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←
Jane
Karen, I have an unrelated question: it's about growing luffa guard instead of Easter grass. How long does it take for luffa seeds to sprout? I have about 10 seeds sitting in damp tissue in enclosed plastic container for a few weeks now. So far, only one sprouted after a week and I put it in a Jiffy pot. It hasn't done much, though the bitter gourd seeds all sprouted and are growing nicely. The rest of the luffa seeds just sit there and stare back at me. First time trying these, so don't know what to expect.
Sarah Laurianti
Luffas are what got me hooked on her blog in the first place. She's got an excellent post on it which I'm sure you've seen. I took her advice this year and bought a heating mat from Amazon. Definitely worth the $18 or whatever it was. I didn't bother with the paper towel trick, just put them in the little jiffy pots, covered them with plastic, and plopped the whole thing on the heating mat. Two days later (honestly, two day) I had sprouts. Now it's been a couple weeks and those babies are a good six inches tall.
This is my third year trying luffas. The first year I had pretty good luck sprouting without the heat mat then perfect weather once they were planted outside. Dang things were literally two stories tall. Then last year we went from way too dry to way too wet and my dozen luffa plants provided three moldy luffas.
I would try the heat mat route and see if it helps get them moving. Then just pray to the garden gods that once you let mother nature take over she doesn't wreck the whole lot.
Karen
Hi Jane! There's no need to keep them in plastic for weeks until they sprout. That's likely to rot the seeds. Just do how I describe it in my post on growing luffa. If you have more seed I'd start over. Soak the seeds for 24 hours, then plant and place on a heat mat. Good luck! ~ karen
Kirsten
Can i plant this in my outside planter box or is it too cold right now? I’m in southern Ontario.
Karen
Hi Kirsten! It's a bit too cold out for it to grow outdoors. You could bring your planter box inside, grow the grass and then bring it back outside. ~ karen!
whitequeen96
This is the perfect project for little hands while we're stuck at home. And I'll enjoy it too!
Thanks!
billy sharpstick
I must correct you on your use of the word, "weed". There is no such thing as a weed. The term merely refers to a plant that is growing somewhere you don't want it. An American Beauty Rose would be a weed in a cornfield.
That said, I consider certain plants weeds, no matter where they are, poison ivy, nettles, bidens(even though they are good for butterflies, but not in my yard.).
Samantha Gibson
OMG this is just an amazing idea! I'll definitely make one and place it in the kitchen! Thanks for sharing!
Carol
I really love this one! Please tell me where I can find a basket such as yours! It’s perfect! The wire one 😉😬
Karen
Hi Carol! I actually got that at my local dollar store! ~ karen
Melissa
I am in the don’t decorate for Easter camp. I’m an atheist. And I can eat chocolate any damn time I’d like. I do love the grow your own grass in a basket. Brilliant and beautiful!!
Robin Carter
I used to plant grass like this in an old flower pot for my dog, he loved to eat grass and at the time I lived in Arizona where grass is an endangered species...at least that kind! ;)
Ann
Love it….where to buy live moss?
Jane C.
I don't usually decorate for Easter/Spring, but this year I did, using my contemporary Carnival Glass and some fake flowers. Doesn't look too bad. I'd try your basket of grass idea, except that I'd forget to water it.
Debbie
I love your projects and they always work out when I try them myself. This is going to be a definite try! I am just wondering how to keep my CAT from eating the grass!
Meg
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.
hahahahha seriously!!! this is a real phenomenon. I've seen it. I think I've BEEN it.
This is a DELIGHTFUL alternative.
I have one cat who voraciously eats cat grass, but since he usually stays on the floor, maybe on a table this would be safe....
Nicole
Maybe you could grow cat grass instead?
Alena
That girl with the basket could audition for the role of Wednesday's younger sister.
Joyce
Lay off on my buck toothed green plastic bunny! I have had him forever. EVERYONE always comments on how cute he is. LOL
Joyce
Mary W
Another way to speed up the timetable - use a piece of sod from the nursery near you. So pretty and can be used for a while before and after Easter, also.
Marilyn Meagher
I LOVE. That necklace !,,, where did you ever find that !,,,and yes The niece can be a tad scary.
Karen
Funny story! I bought it at Cruikshanks. Then Pink Tool Belt saw it on me and went nuts over it. So I tracked down the maker, and after months of searching finally found one for sale on Ebay in London, England. She got it for Christmas a few years ago. ~ karen!
Christina Blanchard
Now I really want to build a shallow planter for my bay window, would be a lovely to have a grass bench in the window. I have a feeling my dog would get the wrong idea though
Karen
It's so easy to grow it's hilarious! ~ karen
TucsonPatty
I have a collection of eggs on a lovely plate in my bookshelves. They are mostly mineral - quartz and malachite, with a few plain wooden ones. All stacked into an artistic pile. You would be proud. No cheesy duckies or rabbits. Here is hoping Spring is finally coming.
Karen Z
I have been growing real grass for my Easter baskets for years too. I hate that plastic grass that sticks to everything and still shows up somewhere in your house in August!
Ellen
So.... I started mine on Saturday, and today is Tuesday, and I've got nothing- I'm really wanting something! Green. And Lovely. What do I do next?.... so sad
Karen
If you have nothing ellen then you haven't kept your seeds wet. Did you cover the container up with plastic or something to hold the moisture in until they started to sprout? That's a very important step. ~ karen!