Cat grass can be a fun, easy way to bring part of the outdoors inside for your cat. They love munching on the grass or rubbing against it. Some cats even like to lie on top of a bed of cat grass. And it is very easy to grow and maintain.
I've bought the small containers of cat grass from pet stores before and they only seem to last about a week. They are so small that the cats find it difficult to graze together and they are social eaters. I also don't know the quality of the seeds and soil used. So I decided to do a little research to see how feasible it would be to grow my own grass inside without using soil.
There are several different types of grass seed that can be used for cat grass; oat, wheat, rye, and barley are the most common. I found that wheatgrass seems to be the most commonly grown seed that doesn't require soil. People actually juice wheatgrass for smoothies (I don't think I'll be trying that any time soon, but to each their own). While surfing the internet, I came across one really neat idea - use an appetizer tray to grow the grass. It's large enough for everyone to enjoy and very easy to maintain. So I decided to give it a try.
I had an appetizer tray laying around unused in my garage. It came with a lid, a partitioned tray, and a bottom tray for ice (to keep the appetizer cold). I made one tweak to the design and then it was ready to go. Using a drill (with the help of my power tool-savvy father), we put multiple small holes in each of the appetizer compartments of the partitioned tray to allow the roots to grow downward into the lower compartment of the bottom tray. That was all I had to do! As the seeds grow, the roots actually find their way through the holes into the water source. It's really neat!
After making sure my "growing tray" was ready to go, I had to figure out where to purchase my wheatgrass seeds. I am doing most of my shopping online right now, so I couldn't visit local stores to browse their products. I turned to Amazon since they had the widest selection and fastest shipping times (with free shipping, of course).
I came across a company called Palouse Brand, which is based out of Washington (palousebrand.com). The seeds are harvested, cleaned, packaged, and shipped without any outsourcing. They even do seed tracing, which means that you scan your bag's QR code and see which plot of the fields your seeds came from. How cool is that? I contacted the company just to get a little bit more information about quality control before purchasing and they were extremely helpful. So I bought a 3 pound bag of seeds through Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016VJ8XQQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details). It was delivered in a super cute canvas bag.
Next, I had to learn how to actually germinate and grow the seeds into luscious grass. I will fully admit that I was not born with a green thumb, so I was a little worried. I watched several YouTube videos and then came up with my own "grow schedule." I've tweaked it a bit based on experience and I've had good success. Feel free to try my method and let me know how it works! Oliver certainly approves!
Instructions For Growing Cat Grass Without Soil
Materials Needed:
Seed tray or appetizer tray with holes (as described above)
3/4 cup of wheatgrass seed
Dish towel
Bowl
+/- plate to fit over bowl
Spray bottle
2tsp baking soda
Water
Directions:
1. Measure 3/4 cup of wheatgrass seed. Gently rinse seeds and transfer to a bowl. Add water to bowl to fully immerse seeds. I filled the bowl with water about an inch above the seed layer. Cover with a plate or dish towel and allow the seeds to soak for 8-12 hours. Do not keep in direct sunlight.
2. Drain and rinse the seeds. Return the drained seeds to the bowl and cover with a dish towel for 12 hours.
3. Repeat step 2, rinsing seeds and returning to the bowl. Cover with a dish towel for 12 hours.
4. Repeat Step 3, rinsing seeds and returning to the bowl. Cover with a dish towel for 12 hours. You should start to see the seeds germinating with little sprouts by now.
5. Assemble appetizer tray, filling the bottom compartment with lukewarm water. The water should remain just below the seed tray (you don't want the water entering the holes in the seed tray). Fill a standard size spray bottle with water and add 2 teaspoons of baking soda.
6. Rinse the seeds and transfer them to the seed tray, creating an even layer in each of the sections. Spray the seeds with the baking soda solution to discourage mold growth. Place lid over appetizer tray.
7. Spray seeds every 12 hours with the baking soda solution.
8. Once the grass reaches just below the lid, remove the lid and let the grass continue to grow. I continue to spray the grass at least daily to prevent mold after the lid has been removed.
The grass grew remarkably well. It was soft and thick and green. I was pretty proud of myself. It was also cat approved! I found that the grass will just continue to grow, so if it gets too tall or you notice yellowing at the tips of the blades of grass, just give it a trim and it will continue to do well.
The first time I grew wheatgrass, I germinated WAY too much seed and started looking around the kitchen to see if I had any other containers to grow some of the extra seeds. I thought of an ingenious idea! Use a meatloaf pan!!! I have a Rachael Ray meatloaf pan that comes with an insert containing holes to hold your meatloaf above the pan to drain any fats (https://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Ray-47364-Bakeware-Meatloaf/dp/B07F7V6X6L). I filled the bottom of the pan with water (to just below the insert). I placed the germinated seeds (about 1/4 cup) onto the insert and followed the same growing schedule as with the appetizer tray. If I needed to add water to the bottom, I just lifted one side of the insert and poured in some water. It worked so well! I ended up giving it to my parents for their cats and they also approve. Grady decided to do a photo shoot so he could make a guest appearance in the blog. So photogenic.
I bought a true seed tray from Home Depot to see if I could grow a bed of cat grass that the cats can lie on (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Northrup-King-NK-Pro-Hex-Seed-Starting-Tray-kit-PHEX/203796233). This will be my next project. Who wouldn't want to lounge on a soft, cool bed of clean grass during the summer? This tortoise certainly knows how to rest in style. He is my source of inspiration!
My cat grass lasts about 4 weeks before I decide it's time for a fresh batch. With clean water, baking soda spray, and as-needed trimming, I'm sure it could go longer. But I needed to restart so I could take pictures for the blog!
So what do you do with the older, but still edible grass? Give it to your neighbor's tortoise, of course! Henry the Russian Tortoise loved his cat grass!
When using the appetizer tray, you can actually gently lift a section of grass to remove it. The section stays together since the roots are all intertwined. And as long as the roots are kept in water, it can last a little bit longer while your friendly neighborhood turtle or bunny or guinea pig, etc etc nibbles away to their heart's content. How adorable and heartwarming is that!?!
Comments