Easy-to-Grow Easter Grass
Who among us actually likes those stringy, static-ridden bags of "Easter grass" you find on sale at the drugstore? The too-bright colors give me a headache just thinking about them. Why not, try a more natural look this year? Here are the steps to grow your own Easter grass:
- Start two to three weeks before Easter.(That would be NOW.)
- Select a low, shallow container with drainage holes to fit inside the basket you want to use.
- Fill the container with potting soil and 1/4 cup sprinkle grass seed on top. Water with a mister.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a sunny window.
- Mist it daily. Remove plastic wrap when growth is about an inch tall.*
- When grass is at desired height, place the container into a basket and add your eggs and other Easter Bunny treats.
*Warning! If you have a cat, beware of potential “grazing.”
Seed Sources
I’ve purchased packets of seeds marketed as “cat grass” in pet food stores, but you can also purchase wheat grass seeds at food co-ops and health food stores, or you can use just about any turf grass seeds that you'll find from Meadows Farms garden centers. Also, a great online source is the Sprout People.
Basketry
If you are really ambitious, you might try weaving your own basket as well. Use found materials from your own garden such as birch bark, willow, grapevine, grasses, dogwood, and pine needles. One good book I found on Amazon.com even gives instructions on using horsetail and yucca for basket weaving. It is: “Natural Baskets: Create over 20 Unique Baskets With Materials Gathered in Gardens, Fields, and Woods” by Maryanne Gillooly and Brigita Fuhrmann. You can also check your local library for more basket weaving books and search online for instructions. BasketWeaving.com is web site that has some easy basketry project and free pattern.
Posted:
3/21/2012 by
Kathy Jentz | with
77 comment(s)