The Happy Box CSA Program
The Happy Box, Fulton Farms
2393 S. State Route 202
Troy, OH 45373
ph: 937-572-7529
fultonfa
Eat your greens!
Wheat grass &
sunflower greens
Although many people are unfamiliar with wheat grass and sunflower greens, we do believe they are an important part of a healthy diet. We use to grow them for more than 8 years and provided them as optional to all services. Now they are much more popular than before and there are many companies offering growing kits and instructions how you can do it in your own kitchen. We personally tried a kit from www.wheatgrasskits.com and were very satisfied with the quality of seed, growing supplies and very easy to follow instructions! This company offers many other seeds and grains and instructions and supplies to grow other micro-greens as well.
We choose not to grow them commercially this year for several reasons! Like all micro-greens they are very delicate, develop quickly and unlike other vegetables they require daily, sometimes hourly attention to detail. It is also difficult for us to pack them, because many of our customers did not know much about them and preferred not to receive them. If you are interested, we encourage you to learn how to grow them yourself. It is very easy and fun for the whole family. It is also a great way to learn how plants grow and gain true experience of how important nutrition is for the vigor and health of plants eventually corresponding to our health consuming them. You can do it in your kitchen as recommended in the wheat grass kits, or you can do it outdoors on your soil as we use to do it for years. Happy growing!
Wheat grass makes us strong
Grasses pick up trace minerals that are present in the soil and makes them available in a form that animals and humans can absorb. Wheat grass is one of the best sources of vitamins, amino acids, and minerals.
Although eating it straight is not what nature intended for us - we don't have the chewing ability or time to break down the strong cuticle of the leaves and extract the juice - we can enjoy the health benefits of wheat grass by breaking down the cuticle through other means.
Juicing wheat grass
The best way to break down wheat grass is with a slow-motion juicer that limits oxidization and separates almost all the juice from the fibers. Excellent one that we have and recommend is the Omega Juicer. It is affordable, very easy to clean and very universal- juices successfully almost everything else as well.
Wheat grass smoothies
Milan recommends blending wheat grass into smoothies with water and other sweet fruits, or making liquid salads. You can watch Sergei's green smoothie video here.
Although making smoothies does oxidize and deactivate some vitamins during blending, you can easily consume larger quantities of grass, so in the end, you can get even more health benefits from making smoothies than juicing.
If you have small blender you need to pre-cut your wheatgrass before you start blending to cut down the pressure on your blender. It's also helpful to use more juicy fruits to blend the grass into small particles without burning up the blender.
If you don't like the fibers, you can also strain them with cheesecloth or sprouting bag.
You get good deal on wheat grass if you grow it yourself.
If you research wheatgrass on the internet, you'll find that it usually goes for between $18-$12 per pound - and it's probably shipped from California, or it is grown under artificial lights. It is more economical in the summer to grow wheatgrass in cool- air-conditioned room under artificial light rather than cooling a greenhouse and many commercial growers are doing it. We use to grow it directly in organic soil enriched with natural nutrients and minerals under real sunlight. The only problem was we couldn’t control the heat in the summer, so we were simply not growing it in July and August.
That's how you can do it, like we use to:
We were more successful of growing wheatgrass and sunflower greens directly on the soil- outside during the spring and fall and inside of greenhouses during winter. Either way, they were growing on natural light, covered only with transparent cloth to protect them from birds and insects. Growing directly on the soil is much cheaper, less waste- full and requires less watering and care since the roots of the greens can grow much dipper in the soil to take nutrients and water. There are several books dedicated to growing micro-greens and wheatgrass, I’ll just mention few basic principles, so you can avoid potential problems.
- When you grow wheatgrass and sunflower greens, most of the nutrients needed are already in the seeds. The seeds are very nutritious- as you know they are food themselves. We also plant them very tick- to get maximum yield- literally the seeds should be touching one another, having contact with the soil, but not overlapping on top of one another.When you plant the seeds so close together it is absolutely important that all of the seeds are whole and vital. If there are broken seeds- they will not grow, but provide nutrition for funguses and mold to grow on them-spreading into the healthy plants and compromising the whole crop. So remember not all seeds are equal- make sure you buy yours from reputable company that has high quality seeds that are fresh and vital. When it comes to wheat grass- variety of wheat- preferably hard red winter wheat is also important to make your growing much easier. The soft wheat tends to feed mold much more.
- It helps if you sprout your seeds in advance and plant them sprouted. They will grow more uniform and will mature for harvest at the same time. Instructions how to sprout your seeds you can get from the wheat grass kit.
- How well is prepared your soil is also very important. You should remove any plant vegetation from the soil at least 1 month before planting and work the ground- rotor-till or hoe it at least 10 inches deep. Rotor-till or hoe again right before planting. The soil should be rich on well composted organic matter- humus. Any fresh leaves, or plant residues that are not composted will start rotting once you plant your seeds and the mold may spread on your crop. If you question how nutritious your soil is you can add organic fertilizer- Azomite and incorporate it in the soil. Azomite is in a form of dust- (powdered rock), and is available from www.wheatgrasskits.com.
- When your soil is ready and your sprouted seeds are ready –level the soil and pack it down with a board to create a flat and smooth surface. Sprinkle your seeds the same thickness as when you grow them in flats- touching one another, but not on top of one another.
- Shower gently to wet the soil at least 10 inches deep.
- Cover the seeds with piece of plastic –clear or black and add about an inch or two of soil on top of it as weight to keep the seeds in contact with the soil so they can root in it.
- 2-3 days later, check how the seeds are doing! If they have already rooted and have started to push the plastic upwards it is time to remove the plastic with the soil on top of it, shower them again with water, place few metal hoops (bow shaped wire) and cover them with mosquito net or shade cloth. The shade cloth will keep all birds away, since they like to eat the sprouted growing seeds, it also reduces the sunlight and help the tender plants to adjust from darkness to sunlight. If the seeds are not rooted yet, allow few more days before uncovering them. It all depends from soil temperature and what time of the year you are growing them. It takes as little as 6 days from seeding to harvest in the summer and as much as 2-3 weeks in the Spring and Fall
- Watch for proper moisture! You may have to water them twice a day- morning and afternoon if it is a very dry and breezy day, or you may not need to water them at all if it rains.
- Remove the cover and harvest! If you remove all blades of wheat grass after cutting, you can cover it again and it will re-grow again for a second cut- remember you are growing it in the deep soil and it will grow indefinitely, some of it if you leave it will grow tall and eventually produce seeds one day J If some of the blades you cut fall down on the soil, they will die and will feed mold and fungus, that will compromise your second harvest. More than 2 harvests are not recommended, since the wheat is planted very tick and will start starving for nutrients eventually. Sunflower greens can be harvested only once, because their growing point is being harvested and they will not re-grow.
- If you wonder why we put plastic on top of the seeds and then cover the plastic with soil and not to cover the seeds directly with soil, the answer is simple: We plant the seeds so close to one another that if we cover them directly with soil, they will start pushing the soil with them and it will be very difficult to wash the soil down. If we cover them with only plastic they will not be enough weight to create good contact with the soil and they will also most possibly get too hot and maybe even dry up. Once you start growing, you will understand this simple reasons easily on your own! Good Luck and always have fun!
Sunflower greens are nutritious
Sunflower micro-greens are the ones so widely used in health resorts like the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida, the Creative Health Institute in Michigan, the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, etc.
Nutrition experts are familiar with sunflower greens' ability to convert nutrient-rich seeds into delicious sprouts. We nourish our organic sunflower seeds with pure ocean water (for example, from Ocean Grown, Inc.), which includes all of the trace minerals necessary for human health. Check out www.sea-solution.com or www.remineralize.org about the interdependence between re-mineralizing the soil, climate change, and human health.
Sunflower greens are fresh, tasty, and versatile
Although the nutritional benefits of sunflower greens are widely known, fresh greens can be hard to find because their shelf life is so short. At the Happy Box, we are able to deliver sunflower greens within hours of harvest - year round! You can use sunflower greens in fresh salads, blended dressings, or just eat them by themselves. They are also great in banana smoothies.
We're also able to grow sunflower greens at a reasonable price of about $6/pound. Compare that with $16 or more at Wild Oats Natural Market in Cincinnati. At the Happy Box, we believe that health should be affordable for everyone. This year we will concentrate our energy on growing the other- morethan 40 kinds of vegetables that we normally grow and we will leave the growing of the micro-greens to you! If we are lucky to have more talented and motivated helpers, we may star growing them and making them available to you again maybe next year!
The Happy Box, Fulton Farms
2393 S. State Route 202
Troy, OH 45373
ph: 937-572-7529
fultonfa
