How to Raise Wheatgrass Commercially

Wheatgrass is one of the easiest plants to grow. All you need is some wheatgrass seed, soil, water, adequate light and proper growing temperatures and you'll be seeing green sprouts pretty quickly. When growing wheatgrass commercially, make sure you have adequate space for growing trays and a large enough darkened area to allow them to germinate.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:
Wheatgrass seed
Bowl
Growing trays
Planting soil
Spray water bottle
Scissors

Planting the seed

1. Put your wheatglass seeds in a bowl and cover them with cool water with a temperature between 16 and 21 degrees. Make sure the seeds are covered evenly with the water and let them soak until they sprout. It does not matter how tightly packed the seeds are in a bowl. The more seed you use, the more wheatgrass that will sprout. A good way to measure how much you are planting is to equate one seed with one blade of grass.

2. After the seeds have sprouted, put the soil in the the growing trays. Drain the water from the sprouted seeds and put the seeds on top of the soil. Water the seeds and cover with the tray lid. Place the trays in a dark place. Water once or twice a day, just enough to keep the sprouted seeds damp at their roots.

3. When the seeds have buried themselves in the soil, uncover the tray but keep plantings in the dark room. Wait a few days until the grass is anywhere from 1 to 2 inches tall and then move the tray to a sunny spot. In about seven to 10 days, the grass will green.

4. Use scissors to harvest grass when it is six or more inches tall.

Selling your wheatgrass

1. Contact health food stores, juice bars and grocery stores to gauge their interest in locally grown wheatgrass, Approach store managers to work out the details of how you can sell your crop commercially.

2. Let your friends and family know that you are selling wheatgrass as well. Word of mouth is sometimes the best advertisement.

3. Contact local newspapers, radio stations or television stations and place advertisements to let your community know that you have wheatgrass for sale.



Wheatgrass helps in throwing the toxins from the body and helps in boosting the cell regeneration. It is an easy way to detox your body at home.

Benefits of Wheatgrass:

It boosts the hemoglobin production.
Rebuilds the bloodstream.
Helps in healing the wounds.
Improves digestion.
Cleans the liver.
Purifies the blood in the entire body.

Growing Wheatgrass at home:
It is economical and hygienic to grow and juice the wheatgrass at home.

Potting:
Plastic basins, clay pots or trays which are about 6" - 8" in diameter and 3" high are perfect for growing wheatgrass. First fill up 2 ½" of the basin with the soil.

Planting:
For planting, clean and wash the wheat grains and soak them overnight in water. Spread the soaked grains in the pot filled with soil the next day. Sprinkle a thin layer of soil to cover the grains.

Growth:
Darkness helps the grains to sprout quickly. So it is advisable to cover the pot with any newspaper or cloth and place it on a balcony. Remember to spray the grains daily with some water till the green leaves sprout up. Keep covering the pots with the newspaper till then. Later stop covering the pots.

Watering:
Water the plants lightly but adequately depending on the season and on whether the pots have drainage holes or not.

Harvesting:
In a week from the sowing the grass will be about 8" tall. Cut it with clean scissors about ½ "above the soil surface. This harvested wheatgrass is ready to be juiced. The grass will grow back in a week's time. After the second harvest crush all the roots and mix with the soil. The soil is ready for a fresh sowing.

How To Juice The Wheatgrass:

It is advisable not to use mixer, grinders or blenders to juice the wheatgrass as the rapid blade movement oxidizes the chlorophyll and will make the wheatgrass useless. It is better to manually mince the grass on a stone grinder or with a mortal and pestle. You may also use electric juicer.
Cut the grass ½ "above the soil surface with the help of a knife or scissors.
If using the juicer then take out the juice as described in the juicer manual. In case you are using mortal and pestle, first chop the leaves and while adding little water at a time, grind it into a fine paste. Then using a clean muslin cloth, strain the juice in a cup. Again repeat the process using the same leaves till the grass turns white.

Save money making your own bread

Nothing beats the taste and smell of home-baked bread - and it's so satisfying to make your own. We help you rise to the occasion with one basic dough that can be used to make five delicious sweet and savoury breads.

There are few things as daunting, yet ultimately rewarding, for the home cook as baking bread. The secret to success lies in a combination of elbow grease when kneading the dough and patience while you wait for the dough to rise and double in size. Then it’s as simple as sitting back while your bread bakes and the wonderful aromas fill the air.

Bread basics
Before baking, it helps to understand the process. Here’s how it works.

LEAVENING
Along with basic ingredients such as flour and milk (see Essential bread ingredients, below), your dough needs a leavening agent, usually yeast, to help it rise. This reacts with the sugar and flour to form air bubbles in the dough. If you don’t add enough yeast, the dough won’t rise. Too much yeast will give your bread a yeasty flavour.

KNEADING
Kneading distributes the yeast evenly, and develops the structure of the gluten strands in the dough. These capture the air bubbles made by the yeast, which ensures your bread will rise and have an even, fine texture. To knead, use both hands to press, fold and turn the dough until it’s smooth and elastic. To test, press the dough with two fingers – if it springs back lightly, it’s ready.

FIRST PROVING
Once the dough is elastic, place it in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and place in a warm, draught-free place. Wait until it has almost doubled in size. The rising action is known as proving, because it proves that the yeast is doing its job. How long this takes depends on the temperature of the room and the activity of the yeast. Bread that hasn’t had enough time to prove, or that has risen too quickly because of excess yeast, is likely to be coarse in texture.

PUNCHING
After the first proving, make a fist with your hand and punch down the centre of the dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough has returned to its original size. This removes any air pockets that may have developed in the dough.

SECOND PROVING
After rolling or shaping your dough, set it aside in a warm, draught-free place to prove again. When it has risen to the size specified in the recipe, it’s ready to bake. If it doesn’t rise enough, the bread will be dense and heavy.

BAKING
Preheat the oven to the temperature stated in the recipe. It has to be hot enough for the air bubbles in the dough to expand, which makes your bread rise. To test if your bread is cooked, tap it on the base – it’s ready when it sounds hollow.

Step-by-step basic bread dough recipe
Use this basic bread dough recipe to get started and then follow the related recipes to create your own bread, rolls, pizza bases, sweet scrolls and yummy pull-aparts.

Ingredients
450g (3 cups) plain bread flour (see Essential bread ingredients, below)
1 tbs (12g/2 sachets) dried yeast
2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
250ml (1 cup) warm milk
2 tbs melted butter

Method
Combine flour, yeast and caster sugar in a large bowl. Stir in salt. Make a well in the centre. Add warm milk and butter.

Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until well combined, then use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil to grease. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place to prove for 45 minutes-1 hour or until the dough has almost doubled in size.

Punch down the centre of the dough with your fist. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes or until the dough is elastic and has returned to its original size. Then continue to follow the recipe below for the Country seeded loaf or make up your own mix.

Essential bread ingredients
Use this guide to get the best results from your basic bread dough.

FLOUR
For best results, use a plain bread flour (also known as bakers flour). This has a high protein content, which helps to create the elasticity the dough needs to rise. If bread flour is unavailable, use ordinary plain flour instead.

MILK
If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast and the dough won’t rise. Too cold, and rising will take longer. To test, sprinkle on your wrist – it should be lukewarm.

SALT
Salt helps strengthens the dough and stops it collapsing during baking. Make sure the flour and yeast are well combined before adding salt. If the salt comes into direct contact with yeast, it may kill it and your dough won’t rise.

YEAST
The main type of yeast used in home baking is dried yeast, available from the baking aisle of supermarkets. It’s designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients. However, if you’re using dried yeast that has been in your pantry for a while, you need to test whether it’s still active before making the dough recipe (see above). To do this, combine the dried yeast, the sugar and 125ml (1/2 cup) of the warm milk in a bowl. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes. If the mixture is frothy, the yeast is active. Add this yeast mixture to the flour mixture with the remaining warm milk and melted butter in step 1.

Country seeded loaf


Cooking Time
30 minutes

Makes
1 loaf

Ingredients (serves 12)

Olive oil, to grease
1 x quantity bread dough (see Above)
1 tbs linseeds
1 tbs poppy seeds
1 tbs pumpkin kernels (pepitas)
2 tbs sesame seeds
Milk, to brush

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Brush an 8cm-deep, 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan with olive oil to lightly grease.

Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the dough to a 30cm square. Sprinkle with linseeds, poppy seeds, pumpkin kernels and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds. Fold the dough in half to enclose the seeds and knead until well combined. Shape into a 20cm-long loaf. Place in the prepared pan. Cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place to prove for 30 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size.

Brush the top of the loaf with milk and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Turn onto a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve at room temperature.

Notes
Freezing tip: At the end of step 3, set aside to cool completely. Wrap the loaf in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of foil. Label, date and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.