Healthy Homes of Rochester

[caption id="attachment_302" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Wheatgrass germinating"][/caption]

I have decided to grow wheatgrass again. I originally started to grow it about 2 years ago. Harvested a few crops of wheatgrass and juiced it. Then for whatever reasons slowly moved away from it. Now I have planted a new crop of wheatgrass.

If you were to go to a natural health store to purchase wheatgrass you will actually be looking for “wheat berries”. I don’t know why they are called wheat berries, it is just something I learned in the search of the wheatgrass seeds.

Wheatgrass is surprising easy to grow. It only takes 3 to 4 days to germinate. Wheatgrass looks just like everyday grass in the lawn. Please see the pics above. This shows wheatgrass growing. It is about 4 days from the time the wheat berries were planted.

I have a 6 inch clay pot full of garden soil where the wheatgrass seeds are planted. Plant the wheatgrass at the top of the pot. No need to burry the wheat berries in very deep. Just a thick layer of wheat berries and a sprinkle of potting soil on top. Then get the wheat berries and soil moist with water. I usually cover the top with clear plastic wrap so the heat and sunlight are captured in the pot. This seems to allow the wheat berry seeds to germinate quicker. After 3 or 4 days I remove the plastic wrap cover. By this time you should see short growth of the wheatgrass. Keep watered and in the sunlight. It is just that easy.

I let the wheatgrass grow about 2 and one half inches high then cut the wheatgrass with scissors. Then juice the wheatgrass.

When juicing wheatgrass properly, you need a wheatgrass press. They are easily found all over the internet. I found plenty for sale on Ebay. The recommended amount is one ounce per day up to 2 ounces per day.

I have read many health benefits of wheatgrass. Although I cannot prove any to be true or not true, I have found that I feel better and more energetic when wheatgrass is introduced into my diet.

Thank you for reading,
The Fixie Chick

January is National Radon Action Month. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), exposure to radon in the home is responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Although testing for radon is easy and inexpensive, 80 percent of the homes in the U.S. have not been tested. Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is best detected when doors and windows are all tightly closed.

Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the uranium which is in the geological formation under the soil. The amount or radon gas varies depending on the amount of uranium in the formation. The type of soil under the house, the design of the house and the life style or the family living in the house all affect the amount of radon gas that enters a home.

The only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon is to test your home for radon or have it tested by a certified professional radon tester. For do-it-yourselfers, radon kits can be purchased for $25 at building supply, hardware and general merchandise stores. A basic test takes 10 minutes to set up and when complete is mailed to a lab for analysis.

If test results are above the EPA recommended action level you need to have the radon level reduced by a certified radon ‘mitigator.’ Reducing radon is not technically difficult and costs approximately $800 – $2,500.

Tune into Property Source Radio with the Fixie Chick, Saturday morning at 9 am to learn four easy things you as homeowners, renters, and parents can do to take action in January.

Thanks for reading,

-The Fixie Chick
Here is another link for radon information:

http://www.epa.gov/radon/nram/event_kit.html