new leaves

here you can see the clear difference between the two types of Basil planted into the grow sponge.
(and yes i still need to find those seed bags to tell you what's in there)
needless to say they look like they're maturing nicely
enjoy the photo

Q and A today

as you can see the basil are doing great, in the meantime i'll answer some questions that have arisen from other power planters.

so here goes;
1. where can customer get liquid nutrient & sponge refill
Initially they will be available to order online on prepara's site.
by the end of this week, i hope.

2. is the sponge reusable?
No, the sponge is not reusable, the typical detrius from plant roots (dead cells etc) will make it hard for new seedlings to get started.

3. How often should i change the water?
That's a good question; in the early days of plant growth i typically changed out the liquid every 10 to 15 days, however, i've not needed to do so much once the plant is larger, because its typically drinking quite a lot by then

4. How much nutrient should be used when soaking up the sponge?
I stopped soaking the sponge and tried a new method, i just keep the sponge in the power plant and pour nutrient from my premixed gallon jug over it, especially along the seeding slit.
so in the end it's really not a lot. just enough to ensure the seeds will have some early food to kick start them to growth.
(i measured it and used approx a cup full)...also, this way i didn't waste any nutrient, because it all ends up in the powerplant!

5. When can user start harvesting?
A very tricky question. Basil will take 3 weeks before you start enjoying it, however tomatoes will likely take longer...they really are all so varied...sorry cant answer this one.

great start!

here they are, looking nice and green, full and healthy.
i guess the weekend gave them a chance to pop up.

you can see, with the lid off, the nutrient sprayer and the sponge, oh, yes and the new roots.

healthy and green

with the right nutrient and great light the basil is looking good, i hope by the time i get back it'll be in a position to start working with.

as far as the 'care' instructions its important to keep the basil bushy, this will entail pinching the leaves back, i'll demonstrate when they get bigger.

basil ...not faulty

Little basil is looking good, the move from the burbs doesn't seem to have hurt.
the leaves are looking healthy and green.

traveling light

those little basil sprouts had an option to travel into the city with me today, and they took it.
they'll be cataloged, as the weeks go by, until we can be reunited. (yes, i'm traveling again, and whereby i'd be happy to leave them on my window ledge with a full reservoir, they'd be no-one to record their progress...and hence no blog for a while!)

they seemed not to care, travel was via freezer bag with a fully saturated sponge.

i hope they like their new surrounding

here they come

5 days and the little basil mix has started to shoot.
Ive had the power plant running full time (as opposed to putting a timer on it)...it sounds so peaceful, like a sound machine set on a low setting of 'babbling brook'!

3 DAYS after planting

i'm very excited to see some shoot action in the grow sponge.
i'll hazard a guess that the basil will be shooting out this weekend.

BASIL...at last it's basil time

i gave the power plant mini a thorough wash and cleaned out all the nooks and crannies.
a very, very light bleach mix ensures the maximum cleanliness with plenty of rinsing.
i ran the the bleachy mix through the nozzles, pump and sprayers too.

once she was clean, i replaced the sponge and my daughter and i planted our two types of basil seeds...we were both excited to plant again.

you'll see from the photos we;
1. pre-moistened the sponge (i poured my remaining nutrient along the sponge top)
2. we poured out the two types of Basil seeds and placed them into the slit of the sponge
3. refilled my one gallon container with water and a teaspoon of new nutrient and filled the power plant mini unit
4. plugged her in and placed her out of the direct sunlight (just for today)

i'll take some shots tomorrow to see how they're doing...i can already taste the basil!

i'll also get the seed details too.

long legged root entanglement

I've been traveling AGAIN!, excuse the delay in posts...while away the mini power plant was harvested twice!
You'll see we got bored with mixed spicy greens and it was time to disassemble and give the unit a good cleaning.
I brought her into the office and we did a postmortem.
see the image of some very good roots.
I chopped the last greens and added them to my mango chicken salad...they worked extremely well, giving a spicy kick to the salad.

I'll be starting some basil, i LOVE basil...i'll use it for my two favorite home made recipes; 1. pesto and 2. pizza topping
i'll update the blog with my images next week

3 weeks old!

yes, here they are, only 3 weeks old....they've already provided plenty of salad and sandwich tasty treats.

can't eat them quick enough!

I've been traveling, while away my wife has been doing her best to eat the greens!
to no avail, they've been sprouting more leaves and having a great time on the window ledge.

when i get back from next weeks trip i will definitely look to grow the basil.

enjoying the spicy greens in a salad!

today was the first real meal with salad greens
they made a nice complement to the usual salad mix....deeeeeliscious
and naturally organic grown.