ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

He derives great satisfaction from seeing his work being used in real life, rather than just making things for amusement. Allow your eco child to help and praise his work, then watch your child blossom!

Ideas for the eco child.

Wheatgrass

You can easily grow your own wheatgrass at home. The following directions for growing wheatgrass also apply to other plants you can use in your family food. Buckwheat lettuce, sunflower greens, radish greens, comfry, kola and nasturtiums grow rapidly. Parsley, celery and dandelions are also valuable and take a little more time and attention.

Materials…Use baking trays (sizes up to 45cm by 65cm, obtainable from a restaurant supply store) or any similar available container, check op shops etc. Get some newspaper and a sheet pf plastic the size of your tray. Use only organically grown seeds. The soil should include peat moss or leaf mulch to ensure good aeration. Substantial numbers of earthworms should be added.
Composting…To make a good compost, obtain the best soil you can find. Place a thin layer of the earth and a few earthworms in a trash can. On top of this, place your table scraps, eliminating the meat and fish, and cover with a thin layer of earth. Every day, add your vege and fruit peelings etc and cover them. When the can is filled, start another. Continue the same process using the already composted soil as the layers between the scraps. Will take at least three weeks to make a good compost!

Planting…Soak the seeds overnight. Fill the tray with a level layer of soil and water it thoroughly so that the soil becomes moldable, but there should be no puddles or muddy places. Using the sides of your hands, make gutters, or ditches, as deep as the tray around the edge.
Spread on an even layer of seeds, covering the soil completely but only one seed-thickness deep. Cover the tray with eight layers of wet newspaper. Place the plastic sheet over it all to prevent drying out.
Put the trays in a cool, shaded area for three days until the sprouts begin to lif the newspaper and plastic. Remove the covering and set the trays in a sunlit room. Be sure to water the trays regularly when the plants start growing as the thin layer of soil will not retain the moisture. Water the grass often in the beginning, once in the morning and again in the evening, but only as needed. The seed should not stand in pools as the water rots them.
Growing takes seven days. When the grass reaches 6 to 12 inches, cut the blades at their bases with a sharp knife or scissors. If the soil is rich, allow the wheatgrass to come up again for a second crop. Wheatgrass is used primarily for the juice that is extracted from it.
There are many juicers on the market but none of them will extract the juice successfully except the model made especially for juicing greens. You can get a hand propelled model or a slow-speed electric juicer.

Wheatgrass has many uses : as well as drinking is a great healing agent for burns, cuts, bites etc.

For Nasty Bites from mosquitoes, flies and ants…Rub a little fresh lemon juice on the affected spot, or if wheatgrass chlorophyll is available, bind the spot with a poultice made of the wheatgrass pulp.

Happy Work and Play!!