Easter grass that you can grow in 5 days. Turn it into a centrepiece, a live grass Easter basket or as the base for a flower arrangement. Easter grass is edible, obviously biodegradable and incredibly easy to grow.
It's that time of year again. The time I bring you an Easter DIY that has NO pastels, NO fake eggs and NO Easter bunny dressed in yellow plaid overalls.
I'd like to welcome you to my annual post where I talk about my distain for traditional Easter decorations. I don't know what it is about Easter specifically that seduces people with perfectly good taste to throw all their design sense out the window but it's a genuine phenomenon.
Homes that are normally rustic & cozy have mint green buck toothed rabbits sitting on their coffee tables. Homes that are normally chic & sleek are riddled with 20 year old plastic eggs with the white bloom of ageing carcinogens on them.
That white bloom isn't actually carcinogens. It's oxidation, but that didn't sound as zippy.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. There is help.
You can ditch the plastic grasses and eggs and grow your own Easter decoration in just 5 days. Or even sooner if you'd like to make an Easter wreath.
Use your homegrown easter basket grass for an actual Easter Basket, flower arrangement or centrepiece. It would also make a pretty impressive base for a spring themed gift basket.
Table of Contents
Easter Grass
Easter grass, which you can grow in containers or baskets is actually common rye or wheat seedlings. Both grow incredibly quickly (with rye growing faster) and their seed is easy to find.
Materials
- 1 package of Rye grass or wheat berries
- 1 basket
- Garbage bag or other plastic to line the basket
- Soil
- Moss (totally optional)
I really like this $20 natural Easter basket from Amazon.
But remember you don't need a wicker basket. Below I'm using a loose wire basket. You can use anything that you can line in plastic to hold the soil in.
Instructions
- Line your basket with plastic then fill it with soil.
- Trim the plastic so it's level with the soil or just a bit above it.
- LOAD the soil up with seed. Over-seed.
Like this.
- If you're using a basket like mine where you can see the plastic and soil from the sides, fill that area with moss. Most baskets won't be like this though.
- Scratch and press the seeds so they're all in contact with the soil.
- Spray the seeds until they're damp. Don't pour water, only spray. If you pour water onto the soil it'll wash the seeds in all different directions and you'll have patchy grass, as unattractive as a 14 year old boy's first moustache.
- Cover the top of your basket with something plastic. You want to trap as much moisture in there as possible so the seeds will germinate. As soon as the seeds germinate (in as little as 2 days!) remove the plastic and keep the grass watered; first with spraying and once it's established you can use the tap or watering can.
No joke. This is what your baskets will look like 5 days after planting the seeds. I had mine under my grow lights which was helpful, but this will also work in a sunny window.
Rye grass is pretty forgiving (i.e. almost a weed). Wheat berries (which eventually turn into wheat) are easy to grow as well.
Edible Easter Grass
The easiest cereal grasses to use for Easter are rye grass and wheat grass. BOTH of these can be used to make healthy green juice shots with a juicer.
By the way you don't need a massive electric juicer for making wheatgrass shots. You just need a little hand turned slow juicer.
Ryegrass will resemble actual grass and be very uniform. Wheatgrass will have a bit more of a stalk. Keep in mind the wheat grass on the right was grown for actual planting so it isn't planted as dense as you would for an Easter basket. That's why it looks sparse.
BUT - Wheatgrass does take a week longer to grow than Ryegrass. So just keep that in mind.
Trim your grass at this point but don't take too much off. Just a little off the top. You can use what you've topped off for juicing into grass shots.
The next day you can trim a little more, until the grass is as short as you'd like it. Then just keep it trimmed every couple of days to keep it where you like it.
You might like it nice and neat and level with the top of your basket or you might want it a bit higher.
Now you have 2 options; make some sort of arrangement in the basket with a few natural elements like twigs and flowers.
To turn your grass into a flower arrangement, stick branches directly in the soil. For any live blooms, put them in some of those little water vials and stick those in the soil.
Or use it as a genuine Easter Basket. If you have kids ( or a husband/wife who insists on an Easter Egg hunt for themselves every Easter morning) there isn't a kid in the world who wouldn't like using an Easter basket with real grass growing in it on Easter morning.
Yes that is a little Rough Linen pinafore.
No it isn't pink, no it isn't plastic, no it isn't tacky. But Easter doesn't have to be.
Unless you want it to be.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Laura Bee
I want to shove my face in it and suck in all that green goodness.
I need to reseed where my daughter's pool was last summer anyways.
I have a bag of dollar store soil in my back porch waiting for something to do....this is brilliant. I almost bought some pale, yellowy cat grass at the grocery store this week. So sad looking.
Amber
Are you still afraid of your niece? Because now I am too. That picture of her looks sooo lovely, and sooo Gothic, and sooo much like if I do something wrong she will come at me with her teeth.
I will never steal her Easter candy. I promise. Never.
Not even when she's sleeping.
Never.
Karen
Little bit afraid of her, yes. You're wise to be slightly afraid too, lol. ~ karen!
Marti
And apparently, I can do this inside a real basket.
Karen, I dislike the idea of buying $13 worth of rye grass so that I can use .50 worth. Is this stuff edible? I mean... the grass? The seeds? Any of it? If I can eat it, I will buy it. Because whether you believe me or not, I'm such a "highly sought after" dinner guest that I've already got an easter dinner invite and I think this will be the perfect thing to bring as a gift to the hostess. Might even put a few wrapped chocolate things in it for the kids.
Karen
You just need to make more friends so you can give away more baskets. Also I searched around and you can get a bag for $5. ~ karen!
Marti
So to be clear... this rye grass stuff is not edible?
And you think I'm going to waste my Easter-Egg-Eating time, driving around dropping off these baskets, when what I really want is ONE really good looking basket.
Because I actually am likely to be able to get them to come up two inches... and then die... all within that five day period.
Diana
My cat is able to detect gras everywhere... So within one week i have nibbeld and brown
leaves of gras! This year i will grow it in a big Punchjar. Thank you for eliminating that horrible colourful bigtooth bunnys! I hate them like scarecrows on a Stick wearing orange Overalls and moronic smiles....
Mel Robicheau
I LOVE this! I'm going to do it for my one and two year olds for Easter!
I'm a social media manger for a couple small businesses. May I please share this on one of the pages that I manage? I think other moms would love to do this for their kids too!
PB Soo
Rough linen pinafore. Didn't see a connection from your blog. Could be an option. I immediately thought about your previous post, re: "5 free tools" I'm searching for pinafores (several) as a result of your site. BTW the pic is cool. Looks a lot like my granddaughter.
PB Soo
Never mind. I found the rough linen site. Could you put that near the picture? Of course I would have finished the blog before I went pinafore shopping!
Nancy Blue Moon
I also like more natural things for a Spring holiday Karen...This is so pretty I have to do one..I'll also plant a dish for the cats so maybe they will leave my basket alone...ya right...One question..What The Hell Is That Thing Growing Out Of The Back Of Your Head!!!!
Jody
Great idea. I especially love the photo of your great-niece. Very Gothic feel to it. Or at least I am assuming it is your great-niece rather than some random child on the trail.
Hilda
I'm SOO going to do this. THanks again for the fun pick-me-up!
BTW: I just used that kind of moss inside a tall glass jar & snuggled up around a white candle . LOVE that moss-stuff! Ta-Ta~
Sharon
Love it!
Karin Sorensen
that little girl just about has to be your niece, i seem to detect your patented not-taking-crap-from-anybody aura with a dash of i-totally-got-this spirit in her. a wonderful combination.
she's adorable and so is your awesome idea of growing some grass *snort*
i love your Easter idea's, all of them. i did manage to get me some dollar store pool noodles and tons of moss a year ago for the awesome wreath. but somehow i haven't gotten around to getting a glue gun yet... golly!!! how hard can it be to buy a glue gun?!?!?! i should be ashamed of myself.
and i am, deeply. i shall be slinking to the glue gun store shortly.
Karin
j
You're so funny-made me snort-and brilliant-and, oh well, you keep giving me new ideas that make me look smart! So thank you--
Tricia Rose
I am filled with nameless yearning - why don't I ever think of elegant things like this to do? Thank you for giving the recipe so well ahead of time Karen, I'm going to do it! I shall have an ikebana Easter!
Rosemary
So pretty! I'll be decorating eggs with my grandson later this week. Would love to do this with him as well!
Melissa Leach
I had forgotten about rye grass! I once planted it in tea cups for decorations at a baby shower.
Thank for the reminder...off to Pet Smart to buy my rye grass. You can get it there in small amounts. Love your floral arrangement.
Arlene
Love it! I was wondering what to do for the Easter table centrepiece!
It is so sweet! Modern... yet organic. Lovely!
Thanks
amy watson
Yep, my cat Ginny loves it when l do this, since my only child is grown, l make a basket full of rye for Ginny a few times a year....l want a rough linen pinafore soooooooo bad, but then l want everything she has, l am working on getting a full bed of the Orkney...
Michelle
I agree with you on this horrible pastel ritual. I love the grass and sure the goats and horse may like some Easter baskets of grass to snack on. Think the goat boys would spit peeps at me if I tried that instead. Although the giant always hungry horse may like peeps. Ick. Honestly the goat boys may just like eating the baskets too. Hmmm better think this one out before a vet bill happens! Anyway grass is always welcome here in this desert. Great idea!
Mary W
Oh Karen, I hope you have a post coming soon using the grass baskets as you did the Christmas present toppers. I can see the fairie swing now hanging from a long bent twig. PLEASE, PLEASE, Pretty please with Peeps on top?
Jan in Waterdown
Love the little girl pic . . . so dark and pensive and moody! She looks like she would rip yer face off if you touched her chocolate bunny. And she's wearing a linen pinny. Gotta be related to you.
Edith
Grreat picture!!! Great model, great mood, great idea! I wanna take one like that, too! Wait, where is my daughter .... let me dress her up like that .... and find a garden like that ....