Harvest

One comment we get a lot around this time of year is, "Oh, it must be harvest season for you guys!" The funny truth is, it's not. We actually plant our wheatgrass in the fall and harvest in the spring. We know it's a little unusual and if you want to learn more read on!

Why plant in the fall?

Traditionally, wheat is planted in the fall. (I grew up in the city so this was news to me!) There is a very small window in which to do a successful spring planting in Canada. The planting window is more forgiving if you plant in the fall. Also, when seeds are planted in the fall, the plant will focus its energy on growing roots rather than growing leaves or flowers. Thanks to the fall roots, our wheatgrass gets a little bit of a head start when growing season starts up again in the spring, and a good root structure means the wheatgrass can pull more nutrients from the soil.

Once the plants begin growing again in the spring, we let them keep growing into the second stage of growth, the vegetable stage. Growing to the vegetable stage takes roughly 90 days. Approximately 30 days are spent growing in the fall before the plants hibernate through winter. We usually have a thaw in late February or early March. So with about 60 days left of growth, we generally harvest in late May. This longer growth time allows our wheatgrass to pull more nutrients from the soil and have the simple sugars of the sprout stage mature into complex carbohydrates. Resulting in wheatgrass juice with much mellower flavor.