My Other Green Kids

For the last year or so, I've been keeping an indoor garden. At first it was a houseplant I took home from an old job. It grew fine. It didn't do much but grow leaves and shed.Then I got an amaryllis for a Christmas gift. It was very sweet, but I hadn't thought much about a garden then. Per the directions, it said something about waiting until spring or fall to plant it into the pot. I waited and did what I thought it said. For the next year, she grew some leaves but they shed rather quickly. I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. My mom said something about putting it near a window or changing places in case it was the ideal environment. No dice.

Months after that, I really wanted to grow some herbs. I wanted my plants/garden to be purposeful. J and I went to Home Depot one day and picked up basil, parsley, rosemary and peppermint. I thought we could add basil to Italian dishes, parsley for decor or a fresh flavor and peppermint was prime for mojitos. Fast forward, parsley was covered with eggs and eventually was killed to save the greater good of the rest. I also let the peppermint go as it never tasted right in our drinks, duh, I was supposed to have gotten spearmint. I did find some spearmint later.

Somewhere in between all these comings and goings of the garden, I gave each one a name. There was Amy Amaryllis. I had Bobby Basil who when happy grows like no longers. It was Patty Parsley, oh well. Rose Rosemary is a sweetie, especially since I gave her a bigger pot. Lastly, there's Marty Mint.

A month or so back, they were struggling from the late summer/winter timeframe. I decided to dig them out of their pots and rejigger them. As my mother claims, sometimes plants just need to be aerated. I did that and they seem so much happier. The most surprising was Amy Amaryllis. She's up to six leaves, which is a complete record. Previously, she only had two healthy and sometimes two yellowing leaves. When I repotted her, I lifted her up so she's peak out above the dirt. I think that's made the complete difference. While she's up to six leaves, none of them look like they're ready to go. It could just be the first time I might see her want to flower. Oh, it reminds me. I need to get the flower food from the garage to give them all a special treat. Go kids, go!

Day 3: Day and Night Make All the Difference

Today's spray and inspect provided quite a bit more interest than in past days. The directions said the white popcorn bumps that may appear while it's in the fridge isn't a mushroom. I guess they were right, because they now have those black caps a la the typical Shiitakes.

My current routine right now is to spray in between fixing KittyBee's breakfast and checking work email. Spritz when I get home. Mist again when I go to bed. It gives me three opportunities to check out how it's changed. During today's morning inspection, I saw the first real signs of growth. By the time I got home, it protruded even further. Oh my.

When I look at my block, as I am doing now while I type, it looks pretty dry. I have this urge to over spritz to make sure it's getting enough moisture. At some point, the block is supposed to go dark completely. It's got a bunch of brown areas with just as much white space left. (Sorry, I had to take a break and spritz some more. Shelby looked dry.)

I originally thought that putting it into an old disposable pan would be a good way to support it and catch stray water. Hey, we're Chinese... of course we reuse things. Anyhow, I'm finding that if Shelby grows from both sides, there's a tiny wall that would prevent it from reaching its peak. I touch and adjust the block to center it in the pan. It's so... it feels like a giant mushroom sponge. Gone are the days I'd squeeze it to see it blow bubbles. I wonder what I'll find by tomorrow morning. A night or day is just enough time to see substantial change. Maybe I'll find more babies tomorrow. Or maybe it'll all go dark. Or maybe I'll get that "much talked about" super big 'shroom.

I took this first picture in the morning before going to work. About 10+ hours when I came home, this is the growth I get from the same 'shroom.