How To Grow Real Easter Grass For Your Basket

The best part about this project is that it's great for growing outside—a wonderful do-it-yourself project for sunrooms or porches.

When Ivy Odom, our Test Kitchen pro and star of Hey Y'all, was growing up in Moultrie, Georgia, her parents would grow real ryegrass to fill in her Easter morning basket. The Easter Bunny would hop on over and leave a basket filled with sweet treats and surprises in a basket filled with fresh blades of grass. That is one of her most memorable traditions from the holiday (along with the Pineapple Casserole her family always made and enjoyed). Now that she is grown up, she loves to revisit her family's holiday tradition in a modern way. Taking inspiration from her parents, she has decided to grow her own grass and use the baskets to decorate around her home. Growing ryegrass is actually very easy to do. The best part about this DIY Easter activity is that ryegrass can be grown outside or be a wonderful do-it-yourself project for sunrooms or porches.

What Kind Of Seeds Do You Use For Easter Grass?

As Odom notes, ryegrass makes a good choice for Easter grass. Ryegrass germinates and grows quickly, creating a bright green, lush bed for your Easter eggs. It's also easy to find at hardware stores and garden centers.

Some people like to use wheatgrass, but you may need to order the wheat berries online or find them at a specialty health food store. Wheat grass also germinates quickly and can be grown in much the same way.

What You Need

• Ryegrass seed

• Plastic containers (recyclable milk jugs, bleach containers, or old Tupperware)

• Potting soil

• Watering can filled with water

• Optional: Plastic wrap

How To Grow Easter Grass

Step 1: Choose your containers.

While actual plant pots or recycled containers work, Odom likes to reuse containers. She mixes and matches all sorts of bottles and jugs in different sizes. Use something waterproof without drainage holes, like a milk or soda jug with the top cut off. To keep things simple, choose a container that fits perfectly in the bottom of your Easter basket.

Step 2: Fill and plant containers.

Once you have your containers, fill each one with soil, leaving about an inch at the top. Sprinkle the ryegrass seeds over top of the soil in an even layer. Cover as much of the soil as possible, trying not to overlap too much. You don't need to cover the seeds with soil, but you want the seeds to be in contact with the soil underneath.

Step 3: Water well and keep moist.

Fill a watering can or jug with water. Water your pots generously. As Odom mentions, you really want your containers to be soaking wet. Also, it is important to water these containers every day to two days, depending on how fast they dry out. (If the soil is drying out too quickly, you can cover the pots with clear plastic wrap for the first couple of days until the seeds sprout.)

Step 4: Place your containers in a warm, sunny spot.

Ryegrass germinates best when soil temperatures are between 55°F and 65°F. Under optimal conditions, it will sprout in two or three days. Because you are growing your seeds in pots, you may want to bring them indoors when nighttime temperatures fall into the 40s. Keep watering as needed to keep the soil lightly moist.

Step 5: Set up your Easter basket.

It will take about two weeks for your grass to grow to an ideal height. Once your grass is finally grown, tuck the containers inside your favorite Easter baskets. Odom loves pulling out her old family treasures (like her own Nana's basket) and using them to decorate in her home. Nestle dyed eggs, sweet treats, or fun holiday knick-knacks in the baskets.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.