for a number of reasons. Sometimes it grows because the seeds are spread very close together. In hot or damp weather mold seems to be more of a problem. While it is best not to consume this mold, you can you easily cut above it when you are ready to juice. Once in a while I hear of someone getting a reaction to mold, but I haven't had any problems. As long as you cut above the mold and rinse your grass well before juicing, you shouldn't have any problems. Read this post for ways to help reduce mold.

I got myself a net

I have decided to put a big green garden net over all of my wheatgrass from now on to protect it from all the crazy pests that are lurking nearby. I just propped it up with stiff wire, and tuck it under the trays, and I have an easy protector of my grassy green stuff. Last year I had lettuce that was just about ready to pick growing on my balcony when I discovered little green eggs all over it. The next day the eggs hatched and within 6 hours or so nearly all of my lettuce had been devoured by caterpillars--Zoinks! Although I have had no such problem with wheatgrass so far, I don't want to take any chances. In any case, it keeps the pigeons at bay a little.

Pets and wheatgrass

People aren't the only ones who love wheatgrass. Dogs, cats, birds, and many other animals really love the stuff too. If you have a pet, they will be really happy to get a few pieces of grass or a little juice. I have read that back in the day Ann Wigmore, who is considered the founding grandmother of wheatgrass juice chose wheatgrass over the other grassy grains because her dog chose wheatgrass over everything else. Wheatgrass has a sweet taste that animals love, and it is really hard to keep drinking something that you don't like. I have a dog and she just sits there watching me make my wheatgrass juice every morning. I give her a few blades of grass, and she eats them, and then I save some juice and give it to her in a bowl and she loves it. Cats love it just as much. If you have a pet, try it with them. They will thank you. Most pets don't consume any vegetables or raw food. Pet food is cooked and processed, and many pets really crave something raw and nutritious. Dogs at the park will eat grass by themselves too.

Sunlight or Shade?

Here is another wheatgrass debate: Whether to grow the grass in direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, or in the shade. Different websites tell you to grow it in different ways. Some say never put in direct sunlight, and others say always put it in direct sunlight. I have grown it in all three conditions, and it depends on what the conditions are where you live. Basically, these are the rules of growing wheatgrass. I have learned all of these by trial and error growing in different areas.

1. If it is too hot, the grass will grow very quickly the first few days, and then start to wilt and turn yellow before it is ready to cut. In this case, it is probably best to not use direct sunlight and make sure the soil doesn't dry out.


2. If it is too cold (but not freezing), the grass will grow very, very slowly and might take 2 weeks before it is ready to juice, even if it is in direct sunlight. You can try putting a growing lamp over the grass for a few extra hours of sunlight. If it is really cold, you can just grow the wheatgrass indoors under a grow light.


3. If you are in a really dry area, the soil can dry out really quickly--after even just a few hours. You can either water the grass 3 or 4 times a day, or you can set up a hose to mist the grass. If you want to get really high-tech, you can get a timer to automatically mist the grass every few hours.


4. If it is really humid, or raining all the time, it is best to not let the grass sit out in the rain all the time. The soil will get really soggy, and can get moldy quickly. Try putting the wheatgrass trays just under the roof, where they don't get rained on, but also get some sunlight.

Juicers: Electric or Manual?

Many a wheatgrass grower ponders the question of whether to get a manual juicer or an electric one. The answer is that it really depends on 1) who you are and 2) how much you are juicing every day.
I will answer the questions for myself as a guide. I am a young, fit guy and find it easy to crank over a manual juicer every morning to squeeze out my daily green stuff. I also pretty much juice enough for myself, and sometimes another person. I find a manual juicer is fine for me. I even like the extra arm workout I get everyday! I have a solid stainless steel juicer that is really heavy, but it is pretty much indestructible too.
On the other hand, if your arms are a bit weak, and you find it a major challenge to swing around the crank, I would think about getting an electric juicer. And if you are doing it for a business and need to juice lots and lots of wheatgrass, I would definately spend the extra bucks and get a good electric model. The electric juicers are about twice the price of the manual ones.

The Never-Ending Wheatgrass Debate

The more you search for wheatgrass sources on the Internet, the more you see contradicting statements about almost every aspect of it. There are many sites that say wheatgrass is the best thing on earth. There are others that say it is all a sham and totally useless. Some experts say to eat it while it is young. Others say to eat it after it grows a bit taller. Some say to cut, juice, and drink it right away. Others say to juice it and wait 40 minutes before drinking it. Who and what are we non-experts to believe? It seems the world could use a world grass conference where experts can sit down, debate, and come up with an agreed-on statement about the stuff. I'm sure no conference will come about any time soon, so I intend to provide as much info from all sides of the various debates on this blog.

What about Barley Grass?

Barley grass can be grown, juiced, and gulped just like wheatgrass. It has similar nutritional properties as wheatgrass, just a little different. I tried growing it, but I personally couldn't stand the taste of it. It was very bitter compared to the sweet taste of wheat. My compromise is to grow a mixture of the two. I usually toss in about one spoonful of barley seeds when I am soaking my wheat seeds, and just grow them together. You will be able to see the difference in colors of the grass when it is growing, but you it won't have the bitter taste.

Wheatgrass as a part of overall health

I just wanted to point out that drinking wheatgrass is great by itself, but it is even better when it is combined with other healthy habits. For me, the best way to keep healthy and in good shape is by sticking to a plant-based diet. There are many, many resources that show how beneficial a vegetarian diet can be, and I personally feel as though I am a living and breathing example of this. If you have never eaten good vegetarian food, see this wonderful guide to vegetarian restaurants. There will most likely be at least one restaurant near you, no matter where in the world you live. And of course it is really easy to cook vegetarian food as well.

Pigeons, Round 2

After much thought and research about the best way to keep the pigeons from walking and crapping all over my balcony and ruining my wheatgrass, I have come up with a reasonable solution: For the past 3 days

I have been ambushing them with a bucket of water to scare them away, and after about 20 times it seems to have worked a bit. I also bought a net and put it over my wheatgrass. Hopefully this works. I will keep you posted!

Pigeons Invading!!!

The latest pests to invade my wheatgrass are pigeons!!! I live in Taiwan, and there are tame pigeons flying all over the place. They have discovered my wheatgrass balcony, and I woke up yesterday morning, set up my juicer, and found a pigeon nesting right on my grass! There was pigeon-poo all over the place too. Since you can't get rid of them, I guess I am going to have to get a little net and put it over my grass. Now I have to go 10 days without my juice until my next tray is ready! Bummer.