I am now growing my wheatgrass in a new way and getting much better results in brix. I use the approved black plastic trays with minimal air holes but i have open webbed shelves that i stack them on. I actually grow my sprouts and wheatgrass in a dark closet for the first five to seven days. I place 2 inches of soil in the pans and spread my seed barely covering it with dirt. Then use a second pan and turn it upside down on the planted pan. I water twice a day with my moms old coke bottle with the stopper that allows bits of water through it. Mom used it to dampen anything she was ironing with this rig.

I keep a small fan running in the closet for good air circulation. This step is important!

The sprouts typically start showing the second day. Keep them covered and in the dark until they completely lift the top pan off. At that point, i will open the bedroom blinds and the closet door so the sprouts get sunlight. In about two days, they are ready to cut and use in your favorite method. If the weather is warm, you can set your pans outside but not in direct sunlight.

I no longer use a second cutting. The brix level drops too dramatically to be of any value. Wheatgrass will last a couple of weeks in your frig kept dry in a paper towel inside a green bag. Sunflower sprouts ( my favorite) last max a week and pea sprouts will last a month or more.

When i cut a pan, i start a new one so that i am never without my main food source. I actually keep two pans of wheatgrass growing per person using it and one pan of each type of sprouts per person. I do grow extra sunflower sprouts simply because i use too many in my juice and love them in my salads. Never water or rinse your sprouts with public water.

I compost all the matting and it is rich in nutrients.

Can you please share some more specifics on your growing method?
My growing method is pretty simple. I have collected glass baking dishes (I do not like plastic of any kind) and put about 1.5 to 2 inches of my garden soil in each one and simply lay my seeds out on top with a heavy dusting of soil on top and water. In the summer, they sit on the steps where they get direct sun and full rain (sometimes I have to dump the water out!!). In the winter they are placed on a window sill or directly in front of a window.

Where do you source your seeds from?
I used to buy all my seeds from Hippocrates. Currently I am buying them all from the Amish and getting an instant increase in brix.

Are they grown from high Brix mother plants?
Seeds from purchased sources do not come from high brix plants and must have the soil I give them to increase the brix. The seeds I am getting from the Amish are from high brix plants and with my soil the brix is quite high.

Weight of grains is a good indicator of quality, mineral dense seeds... Heavier the better.
Always...just the same as a good battery for your car.

How much chicken manure in your soil mix?
I do not measure it!! It is like making pie dough...it is the look and feel of it but excess is drawn back to the skies by Mother Nature so I have never worried over it. I do not immediately til or mix the manure though and let it sit on top for two weeks before planting each spring. Soft rock and all other additives are added in the winter and sit on top of the soil all winter before mixing in the spring too with the same two week waiting period before planting.

Amount of soil in your trays?
1.5 to 2 inches depending on the dish and amount of seed I am using. The plants will use an amazing amount of the soil in their short growth path. I will add to the pan for the 2nd growth and then dump any remaining back into an area to be treated again with the soft rock and such for the next year.

Temperature in your growing area?
I have never paid attention to temps. In fact, the first I heard of temperature being a concern was last year. Perhaps it is the soil that makes temperature a non factor. Whatever my house temp is seems to work fine and I keep it cool in the winter. Summers is totally up to Ma Nature.

Sunlight or artificial?
I have no artificial light and have always just used whatever sunlight we get. It seems to work fine even herein pa where it feels like the sun doesn't shine often enough.

Using tap, filtered or distilled water?
I only use distilled for everything. Would not touch or drink or feed my plants anything else ever unless it were life or death. In the summer...they get whatever falls from the sky.

Have you tried soaking wheat berries with anything added?
I have not tried this method but I have watched youtube videos of folks doing it that way. And I have watched videos of them growing wheatgrass soil free. I imagine that keeps the brix low without the nutrient rich soil to fully feed the seeds. Wheatgrass still offers excellent benefits even with a low brix. It will make you feel absolutely drunk for a few minutes with a high brix though and you will feel it coursing through your body as you get dramatic energy from it.

ie. sea solids, kelp or fish products, etc.
There are many good ones on the market. I use a certain kelp/fish product but only for foliar feeding. Just tried it last year for the first time actually. I am a stick in the mud original Reams soil product recipe though and have not varied from that base. I only use soil that was prepared that way.

After scaring everyone about wheatgrass, I guess I should also put info here regarding the proper way to grow it and limit or do away with the bad feelings that can come with using it. Back to my preaching on soil...to properly grow wheatgrass...a person needs to have an area (even a large bucket will work) where they can treat their soil and let it sit for at least two weeks (longer is better) before using it to grow the wheatgrass or any other grass. It does not take much soil to grow wheatgrass so it will last a long time.

I purchase regular top soil. Organic top soil is typically too acid of a product to start with and I don't know why that is. If I have a yard of topsoil, I will add a couple of cups of FLORIDA (only) soft rock phosphate and 3 or 4 cups of organic high calcium lime. Mix it up and let that sit for 2 weeks and then add organic chicken manure. Wait one more week and then you have a good start to a soil for high brix wheatgrass or any grass.

Wheatgrass should have a brix of 18. To get the brix, you will need to invest in a refractometer, but that is an excellent and inexpensive tool for any gardener to have. When you juice wheatgrass with a high brix, you will not get the heavy detox and flu type symptoms. A lower wheatgrass brix brings those symptoms fast. Many folks that go to a retreat believe they are detoxing and that is why they are ill but the fact is that it is just a lower grade of wheatgrass creating the harsher symptoms.

On to another way to use wheatgrass (some folks will need to hold their noses for this one!) is to use it as an implant. To do this, you must do a clear water enema and then implant the 2 ounces of wheatgrass juice in the back door. Hold for 20 minutes and then release. The instant effects are warm energy for the entire day and fresh breath. This method allows slow detox, better absorption in all areas of the body, and levels the systems of a body to where they should be. A person can do one of these everyday of their life if they desire and you will be amazed at how quickly it renews your body.

To purchase soft rock is not expensive but the shipping is. There is one on line website where you can purchase a 50 lb bag including shipping in the 48 for $40. That is not a bad deal considering you will get a few years out of this product. I purchased the organic high calcium lime on line this year at nitron.com I found a local place to buy fresh organic chicken manure but it is also available on line. I would stay away from any other variations of any of these products since they are often some sort of processed product.

I do the same treatment to my garden but I also add compost. It is best to put it all on the garden in the fall and let it react all winter. Then in the spring, you only have to till and plant. Dr Reams always said that if you add your mixes in the spring, the soil has to work to digest those rather than put all its energy into growing the plant.

There is a lot to using wheatgrass and I do not recommend anyone taking it without researching first. Beyond that, the benefits are dramatic. Most retreats in this day start everyone out on a wheatgrass cleanse. Detoxing with wheatgrass is far from a picnic. It is a week or two (depending on how sick you are when you start) of the worst flu type symptoms you can imagine. I am preparing to do a two week wheatgrass detox and have been searching for anything new on line regarding that topic. I came across this link but it is an older article. I do know several people that use wheatgrass to assist in the control of their diabetes.

http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/2006/09/d ... sugar.html

I will add that some folks can incorporate a shot of fresh squeezed wheatgrass into their daily diet (only on an empty stomach!) and it benefits them immediately. Others will have a minor form of detox first even though the benefits are immediate. I personally do not recommend taking wheatgrass without taking an enema afterwards. That allows your body to quickly clear the toxins the wheatgrass releases right on out the back door. It is powerful stuff with an amazing ability to heal, give new energy, and wipe away illness.

A wheatgrass detox should not be done without a knowledgeable person to assist you or preferably in a retreat.