The herb kit I mentioned came with what looked to me like hockey pucks made from soil. The directions to return them to a less dry and condensed state seemed straightforward enough, until it didn’t work as described.
According to the directions, I was to put all of the pucks in a container with a cup and a half of warm water. I did that, and within an hour they had absorbed all the water and were still rock hard.
So then I thought, “maybe the directions meant one and a half cups per puck?” So I tried that, and left the container on a radiator because by now the sun was setting and I knew the water would likely cool off long before the water was absorbed. I was right, and had to add yet more water.
The directions said that once the water was absorbed, you could “fluff up” the dirt, and then distribute it to the pots. Welp, I do have to wonder how long that box sat unloved because this morning, I still had to use a trowel to chip away in my nearest working method to fluffing. With the trowel, I could sort of shear off layers, which then had an easier time absorbing the water.
Eventually, the soil was at a point where it was workable, and I divided it up into the five pots. I then opened the seed packets and sprinkled them all into one pot per envelope.
I admit that I completely forgot to count the seeds per envelope. Since the age of the seeds is still up in the air, there’s a good chance that the germination rate won’t be worth figuring out anyhoo, but the truth is I failed again to help build a habit that needs doing.
I cobbled together labels per pot from the seed envelopes, scotch tape and toothpicks.
I didn’t feel bad using scotch tape because the seed envelopes were plastic, and the sort that really can’t be recycled and thus would eventually be trash anyway.
So after trimming down to the info per envelope, I taped that to a toothpick.
I honestly don’t know that even if these do grow again that I’d buy seeds from the company in the future, and in truth it’s because the seed envelopes are plastic.
Speaking of plastic, although the directions to put the pot holder together state that the pieces are wood (and it looks like wood on the box pictures), the ones in the box were also plastic. I have no idea if it was made from recycled plastic or not.
So now is the waiting time to see if the seeds show signs of life. The directions said the seeds should start to sprout within ten days. My main concern is if the spot I picked is sunny enough. The way our kitchen is configured, the spot I picked at least gets some sun each day. I will likely rotate the stand to make sure they all get more even sunlight. The light is a bit indirect, and I may move the planter to my office window even though then I’ll worry about the kitties if anything does start to grow and they think maybe it’s a snack.
I suppose I’ll post an update about these again in ten days from planting, which will be March 21st. Maybe sooner if some signs of green shows up before then.
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