Thursday, September 18, 2008

ooops and the end of pistou






it's been a while since i last wrote.
some exciting things have happened in the meantime.
firstly though, you'll see i cut the pistou basil down. i'm going to make pesto, this time with the pine nuts and romano cheese. yum
you can see from the photos how well rooted the basil was. the Pistou basil although pungent in aroma, never really provided the same taste quotient as the previously grown basils, so it wasn't with any regret that it got axed.
i hope it'll be ok in the pesto, but then with good cheese and olive oil, i'm sure it'll work out just fine?
from the photo you'll see that cropping the basil gave me a huge amount of plant for such a small growing device.

in the meantime, i replanted the mint...having discovered i had accidently started another basil power planting!
the mint seeds are minute...so small it was impossible to put them in the sponge slit...so they got sprinkled all over the sponge surface too. the sponge holes welcomed the seeds and you can see the mint has started to grow...it's always so exciting to see new plantings appear...it's very fulfilling.
at first i was clucking when i hadn't seen instant results...i guess i'm used to everything happening immediately around my time zone...but plants...they have there own clock!
so the seeds were planted friday and the photo was taken today..7 days for germination.

since last writing, i'm now pleased to announce that prepara will now be working alongside burpee seeds to sell their seeds and hopefully the arrangement will grow into something special with new products and services being offered to power plant indoor gardeners.

btw
here are some questions from a power planter about cleaning her power plant mini;

Q. can the reservoir base be taken apart for cleaning? it would be easier for cleaning if this were possible. after my last wonderful crop of basil, some of the roots were difficult to get off the bottom.

A. pull hard on the sprayer pipe to disconnect it from the pump. (it’s very robust you won't break it)
once apart, you can take the basket out and if you want you will be able to reach to the bottom for cleaning. also you can unscrew the two screws holding the pump bracket in place and give that a clean too


Q. it also said in the instructions to clean the sprayer with a cotton swab and i am confused how this is done. it seems to be attached except for the 2 end caps and it would be hard to get a cotton swab in it that way.

A. once disassembled you can lever the caps off and also clean the middle pipe too

Q. is clorox bleach ok as the 10% bleach solution to clean it with?

A. yes, very dilute, even less than that is ok too.
if you were being a neat freak you could run it thro the pump too!!!
just remember to flush/rinse away any bleachy mix...don’t leave any residue in there!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's the warranty on the Prepara Mini? There's no information on the warranty anywhere on the net or in the information. Could you tell me?

Anonymous said...

I have one each of these and gave one each as Christmas presents. I love mine and they love theirs. My son has really gotten into his and is using it as a seed starter. All of this since Christmas. I planted mine a few days after and have plants already -- in both. Not sure what type of lighting my son uses -- I have a Bell & Howell full spectrum light. I also have Aerogardens and although I love them I have to say the PowerPlants are sleeker, and definitely have a place in my Kitchen Garden. I love the size of the mini, the price, and the ability to grow small crops. The design of the Pro is very attractive and the really neat thing about it is that it TURNS! This is great if you cannot hook up a light light directly above it. I am definitely looking forward to playing with both my Power Plants.