I'll hold on to anything which gives me hope

It's been over a week since the cotyledons have lifted their pretty heads out of the soil, and I check on them everyday hoping I will get to see some new real life, a real stalk, something I know I can count on.

And here they are, deep in the heart of the cotylies are the beginnings of hope...

I thought it wouldn't take so long, but slowly and steadily we'll make it there.

Actually this post is not just about my reflections on botanical facts, but a reflection on my situation at the moment. The cotyledons are a temporary stage of being, just like my temporary stay in Brazil. I am pining to find that steady stalk of life to continue with the life I had before. Indeed, it is a big chance considering I was a minuscule seed in an envelope and now I am green and breathing life, but knowing that my potential is deep within and as yet locked in leaves me waiting for more, hoping for more...

The beauty of all this is that the stalk of life, the aromatic leaves which will sprout out will not be need to be planted: they come from within.

Cotyledons

This is what my basil seedling pot is looking like at the moment:

Pretty awesome, right?

I have read that these are not actually leaves but cotyledons, that is leaf-like structures which serve as food sources for the leaves as yet to grow. Indeed, their stalks are white and semi-transparent and look very delicate.

From what I am reading it seems that these cotlies need lots of light (min 12hours per day) so I have moved them towards the balcony. Weather is very mild here so I'm sure they can handle it.

Next step is to wait for these to grow taller and eventually whither away transforming themselves into the real basil stalk and real basil fragrant leaves. Or so I hope. Last I had read for transplantation to take place is when the real leaves would be at least 10 cm long and strong enough.

We'll wait...

On the other hand the rooting of mint leaves in the kitchen is going strong. I have read that I should wait until the roots are at least 1/2 inch long. So we'll wait another couple of days, perhaps I could transplant the basil and mint to their permanent pots together and thus save some more time.

Bye for now! Have a good start to your week wherever you are!

Doubts overcome

What I feared were mould clumps in my mini greenhouse basil seedling pot where actually the embryos of weening basil sprouts. These cute little green heads are yes, the seedlings, which the soil gave birth to this lovely morning.

So, conformant to what I had read elsewhere it is:
1. advisable to make a greenhouse effect for sprouting;
2. despite point 1, air circulation must be ensured, otherwise mould will be an enemy;
3. keep away from drought;
4. soil must be damp and sufficiently watered - but not waterclogged;
5. keep the pot in a relatively warm location, direct sunlight is not as yet necessary.

This slideshow teaches us more about the process: click here.

And the same scepticism which was overtaking me in the recent week regarding the rooting of the mint stalks were also shooed away today as these little white hairs stuck their heads in the water:

And finally, since I have self-diagnosed myself as a greenfinger wacko after a week of paranoic gardening research I allowed myself a pinch of a plant which made it's way through the window at the restaurant where H and I had lunch yesterday. I have no clue what the plant is but it looked like an easy plant to propagate, and it had nice leaves, stood in the outdoors unafraid and was blossoming little white flowers. We'll see what will come out of this...

Bring it on guys!!

Propagating mint in water

I was somewhat sceptic when I was told that if simply stuff in the mint stalks you buy at the farmer's market into soil it would grow and invade the pot: I googled on and I read that it would be safer to root the stalks using the water method to make sure it would survive in the soil.

I followed instructions here and also drew analogies from here, it is day 3 for my mint stalks and to be honest I'm getting dubious about this method, though everyone claims it to be foolproof. Indeed, at the bottom leaf armpits which I had diligently removed before putting into water there seems to be a sign of new life, but it is not a root!!

We'll wait and see. My cut off date is in a week's time...