the survivors

day 15
you'll see the greens got a stay of execution!
i used a bunch yesterday in some soup (thats the cropped right side in the photo)
however, there's now so many it'll take a large salad to eat them all...i'll be sure to do that today

the final day

day 13
the greens are so ready. they've started to drink a lot more nutrient-- now there's a bush!
so the end is near, i'll harvest enough for the cheese, salad and sandwiches tomorrow, with so many available it'll take a few days to use them.

i have an admission to make; these are truly the first, successful plants i've ever grown from seed.
The prepara power plant made it easy...and i'm going to grow basil next...now that'll be great for my home made pizzas and sandwiches...if there's as big a success with the basil, as i've had with the spicy green mix, i'll be able to make pesto too.

new nutrient

it's day twelve of growth.
after i took these snaps i thought it time to try a new nutrient....after all, the plants are near to harvesting and they've been growing strongly and healthily.
we have had some outstanding results, at the test lab, from a nutrient made by general hydroponics and i'd run out of the dyna-gro nutrient (once my supply of prepackaged nutrient was gobbled up by the greens, i had used dyna-gro -it's general purpose nature and it's simplicity to mix =a big plus).
i'll let you know whether the greens look any different tomorrow....i'd like to eat them on Sunday.


In another photo, you'll see i lifted the canopy of greens to check on the sprayer jets and as i peered in to the water well i could see very full and healthy roots filling out the chamber.
and yes, the jets were all working fine. (had they been blocked, i could have poked them with a bent paper clip...a lo-tech, yet simple solution for unblocking)

adolescent leaves..now we're really growing up!

i'm eleven days in from planting the seed.
last night i noticed some of the cotyledons leafed plants had developed their adolescent - grown up leaves. this is very good news. the plants will all be shaping up to look like the picture on the seed cover.
its a great sight...i've taken a bunch of shots, you'll see the more complex shaped leaves with some hairy fluff are the new ones i'm excited about.

here's the cheap lamp 'sunlight' booster

btw its been 9 days since the seeds were planted

the grow bulb was purchased online for $16 and the lamp housing and lead + socket were bought at the local hardware store for $8...i have to say though they look a little out of place in my kitchen..'as cheap as chips'
i have it plugged in for roughly 16 hours a day, without a timer...i just switch it on when i make a coffee in the am

these little buggers are spicy!

i tried a couple of the greens and they do pack a spicy punch...they left my tongue tingling.

as they were growing i worried they were getting too 'leggy', you'll see from the images posted on friday last week how the stems were lengthening but the leaves weren't growing.
i took to google and found a few basic tips;and lo and behold they both seem to be working, as you can see from todays images.

1. add more 'sunlight'
(i hung a grow lamp above the power plant...you can just make its rim out in one image)
i'll write about it tomorrow, but it's a super cheap option
(saves buying a new house with a brighter window sill?)

2. i brushed my fingers lightly through the leaves and 'messed up' its 'do'....seems that helps aerate their tops and spreads them out enough for air to pass through.

anyway, should be time to harvest them soon, at this rate.

looking green and full

sunday's fine growth