How to Grow Your Own Edible Easter Grass

We started a tradition of growing our own Easter basket grass from wheat berries about six years ago. I hate plastic Easter grass and needed an eco-friendly alternative. We had been using shredded green paper but this real Easter grass (AKA wheatgrass) is super easy to grow in about seven days. The best part? When you are done with Easter, the wheatgrass is edible! 

To eat the wheatgrass, blend it into smoothie, run it through your juicer or feed it to your pet rabbit or chickens! Growing wheatgrass is really easy and makes your Easter baskets look extra fancy. Plus there's no waste, so it's an eco-friendly win all around!

Wheatgrass benefits vs. Easter Grass...

• Wheatgrass costs less. I paid $0.30 for enough wheat berries to grow 2-3 large baskets worth of wheatgrass. That's $0.15 per basket instead of $1 or more for each basket's worth of plastic Easter shreds. That's an 85% savings! 
• It's a fun activity to do with your kids before Easter. (Easter Bunny believers will love leaving out fresh Easter grass as a snack for their favorite cottontail)
• No waste. You can eat your wheatgrass by putting it in a smoothie or juicing it. You could feed it to your grass-eating pets like guines pigs, rabbits or chickens. Or if you just aren't interested in that, you can compost it

How to Grow Edible Easter Basket Grass
learn how to grow wheatberry grass for a sustainable easter basket grass solution

Supplies

Links below may be affiliate or referral links.

• A basket or other container (These are what I use for my kids)
• Aluminum foil (optional)
• Wheat berries
• Mason jar
• Water
• Spray bottle or sippy cup
• Approx 7 days of growing time

Look for wheat berries in the bulk foods section of your local grocery or natural foods store. No natural foods store nearby? Order them from Amazon.

Note: while wheatgrass in grass form does not contain gluten, the wheat berries do. Those sensitive to gluten should wear gloves or use caution when handling the berries.

Directions

How to grow edible easter grass step 1

To gauge how many wheat berries you need per basket, lay out a single layer of wheatberries in the bottom of your basket. 

If you are using a woven, fabric or other non-waterproof basket, line the bottom with aluminum foil first. 

Pour the wheat berries out of your basket and into a mason jar. 

Cover with water. Let it sit for 2-4 hours and drain the water off. They will look nice and plump.

How to grow edible easter grass step  2

Spread the soaked wheat berries out in the bottom of your basket (or inside the foil liner you made). 

Twice daily, spritz or sprinkle the berries with water. 

I used a sippy cup which had the non-spill stopper removed. An empty spray bottle filled with plain water works, too. Try to keep the wheat berries from drying out. 

Place the basket in a warm spot like on top of your clothes dryer or refrigerator.

How to grow edible easter grass step  3

Keep the basket in a warm spot (it doesn't have to be in the light) for the first three days. 

On day four, move the basket to a sunny window during the day and kept it warm at night. Make sure to keep sprinkling water on the seeds once or twice a day to keep the growing plants happy.

It's really quite amazing how quickly wheatgrass grows! If you're homeschooling, you can use this as a fun way to incorporate science and math (measuring!) into your curriculum, too.

After six or seven days, you should have some pretty hearty growth:

Pro tip: Do not be alarmed if the basket looks a bit sparse because you can still see the seeds when you look straight down into it even after about a week:

Once you add some eggs or gifts to the Easter basket, it shifts the grass enough so you can't tell it has space between the blades and it will look super lush.

About the Author:

Carissa Bonham is a lifelong crafter and mom of two creative boys. The owner and lead writer at Creative Green Living, she won the Craftys Award for the "Best Craft Blogger" category in 2016 and the ShiftCon award for "Best DIY Blogger" in 2018.

Her creative pursuits don't stop at crafts - she is also the author of the hardcover cookbook, Beautiful Smoothie Bowls (Skyhorse, 2017) and several ebooks. Her projects have been featured in magazines like Kids Crafts 1-2-3, Capper's Farmer and Urban Farm Magazine. Follow her on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or join the Creative Green Living community group.

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