Real Easter Grass Instructions

Every year I love to plant wheat grass for easter baskets. I choose to grow wheat over other grass seeds because the blades of grass are bigger and they last the perfect amount of time. Plus, if my kid accidently eats the grass...oh well..they are just being overly healthy. I know of some people that juice it, eat it or pay big money to have it put in a smoothie along with other things as well but, I just like the look of it and it's really fun to have for Easter.

The first thing I start with is a basket or container. If it is a basket and isn't water tight, I line it with a simple plastic shopping bag. I cut the top off because my basket wasn't tall enough and fold the edges of the bag down so they are below the edge of the basket. You don't want to see the bag hanging out of the basket so, fold them inside.

This is the wheat. I take it right out of my storage bucket and put as much wheat as I need and then fill the container with water. I soak it for minimum of a few hours (four or five) to letting it soak overnight. Soaking helps the wheat to sprout.I fill the basket with potting soil up to the edge of the plastic bag. The potting soil needs to be moist so I use a spray bottle to wet the soil so it doesn't dry out the wheat.I spread the wheat evenly across the top of the soil. You want every peice of wheat to be able to touch the dirt and also be able to get sunshine. So, I use enough to spread evenly and heavy because I like a full basket of grass. Every peice of wheat will be a blade of grass.I cover my basket with saran wrap to help keep the moisture in. I put my basket in my window sill or anywhere that gets good light and keep the saran wrap on so it doesn't dry out. It is very important to keep the wheat moist the first day or two. I really "baby" it for a couple of days. It needs to be spritz with water at least three times the first day or two and once it's sprouted every other day or so. I take the saran wrap off once it's sprouted.

This is what the wheat looks like after three to four days. The wheat is still visible and the green is about an inch long. I take the saran wrap off once it's sprouted and it will grow very quickly from now on. It grows so quickly that it actually will need a "haircut" or to be "mowed" after seven to ten days.

So I take my old scissors or my kitchen shears and "mow" the grass. I love that it smells like freshly cut lawn. It definetely reminds me of spring!

You'll have to cut it...then it will the grow tall enough to hide the eggs and bunnies....and you'll have to "mow" it again!! It should last a few weeks if you keep it watered and trimmed. I only water the pail or basket when it feels light. If I pick up the basket and it feels heavy...I don't water it that day and will wait until tomorrow. These are metal pails that I planted with wheat grass for my centerpeice at my table. The baskets I have around the house to bring a touch of spring all around. I allow the kids to play with the pics (bunnies and eggs on wires and sticks) and rearrange them whenever they want. It's really fun to have a centerpeice that the kids can actually touch and play with.

So, I hope this helps any of you that want to plant your own basket of fun easter grass!!

Happy Spring!!