Growing rice in the corner of the house and pressing it to make 'milk' to drink daily.

Besides growing organic vegetables and fruit trees on their rooftops, many families in Hanoi now also grow wheat indoors. This wheat is used to make juice – often called 'milk' because it is rich in vitamins and nutrients.

After more than two years of growing all kinds of organic vegetables and fruit trees on her rooftop, for nearly three months now, Ms. Bui Phuong in Thanh Xuan (Hanoi) has started researching and growing wheatgrass indoors to diversify her family's source of green vegetables.

"Many people look at them and think they're just weeds, but they're actually young wheatgrass plants 8-12 days old," Ms. Phuong explained. She grows this type of wheatgrass not for its seeds, but for its young plants to juice. According to research by American scientists, this type of wheatgrass is rich in vitamins and minerals, aiding in easy digestion.

Growing rice indoors is becoming a new trend among urban farmers in Hanoi.

According to Ms. Phuong, this type of wheatgrass is very easy to grow, just like other sprouts. Simply soak the wheat seeds for about 12 hours. Keep them warm with a towel for 1-2 days until they germinate evenly. After germination, sow them densely in trays or plastic pots with drainage holes at the bottom.

Water the seedlings 1-2 times daily to keep them moist and encourage germination. If you're not growing many, you can spray them daily with a spray bottle to moisten both the leaves and the base of the grass. For the first 3 days, keep the tray in the dark to encourage faster germination. After that, move the tray to a well-lit area, but not too much light, so the plants can photosynthesize and their leaves will turn green. You can harvest a crop after 15-20 days.

However, this is not wheat, nor is it the type commonly found in Vietnam.

This type of wheat costs between 140,000 and 180,000 VND per kilogram.

This type of rice is quite easy to grow.

"I've grown several batches already, each batch consisting of 3 trays (200 grams of seeds per tray). When the seedlings are healthy and green, I cut them and juice them, just like other fruit juices," Ms. Phuong shared. She added that one tray yields about 2 cups of juice, which has a slightly sweet taste and a pleasant grassy aroma.

However, if you want to drink it continuously, you need to plant barley in staggered cycles, meaning you sow a new crop every 4-5 days to ensure you always have barley to drink.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Hien in Thanh Tri (Hanoi) also said that recently, in addition to growing organic vegetables, her family has also started growing wheat.

Simply sow the seeds in paper towels or in burnt rice husks, and you can harvest them in about 15 days.

When harvesting, cut off the top part and discard the base.

However, the first crop she sowed using paper towels resulted in low yields at harvest. Learning from her experience, she sowed the second crop on burnt rice husks and coconut coir, and found the yield to be significantly higher.

"Only my husband and I drink it; our two-year-old child can't drink this juice yet. I sow a tray every other day because, on average, the harvested young wheat yields about two glasses of juice per day," she said.

In fact, on social media forums, housewives are also competing to share their experiences in growing and caring for barley grass, how to juice barley grass for the best taste, and how to drink it for health benefits, etc.

After harvesting, the wheat is washed and pressed to extract the juice for drinking.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tuyen, the owner of a seed shop on Hoang Hoa Tham Street (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi), there is currently a trend of growing wheatgrass indoors, especially in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Tuyen, wheatgrass is quite commonly grown in the US; however, it has only recently been introduced to Vietnam and is being purchased by families for cultivation. Therefore, wheatgrass seeds are also extremely popular.

"On average, I sell about 20kg of seeds a day. Most of my customers are from Hanoi, there are also some from other provinces but not many," Mr. Tuyen added. He also mentioned that there are currently two types of wheat seeds: regular seeds and organic seeds.

Many families also plant wheat in staggered cycles so they have a continuous supply of wheat for juicing.

Seeds typically sourced from the USA, Italy, or Australia range in price from 140,000 to 180,000 VND/kg, depending on the type. Organic seeds, however, can cost up to 500,000 VND/kg.

Most customers buy seeds because of the reasonable price. If you sow 1kg of seeds and harvest wheatgrass, the cost is 20,000-25,000 VND per glass of juice. Wealthier customers choose organic seeds because they are safer, he said.

According to VNN