Should I Keep the Root of Wheatgrass?

At first sight the blades of wheatgrass look just like regular lawn grass. However, wheatgrass has many superior health benefits. Wheatgrass is grown from the wheat berry. It is a whole kernel of what grain and it has a far more abundant nutritional content as compared to other grasses. Wheatgrass is harvested when it reaches anywhere between 7 to 10 inches and should be cut as close to the roots as possible. The roots are not considered an edible portion, but you can recycle them in soil, which will be ready in a few weeks for new planting.

Wheatgrass is ready for harvest in about a week. It should be cut very close to the roots as the majority of nutrients are concentrated near the soil mat. Wheatgrass is very fibrous and not digestible by humans. Hence, only its juice is used. Though it can be chewed and then spit out, this becomes a very tiring practice to ingest the required amount of juice. Use special juicers, hand-crank and electric, to juice wheatgrass, as regular juicers can burn out from trying to juice it. Ideally, juice and drink the fresh harvested wheatgrass immediately. Store the unwashed cut grass in a plastic bag for about a week in the refrigerator. The juice, however, can start to get bad in under an hour and is no longer good for consumption after 12 hours. Discard unused juice. After wheatgrass is harvested a mat of short stems and roots is left behind. Recycle, or compost, this to make fresh soil. Compost is a mixture containing topsoil and plant or animal residue. This residue gradually decomposes to form a rich fertilizer by the action of microorganisms, worms and enzymes that are present in the composter.