Mixing Sand With Earthworm Castings

I grow my own wheatgrass at home. I am using an organic compost but was wondering, after having read an article, if it's ok to use earthworm castings mixed with a little sand?

Here at Gourmet Greens we have been growing wheatgrass commercially for almost 30 years and have always grown it the old fashioned way with soil containing earthworms that naturally deposit the earthworm castings directly into the soil. Why don't you put your mix to a test? If the wheatgrass grows vigorously with a deep green color, then the earthworm castings mixed with a little sand is most likely ok to use at home as a growing medium.

Customer Likes Our Soil and Seed

Special Comments Box: I have been using your organic soil and wheatberries and they are excellent. I see that you could mix in with your soil other soil or peat moss. What are the benefits to mixing as opposed to just your soil?

How we heard about you: I have ordered through your store before. I found out about you in The Wheatgrass Book by Steve Meyerowitz

- Kira W.

The only benefit to adding other soil or peat moss is to make it last longer. Anything you add just dilutes our good soil. If you do use peat moss make sure to soak the peat moss in water first as peat moss absorbs up to 16 times its weight in water. Adding dry peat moss to our soil would just absorb all the moisture from the soil making the moisture unavailable to the growing wheatgrass. - Rich Rommer

Can't Find Soil Grown Wheatgrass

A few days ago we received an inquiry from a wheatgrass user in Manhattan:

"I live in NYC and am trying to find wheatgrass sold in soil/ in a tray. I understand you don't offer this, but do you know of anyone who does? Thank you for your help!"

There is a grower that supplies soil grown wheatgrass to some stores in NYC, but this grower is not certified organic. Who knows where they get their soil from? I was in New York City last winter and went into a Jamba Juice Store. When I saw wheatgrass juice listed on their menu I thought, great - I'll have a shot. But when I saw the tray of wheatgrass I changed my mind. It was short, falling over, and yellow. I asked to see it up close. There was no soil for the roots to obtain nutrients and obviously it had not even been watered. I feel bad for anyone who reads about the great benefits of drinking wheatgrass juice, tries it in a store like this, and thinks this is what wheatgrass is.

Pilates Studio Likes Our Wheatgrass

For a few weeks now we have been sending our certified organic fresh wheatgrass to a Pilates Studio. They order by email and we just today received this compliment:

"We are a new account with you, and I wanted to let you know how happy we are with your Wheatgrass! Thank you so much. It is the freshest tasting wheatgrass ever, and we (and our clients) are loving it!"

Unlike many wheatgrass growers we grow our wheatgrass the old fashioned way. It is grown with composted soil the way I learned to do it from Ann Wigmore back in the early seventies at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, MA.

Gourmet Greens is not immune to the economic correction we are all living through. Fortunately new customers find us and place orders. But just this past week a regular customer decided to grow her own wheatgrass and greens. We received the following email:

Dear Rich and Cynthia,



Thank you so much for your awesome products and service. I have been getting fresh wheatgrass and greens from you since I returned from Hippocrates in 2005 due to a breast cancer diagnosis. Although I started out growing my own wheatgrass and sprouts it was too much to do while working a very demanding job.



I was elated when I found your service. It has helped me to overcome tremendous odds.

Because of the current economic conditions, I will have to go back to growing my own grass and sprouts. I will suspend my standing order until I can figure it out again. I do this with great reluctance as I want to continue to support your efforts.



Thank you again for your care and support,



Sheila D.

This Years Organic Farmers Certificate Arrived !

Another Certificate to add to our Collection. As given to us by NOFA .

Shipping dates for the Holidays...

Gourmet Greens

198 Dodge Road

Chester, VT 05143

802-875-3820

www.gourmetgreens.com

greens@gourmetgreens.com

SHIPPPING SCHEDULE

Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year

Dear Customer,

Please note that this year all three holidays fall on Thursdays.

Therefore Gourmet Greens will be shipping only on Mondays and Tuesdays of those weeks:

Monday Nov. 24 and Tuesday Nov. 25 for Thanksgiving week;

Monday Dec. 22 and Tuesday Dec. 23 for Christmas week and

Monday Dec. 29 and Tuesday Dec. 30 for New Year’s week.

Please keep these shipping dates in mind as you order by phone or email. And remember that your order will arrive the day after it is shipped.

If you have a standing order that is shipped on Thursdays, please call the week of Nov. 17

to reschedule your holiday shipment for Tuesday.

Thank you.

Rich Rommer

President

Gourmet Greens

Question asked...

Question asked to us recently...

"Do you deliver outside the USA? For example - Europe - Ireland ??"


We do not ship fresh wheatgrass outside the US. Wheatgrass is perishable and needs to arrive from our greenhouse to your door in less than 24 hours. From our Vermont greenhouse we can use UPS ground delivery to ship overnight to all of Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, and parts of Maine and New York (not greater NY metropolitan area). In our experience packages do arrive overnight 97% of the time (except three weeks before December 25th ) If you live in this area the UPS ground delivery prices for wheatgrass and greens apply to you.
. If your shipping address is outside of New England and metroploitan New York, we use UPS Next Day Air. UPS shipping costs plus a $5.00 handling charge will be added to each invoice

Recent question...

Someone out there asked this recently...

"I grow my own wheatgrass at home, I am using an organic compost but was wondering, after having read an article, if its ok to use earthworm castings mixed with a little sand?"

Well, growing wheatgrass on any soil medium you have, is better than not growing wheatgrass. But I have never tried your particular ingredients (sand and worm castings). Try growing the wheatgrass and answering your own question by looking at the quality of your finished product. Does the wheatgrass grow green and lush and does it make thick juice. If the grass grows more yellow than green and makes a watery juice, then you should look for another kind of soil.

New Questions.....

Here are a few questions that someone (from outside the US) asked by email and answers from Rich, head grower here at Gourmet Greens:

How long before you plant your wheatgrass do you water your seeds?

"We soak the seed for 12 - 24 hours (under refrigeraton in the summer time), then we drain the seed and plant either immediately or wait up to 24 hours before putting seed onto the trays of soil."

How much water do you use per tray?

"When planting, we do not water the trays as there is enough moisture in the soil. After the trays are separated to the shelves (2 - 3 days later), the trays are then watered immediately and every 24 hours until maturity which is usually six to eight days (depending on time of year and growing room air temperature.)"

How do you soak so much seed?

"We use 5 gallon buckets to soak the seed. Seed is measured and adjusted as necessary with one pound coffee cans. Coffee invades even wheatgrass growing. At the end of the soak time the seed is drained using five gallon buckets with many drilled holes. "

Do you use sprouting bags?

"No. Never have for commercial growing."