Planting Jelly Beans in Home Grown Easter Grass

Here is an Easter project that is easy and fun for your family and can utilize some learning concepts outside of the typical “Easter Bunny” activities.

Supplies needed
Jelly beans or M & Ms in assorted pastel colors
tootsie roll pops, colored lollipops, blow pops or peeps
small metal, clay or glass containers
potting soil
small pebbles
wheat seed (hard red wheat is best for growing grass)
saran wrap

To grow your home grown wheat grass, select your container and gather your other supplies. You can get creative with choosing your containers. Look around your house and garage and see what you have. Or make a quick trip to Goodwill, the Dollar Store, your local hardware store or Target to pick up some containers.

Metal containers or clay pots found in the gardening section work great. Clay pots have a hole in the bottom so you will need some type of plastic liner in the bottom so you don’t have to worry about the water or the dirt getting on your table. You can purchase it in the bulk food section of the grocery store. Hard red wheat works best.

After selecting your container, add a layer of pebbles in the bottom of each container. Because your Easter grass grows for such a short time, drainage isn’t crucial but I do like to add a layer of small pebbles in my containers to help with drainage. Nest, fill each container with potting soil and then a layer of wheat seeds. Sprinkle the top of each container with water (don’t drown the poor little seeds). Then cover each container with some plastic wrap and then place in a sunny window. You will want to make sure that the soil stays moist, (not wet) so that the seeds can germinate. The plastic wrap helps create a green house effect. Give your wheat seeds a sprinkle of water every day or so.

Watch them grow. This is the fun part. In fact, your wheat grass grows so fast you can almost see it! in order to plan to have your wheat grass ready for your Easter table, 10-12 days seems to be a good time frame to get a nice length.The amount of sunlight received will effect the growth time.

Once your wheat grass has grown a few inches ( a day or two before Easter), take your jelly beans and plant them in your grass by pressing them into the soil. On Easter morning, get up before your kids and plant your Tootsie Roll pops in your Easter grass in the same place that your children planted their jelly beans. They will be amazed and excited to see their lollipop garden. I will post more pictures when the wheat grass begins to grow and a few more when we plant and then replace the jelly beans or M & Ms with the lollipops. I know the grand kids will love this activity and they will be so surprised when their jelly beans grow into a lollipop garden.

 (substituting for Bekah who is busy with newborn baby Sophie)