mystery-to be solved?

ok, so here are the leaves on the 'mystery plant,' a little more developed...can you guess what it is yet? (in the first two pictures)
i cant be sure what will happen with it, but i'll keep the blog upto date with it's developments.

also, the pistou is making great headway now...the leaves are doubling up and in a few more days i'll be pinching them back to encourage bushier growth.

oh, and btw have you checked out the demo video at;

http://www.prepara.com/power_plant.php


it shows how quick these prepara power plant minis are to set up.

Pistou forming up

here are some images of the two prepara power plant minis i have in my kitchen.
the basil pistou has just grown some real leaves, they're tiny, but perfectly formed, they look like mini versions of the pictures on the seed packet.
i have a small crop at one end of the sponge area, the other seeds sprouted along the length but not as successfully as this small bunch.

here's an interesting fact i learned;
each packet of seed sold by a manufacturer actually has a propagation success rate (i.e. 95% etc) this success rate will also vary by type...so a basil pistou sold by X may be more likely to grow than that sold by manufacturer Y!....so don't buy cheap seed...thats the only logic i can see

i'm fascinated by the growth of secret experiment, theyre drinking alot and they are getting real bushy...hopefully they'll continue on with some more 'root' growth. i think there's too many along the sponge, but i didnt want to start paring them back yet, as my daughter loves brushing her fingers over them...she knows it helps them grow!

creeping up

my little experiment is showing really well so far, i have absolutely no idea how they'll develop but i am really excited to see such progress.

the pistou is popping up too.

basil pistou...and a surprise guest!

i finally got some time to set up the new crop.
my daughter dutifully helped mix up the nutrient. we rinsed the sponge, first under some running water. we placed the sponge back, in the correct orientation, and placed the seeds along the inside of the grow sponge slit. we dribbled mixed nutrient along the seed slit and filled up the reservoir with the mixed nutrient. and Voila we turned her on and that was saturday.

it's now wednesday and there's been some nice developments, as you can see. i placed the humidadomes over the sprouting seeds, to help concentrate the humidity, light and heat.

we are trying Basil Pistou seeds from Burpee. the seed packet says it's a small leaf basil, grows abundantly and is commonly used for pesto in France...cant wait to see its beautiful leaves.

i will admit that the second power plant mini has something very unusual in it (the last picture)...and i'll continue to keep the blog updated with photos of it....and you'll just have to keep coming back to see what it might develop into!

so far its been an absolute joy running the power plants, especially the level of care i feel for these developing plants, right in front of my eyes. every day i get to see a little more development and my daughter still grabs the kitchen stool to take a peep at 'her' plants.

the last days of this basil crop

after resting the basil for the weekend, i was glad to see how well the leaves had grown,

the thai basil had grown really large!

as you may have gathered,  i've been raving about my power plant mini's basil success and how well its been doing, so i was asked to submit it to the designers at prepara. they made short work of integrating it into a photo shoot for some new packaging designs. 

tomorrow i hope it'll still be healthy enough to accompany a pizza!

at home, my daughter and i will be testing some new basil type... called Pistou, a small leaved french basil

i'll keep you posted

letting its 'hair' grow!

i decided, after the last basil batch was eaten, to leave her alone and see how she develops in the next few days / week. to date, she has never been allowed to grow out much...i just cant help adding basil to all my foods...my wife thinks i've gone basil crazy...well...just maybe a bit
i'll add some photos next.