How to prevent mold in my wheatgrass sprouting?

by Andy
(Klang, Malaysia)

I am aware of the goodness of drinking wheatgrass juice but unfortunetly it is difficult to source for fresh organic wheatgrass in my area. So I started recently to grow organic wheatgrass at home based on your instruction but did not work out well! The only problem that I encounter is MOLD!!

I understand that wheatgrass prefers temp at 60 to 70 degree Fahrenheit. That is why l increased the indoor air circulation with a table fan, in addition to shower spray the wheatgrass tray by chilled water. I found that this method did help a bit. Is it possible to achieve mold-free wheatgrass?

Even though some articles said that the white cotton mold is harmless to human but I am still reluctant to juice it.. Besides, I noticed a little greenish mold spot on the sprout too! May I know is it really safe to juice it?? Will these mold contaminate my wheatgrass even I cut it above the mold level?? Please advise!

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From Sara:

Andy, moldy wheatgrass is a very common problem in our humid weather. Even though the mold is harmless, it may be a turn-off for most people, including me!

Here are a few suggestions that you can implement to reduce/eliminate mold in your future batches of wheatgrass.

# 1: Instead of soaking overnight or just 8-10 hours as suggested on my instruction page, you might try to soak it a little longer (say 10-12 hours) so that the seeds expand more, allowing better germination and shorter sprouting time.

# 2: Lay out the seeds in the tray densely, but in one layer. Try not to have them overlap so that there is enough breathing space for each sprout. This allows a little "air" to reduce mold.

# 3: Don't over-water your sprouts. Use a spray bottle so that you spray enough just to keep them wet, not soaked.

# 4: Do not miss this step - while waiting for your sprouts to take root, cover with a piece of damp newspaper and spray the paper to keep it wet. But remember, do not soak. (See the video on the wheatgrass sprouting page.)

# 5: Finally, you might even try this. Once your sprouts have taken root, put a "collecting tray" without holes under your wheatgrass tray to act as a water reservoir. So, instead of watering from the top, you water from the bottom so that the mold will grow at the bottom rather than on the sprouts. While you do this, still use your spray bottle to spray on the sprouts to keep them a little moist.

Try out some of the suggestions above and see what works for you depending on the humidity of your area. Don't give up. I believe you will get beautiful harvests once you understand your sprouts better.