Okay - so first you need to follow this link to get the required soundrack:
http://www.csulb.edu/%7Ecohlberg/Songs/glyoxylate.mp3 It's nothing scary, just another song from the Biochemist's Songbook.
So - what is this Glyoxylate Cycle thingy, some of you might ask? Well, it's one of those neat things that plants can do and we cannot. They can take the fats stored in their seeds and turn it into carbohydrates. Us animals can only take carbohydrates and make fats, but not the other way around. In other words - this is what happens in the tiny (and not so tiny depending on the species) seed when it germinates. It takes fats and makes carbohydrates of it, since carbohydrates (and water) are the main components on the roots and stems of the baby (and adult) plant.
We are, of course, playing the Glyoxylate song for our little chili seeds. And guess what? A few tiny roots have appeared in at least 3 of our seeds. We can't see the rest of them, so we don't know if they're growing yet. They're too tiny to get a good picture of yet - but they look a little like these sprouting mung beans (just smaller).
We thank you for all the well wishes for Mom. She's feeling a whole lot better today, just a little tired. And waking up to see that the chili seeds had sprouted made for an extra happy start to the day. She checked them before bedtime last night and they hadn't and during the night they grew little 2mm "worms". But don't worry. There's plenty of time for her to kill them yet. BOL!
Happy Friday everyone!
Kisses,
B
The little baby oriental greens have grown nice and big and several of them are starting to show their first true leaves, too. We've repotted them to give them some more space to grow now (and the basil, too).
I look forwards to spring and trying out some of the things in here! I love foraging. To me it symbolizes a way to reconnect with nature (as opposed to our modern lives).. I'll let you know when I try things, and wheter they were a hit.
A whole lot of screams!
Tonight they'll make yummy dinner and we'll all relax on the couch! This is what's for dinner btw: http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3225 Very yummy!
We didn't get this online, so don't have a picture for it.
If it ever matures this is what we'll get:
It could turn out looking something like this:
Kisses,
All nicely soaked with hot water, seeds are in and they've been lightly covered and placed in a cupboard on the bathroom floor. I hope the heated floor underneath will provide the necessary temperature to germinate these seeds. I had only 8 seeds of the Lemon Drop and Nepalese Bells varieties, so I've sown all of those, and half or less of the Jalapeno and Filius Blue. So at least I have something to fall back on if these fail.
