Why start from seed, when you could easily clone an existing plant?  The fresh smell and taste of basil plucked right from the plant is one of the best experiences a foodie can have.  I’d take the smell of garlic sauteing in grass fed butter as the winner of the two, but garlic doesn’t eek out basil by much.

This morning I trimmed up my main plant in our aquaponic grow bed.  I’ve now got perhaps 8-10 clippings in water which should root in the very near future.  It’s a nice use of left over food jars, or unused mason jars.  Plus I’ve added nutrients to the water (actually, our fish, Oscar, has) to help promote good growth.

When you prepare a clipping for propagation, it is best to trim off all the leaves except for the top two.  You don’t want the limited energy going into the plant to be used to further grow the leaves at this point.  Rather you want that energy going into the root production.  That’s how you end up with additional viable basil plants.

That’s also how you end up with an extra ounce of the freshest basil you could ever find !  Can you say fresh pesto sauce, anyone?

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
—Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

This is why I call them experiments.  There are several variables I will need to identify and isolate to see if this experiment is an ultimate failure, or just another data point in my quest to turn fish waste water into tasty vegetables and greens.  Root development for spinach wasn’t expected to be as prolific as with lettuce or kale, so the root system doesn’t look terrible.  There was still plenty of water left in the mason jar, so that wasn’t the issue.  At this point it is either the lower nutrient level of the fishwater compared to the mix that might be used with hydroponic nutrients, or it is something  to do with heat and light.

The experiments shall continue !!!

Jeremiah 8:4
New International Version
“Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return?”

It’s a pretty common gardening tip:  plant a few seeds per start just in case the germination rate is below 100%.  You can always just pinch off the extra plants if you have a good germination rate, and then you’ll know you will probably get at least one plant per starter plug.

Here’s the problem with that advice … you have to choose.  I get two cucumber plants in one pot.  One lives.  One dies.  How to choose?  Can I choose?  Maybe I can just transplant the other.  It’s not fair that one has to die.

And truth be told, I am terrible at killing off the extra plants.  I probably shouldn’t feel this way.  But it is hard.  The indoor cucumber experiment is progressing nicely, and I finally reached that decision point with one of the pots that had two plants in it.  I prayed for courage and wisdom to decide, and then I snuffed out the life of one of my cucumber plants.

Won’t you join me in a moment of silence for a young cucumber that never got to bear her fruit?

It’s time to start really enjoying this Black Seeded Simpson lettuce we grew under lights in the basement!  This morning I’ve harvested two of the plants to have with dinner tonight.  The leaves are a lovely bright green and fairly delicate.  We will be mixing in sunflower shoots and broccoli microgreens into the salad as well.  I wonder what else will happen to make an appearance at dinner.

No indoor grow experiment would be complete without at least trying to grow tomatoes.  And this is no exception.  We decided to go with cherry tomatoes because they require less light than many other varieties, and we’ve had success growing cherry tomatoes in our garden.  What we see here is the cherry tomatoes, started from seed in 1″x1″ rockwool.  Unsure if I wanted to go forward growing them in a soil media, or something else, I decided to transplant them into net cups with the Hydroton expanded clay pebbles.  At least for now.

Let’s check in on the overflow space at my office where I now have five black simpson lettuce plants, four cucumbers, two cauliflower, a basil, five kale and four aquaponic kratky experiments going!  You can see some yellow flowers on the cucumbers!  That’s an excellent sign.

This is a fun stage of growth for my mini crop of Black Simpson leaf lettuce.  Almost daily the growth is noteworthy.  In my eagerness to try this type of lettuce, I over-planted and have had to move a half dozen lettuce plants to another location to grow under lights.  Perhaps in a week these will be ready to harvest and add to our microgreen salads!

Genesis 1:29

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;