Why Is There White Mold on Wheat Grass Sprouts?

People grow wheatgrass, in their homes, and with the aid of a juicer extract the juice in the stems as a health benefit. According to “Knowledge: Benefits of Wheatgrass Juice” the juice is good for digestion, produces energy, detoxifies and is high in minerals and vitamins. In addition, wheatgrass supplies protein to help rebuild cells, and people on gluten free diets can drink it with no allergic reaction.

Wheatgrass, though, is susceptible to mold.

The most common mold to attack wheatgrass is a white cotton-like mold that clings, like a net, around the lower part of its stalk. White mold is airborne and sticks to the damp wheatgrass stalks. In a short time, you can see the mold because it builds up around the stalk.

One method to remove the mold is simply to rinse it off. White mold doesn’t penetrate the stalk; it just clings to it, so it’s removed easily. Another solution is to cut the stalk off, just above the mold, then rinse it to remove any remaining mold.

In the home wheatgrass grows in small seed trays. It's a thick growth, without much air circulation at the bottom of the stalks. As a result, when the wheatgrass is watered, the bottoms of the stalks stay damp. One solution is to use less water and to water it with a spray bottle. In addition, spraying puts more moisture over the top of stalks, where there's more airflow to dry them. More moisture over the top of the stalks means less moisture accumulating on the lower stalks; thus, the lower stalks dry faster.

Another solution is to cut small holes in the bottom of your seed tray and to put it into a larger tray. This allows excess moisture to drain through the holes in the seed tray, into the larger tray, which means less moisture accumulating on the lower stalks.

You can dry the lower stalks by using a circulating fan, on low speed, and let it blow on your seed tray. The fan quickly dries the wheatgrass, but be careful not to let it blow too long and dry out the soil.

You can sow your wheatgrass not quite as thick. If it's not as thick, it means more airflow through the lower stalks to dry them.

White mold is airborne, in the air all the time, and not harmful. If you have a natural allergy to mold, though, you may have a slight reaction to white mold.

Unfortunately, there’s a good chance you're not going to get rid of all mold on your wheatgrass. Nevertheless, if you take the proper precautions, you can win the battle over most of it.