The Grass Stain Guru

TGSG Note: No, really — we’re going to learn how to watch the grass grow! I am tickled to have a few fellow blogger friends stop by The Guru this week.

Enjoy this fun, hands-on project from Shannon Baer of Backyard Mama. 

See ya outside! ~ The Grass Stain Guru

Have you watched grass grow?

One of my favorite spring projects is to plant wheat or oat berries and watch as they grow.

Here’s what to do:

1. Find a container that will hold soil. (Plates, bowls, trays, cups, flower pots, lined baskets all work great).
2. Fill the container with potting soil mixed with some seed starter, or composted dirt.
3. Sprinkle wheat or oat berries (or grass seed) onto the soil surface. Mist with water. (Wheat or oats are edible, regular grass seed works but is not edible).
4. Cover the container with plastic wrap (this keeps the soil most as in a greenhouse.)
5. Set in the window and keep moist.
6. When the seeds sprout (1-2 days) remove the plastic wrap and continue to keep moist.

The grass will grow so fast you will literally be able to watch the grass grow!I like to do this around Easter and use it as grass in my baskets instead of plastic grass; with the use of food grade seed, the grass becomes edible and can be added to salads, fed to bunnies or juiced for a healthy addition to smoothies or other yummy drinks.

To maintain your inside grass garden, clip the grass after it reaches three inches and keep it moist… see how long you can keep your grass growing!

• For extra learning, vary the starting soil see what soil conditions support the best growth of grass.
• Use different seeds or a seed mix and see which grows the fastest or tallest or greenest.
• Once the grass sprouts measure it daily to see the growth rate. Make a chart… even graph it!

I’d love to know your results!

Guest Blogger Bio: Shannon Baer is a geologist by training and a mother by grace. She started blogging at Backyard Mama in 2009 in hopes of inspiring children and adults to spend more time playing outside or digging in dirt.

Follow @backyardmama for up-to-date tweets about her new adventures. She looks forward to meeting you knee deep in mud and exhausted from a full day of nature play!

* Image from flickr photostream alonso_inostrosa