The Basil is Growing!

Day 5: Time for a little update on how my Jiffy herb pots are doing. Because I didn't trust the instructions that came with the Jiffy pots, I did some reading about starting up seeds indoors. Mark Cullen's advice in his book "All Seasons Gardener" is that seeds need warmth to germinate. So I put my herb pots on the heater grate on our kitchen floor.

It took only four days for the basil seeds to germinate and then I took them off the heater and put them in our cooler living room bay window.

Day 6 They've really grown a lot in 24 hours! Now the basil seeds have sprouted their first set of leaves. The swollen parsley seeds aren't showing any sign of growth yet.

According to Mark Cullen you have to, " watch carefully for powdery mildew on the soil surface or damping-off. At the first sign of either of these problems, remove the cover to allow fresh air to circulate through the container." So to be sure I don't have to deal with these problems, I've already turned the lid on the basil to allow for some fresh air to get into the container. The parsley tray is still on the heater grid and the lid is still closed. I'm thinking of starting up some green beans.