Grow Your Own Cat Grass?

If you want to grow your own Cat Grass it can be a fun and exciting project. We love what we do, so we can understand why you would want to try it too. You may even think it is easier, cheaper and quicker to grow your own cat grass. Unfortunately there are many pits falls to avoid. We wanted to share them with you here so you can decide if growing your own cat grass is right for you.

Obviously we would prefer you to subscribe to My Cat Grass READY GROWN CAT GRASS and there are many good reasons for this other than buying a subscription from us. Growing your own cat grass can be hazardous for you and your cat’s health. We really don’t want that!. With this in mind we have put together a quick guide on the differences between eBay type grow your own and My Cat Grass – Ready Grown,  Grow Your Own Kits and My Cat Grass – Seed Pouches. We hope it helps you make the right decision for you, and your cat.

Grow Your Own Cat Grass

Seed Selection

When looking for seeds to grow your own cat grass you will probably come across one of the many online re sellers. Ebay is flooded with them. They buy seeds and repackage them into smaller quantities and sell at inflated prices. You can often identify these sellers by the fact they offer multiple weights starting as low as 10gm up to 10Kg. You may not know whether they are this years seeds, last years seeds or even older. As such you will have no guarantee whether they are viable -will grow – or not.  There is no guarantee what you are getting is 100% cat grass seed or whether it is organic – even if the advertising claims it is!

To protect the reputation of their seller status, sellers will often bleach or chlorinate seeds. This is a common and accepted practice in the United States of America to resolve mould growth issues. This practice is becoming common with Ebay re-sellers in the UK. However this is not acceptable for seed to be grown for Cat Grass, regardless of washing practices.

Your seeds should have colour as in our seed picture and not look dull or grey – this is a sign of old, non viable seeds.

We highly recommend you source your seed from a reputable feed, fodder or seed wholesaler. You are looking for Wheat Grass seeds; latin name: Triticum,  aestivum. Oat Grass; latine name: Avena Sativa. Barley Grass; Latin name: Hordeum Vulgare. or Cocksfoot; Latin Name: Dactylis Glomerata (not recommended for indoor growing).

Grow Your Own Cat Grass – Seeds

  • Can you Guarantee you are growing 100% Wheat Grass?

  • Are Your Seeds Viable?

  • Have Your Seeds Been Chlorinated/Bleached?

  • Are Your Seeds Organic?

  • Are You Paying A Fair Price For Your Seeds?

My Cat Grass Seeds

  • We only ever use 100% organic wheat grass seeds from British Farmers

  • My Cat Grass is delivered freshly grown

  • Our seeds are never chlorinated  or bleached – Never, ever, ever!!!!

  • We only ever use 100% organic wheat grass seeds from British Farmers

  • We source our seeds from British farmers so everyone gets a fair price

Growing Medium

Vermiculite: Common in many Grow Your Own Cat Grass Kits, Vermiculite is the name of a group of hydrated laminar minerals (aluminum-iron magnesium silicates) which look like mica. Today, most vermiculite is safe. However, that is not to say it cannot contain asbestos. Vermiculite is one of the few retention products to contain asbestos surprisingly NOT banned following the 1970’s controversy surrounding asbestos. Vermiculite is manufactured in various sizes, the smallest of which is used in grow your own cat grass kits. The size of the vermiculite in such kits is hazardous to your cats respiratory system. Should your cat dig and then lick their paws or breathe the dust this could have serious health risks. Read this article for more information. Vermiculite has no nutritional value for the germinating seed. When the cat grass seed has used all the energy stored in the seed for germination it is not receiving any nutrition through the vermiculite. With out nutrition the grass is starting to die. Not a fresh and healthy product to be feeding to your cat!

Coir: Some internet grow your own cat grass kits (and more recently in shops in the UK) contain Coir. Coir is a natural fiber extract from coconut husk. Coir has many applications being used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes and mattresses. It is also used for gardening as an alternative to peat moss. It’s Peat Moss like properties makes it a poor growing medium for wheat grass as the high level of water retention prevents growth and promotes mould. Coir has no nutritional value for the germinating seed. When the seed has used all its stored energy it is not receiving any nutrition through the Coir. Without nutrition the grass is starting to die and it has only just grown. Not a grass you would want to be feeding your cat!

Soil is by far the best medium for growing any variety of grass. It’s where Wheat Grass, Cocks Foot, Barley Grass and Oat Grass all grow naturally. It’s what nature intended. Unlike Vermiculite, Coir, or no growing medium (trayed seeds), soil provides the cat grass seed with the nutrients and stability it requires post germination. Once all the energy stored in the seed to grow leaves and roots is spent, the seed uses the roots in the soil to absorb water and nutrients. Using soil as a growing medium means your cat grass will contain all the minerals and nutrients we are looking for, and as a result last much longer as it is still growing and being fed. Soil also has other benefits to growing your own cat grass; naturally preventing mould and ensuring root and leaf separation to permit ventilation.

Grow Your Own Cat Grass

My Cat Grass – Ready Grown Cat Grass

Grow Your Own Cat Grass In Vermiculite

Vermiculite

  • Contains Naturally Occurring Asbestos

  • Presents Serious Health Risks If Ingested

  • Doesn’t Provide Root Stability

  • Doesn’t Provide Nutrients Or Minerals

Grow Your Own Cat Grass in Soil

My Cat Grass Seeds Are Grown In Soil

  • Natuaral Growing Medium

  • Provides Nutrients & Minerals

  • Provides Root Stability

  • Grass Continues To Grow

  • Naturally Prevents Mould

  • Root & Leaf Growth That Ensures Ventilation

Grow Your Own Cat Grass in Coir

Coir

  • Peat Moss Like Properties Promote Mould

  • Water Retention Promotes Rot

  • Doesn’t Provide Root Stability

  • Doesn’t Provide Nutrients Or Minerals

  • Poor Ventilation

  • Promotes Mould Growth

Grow Your Own Cat Grass - Sprouting Jar

Equipment List

You won’t need empty toilet rolls and sticky back plastic to grow your own cat grass, but you will need to think about where you can get cheap supplies. There are a few items on the equipment list we have provided and this is a basic list of what you will need, especially if growing in winter. If you just want to give it a go as a one off you won’t need all the items listed and we recommend you just buy your seeds and soil and use what you have around the house for other items if needed.

DIY stores and budget retailers like Poundland, B&M Bargains, Pound Stretcher and Wilkos etc all have good deals on items that can be swapped out for items on the list.

Be aware that growing your own cat grass can take time to get right. Cat Grass (wheat grass) is especially sensitive to the amount and frequency of water, a constant temperature of between 17.77C and 19.44C and needs plenty of indirect sunlight which can be hard with UK winters.

My Cat Grass – Equipment List

  • Make a cup of tea

  • Wifi / Internet Access

  • Pick a Subscription

  • Checkout

How Long Does It Take?

If you want to grow your own cat grass you can expect this to take from 7 to 10 days depending on the time of year. It will take longer in winter than it will in summer. Check out our time line and daily tasks list below. We hope this gives you a good understanding of what you need to do each day to grow perfect cat grass for your kitty.

Of course if you subscribe to My Cat Grass – Ready Grown you can sit back, relax and wait for your subscription box to be delivered to your door each month.

With My Cat Grass it only takes 5 minutes!

  • Get Online

  • Pick a Subscription

  • Checkout

  • Put your feet up and wait for My Cat Grass to be delivered to your door each month

  • Look Forward To Your “Surprise” Treat Or Toy With Each Box

Timeline and Daily Tasks

Day 1

1. Place one cup of Seeds into a sprouting Jar

2. Fill with COLD water and leave to rest

Days 1, 2 & 3

3. Every twelve hours pour water out and rinse with COLD water

4. Fill with COLD water and leave to rest

Day 3+

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until your seeds start to sprout

6. Rinse and refill jar with COLD water every twelve hours

Day 3+

7. After two days your seeds should have “white tails”

8. Your seeds are now sprouting. Good job!

Day 4

9. Fill a pot with 8 cm of soil

10. Water heavily

11. Cover soil with sprouting seeds

12. Cover lightly with 1 cm of soil

13. Spray top layer of soil with water

Days 5 – 9

14. Water each pot ensuring excess water is drained

15. Ensure your pots have holes in the bottom to drain off excess water

16. Repeat step 14 & 15 every 12 hours until day 9 – 10 or when your cat grass is fully grown

Mould

Common Causes of Cat Grass Mould

Wheat, Barley and Oat grass (grasses used as Cat Grass) are all well known to be susceptible to mould.

If you have ever tried growing your own Cat Grass you will know that the seeds give off a lot of energy – heat – when germinating.  Tray grown cat grass has only seeds in the tray and as all the seeds germinate at the same time, they are all releasing their heat together, in a confined space. Remember we have already discussed the preferred temperature for cat grass is between 17.7 and 19.4 degrees Celsius.

Cat Grass grown or naturally occurring in the outdoors, grows in soil. Soil naturally cools the germinating seed. Less dense germination of the seeds also ensures greater ventilation . This is one of the reasons why My Cat Grass is grown in 10cm of organic soil and we carefully portion seeds in each pot. We recommend this to anyone wishing to grow their own cat grass as a natural way to prevent the growth of mould.

Cat Grass Station

Take the Hassle out of Grow Your Own Cat Grass with My Cat Grass – Ready Grown

With My Cat Grass – Ready Grown Cat Grass we do all the hard work for you. Just sit back and relax and we will deliver fresh, organic cat grass, ready for your cat to enjoy. All you have to decide is how frequently you would like us to deliver!

Grow Your Own Cat Grass – Top Tips

Sunlight

Direct sunlight will prevent your cat grass from growing

Place your Cat Grass in INDIRECT sunlight

Growing Temperature

The optimum temperature for growing cat grass is between 64c and 67c

Never water your cat grass with warm water this will promote mould growth

Ventilation

Ensure your cat grass is well ventilated throughout growing

If there is no ventilation your cat grass will form mould

What’s Next?

Now you’ve grown your cat grass it’s time to start thinking about where you are going to put it. Remember that your cat grass needs to be placed in indirect sunlight with good ventilation but it also needs to be placed somewhere suitable for your cat. After all that’s why we grew it!

Great places are on window ledges, especially those that get a lot of light but not direct light such as bathroom frosted glass windows. You can also place your cat grass next to a water fountain or mounted on the wall using the My Cat Grass Station. Dotting your cat grass around the house is good too, as it will allow your cat the chance to encounter the grass multiple times enhancing their environment and providing stimulus – important for indoor cats. Make sure your cat grass is stable and won’t be knocked off any ledges or shelves causing spills, leaks and general mess.

The My Cat Grass Station is a wall mounted Cat Grass holder at just the right height for cats. It has a modern design and prevents digging, leaks, spills and mess.

Cat Grass Station