So I'm into week six of the Chia herb garden experiment. The basil sprouted quickly and is looking like the most robust of the lot (I was thinking that I should thin the sucker, but the Chia instruction booklet says that the magical growing sponge allows the plants to thrive with little, if any, thinning). The parsley doesn't seem to be doing too bad, and the cilantro is kind of jaundiced-looking but it least it grew—unlike the chives. I'm not sure what I did wrong with that one—according to the instructions, to grow chives you have to slice open the growing sponge and plant the seeds inside, rather than just sprinkle the seeds on top—so maybe I overestimated my ability to pull off a more advanced technique.
Showing posts with label green thumb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green thumb. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
ch-ch-ch-chia
Last Christmas my friend Lynda gave me the Chia Terra Cotta Gourmet Herb Garden, which is the embodiment of my childhood dream of owning a Chia Pet (never came true) and my adulthood aspiration of becoming a top gardener (also probably will never come true) all rolled into one.
I figured that this would be a good time to try it out, especially now that I've got the space and a sunny area to grow the plants. The kit comes with four terra cotta pots and six herb varieties; I chose sweet basil, chives, parsley, and cilantro. I planted the seeds on Saturday morning (i.e. sprinkled them on top of the patented "Chia Growing Sponge"—hey, every top gardener has to start somewhere), gave them water, and covered them with sandwich bag greenhouses, just like the instructions said.
The basil is supposed to germinate in five days (Thursday), but when I checked it yesterday it looked like it was already doing something...meaning that the seeds were looking kind of slimy and growing something that might be roots. I have no idea if that's what they're supposed to look like or if they're being smothered by some kind of disease. Maybe I should do some research on this.
If I can manage to get anything to sprout and stay alive for a few days, I'll consider this project a success.
I figured that this would be a good time to try it out, especially now that I've got the space and a sunny area to grow the plants. The kit comes with four terra cotta pots and six herb varieties; I chose sweet basil, chives, parsley, and cilantro. I planted the seeds on Saturday morning (i.e. sprinkled them on top of the patented "Chia Growing Sponge"—hey, every top gardener has to start somewhere), gave them water, and covered them with sandwich bag greenhouses, just like the instructions said.
The basil is supposed to germinate in five days (Thursday), but when I checked it yesterday it looked like it was already doing something...meaning that the seeds were looking kind of slimy and growing something that might be roots. I have no idea if that's what they're supposed to look like or if they're being smothered by some kind of disease. Maybe I should do some research on this.
If I can manage to get anything to sprout and stay alive for a few days, I'll consider this project a success.
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