3.22.2009

Green Thumb?

So Andrew and I went to the amazing Wintertime Farmer's Market last month in Pawtucket. I purchased 3 plants/herbs for "Bring a Plant to Work Week." I planned for them to serve dual functions: provide our staff with fresh herbs and purify the air. Do small herbs help air quality? Half the purpose of bringing plants was this and I decide to buy little pots of grass-sized vegetation. Big helper, huh? Well, my first goal is to make sure they survive a week at home and then I will bring them into the office. I couldn't handle the ridicule of my agricultural savvy co-workers if I publicly killed them the first week.

Well, the lady at the Farmer's Market urged me not to over water the Rosemary and I took it to heart. Surprisingly, I'm a good listener, and when I want, I follow directions. She said the Thyme and Cilantro love water, but be cautious not to kill the Rosemary. Well, being new to this plant raising business, I balked and dropped the ball. At first we found out that we were both watering it and thought we would kill them by over watering so we made a pact not to water them for 3 days. Before we knew it we had killed the two-water loving plants. Great pact, huh?!

One day I came home from work and Andrew informed me that the Cilantro had seen its better days and was on its way out. I realized the soil was dry and thought the roots may not be receiving adequate water so I immediately took it out of it's cute coffee mug pot, and began resuscitation. Now, reviving a plant is a delicate process when water is involved. There is a fine line between hydration and drowning. Andrew said, "There is no hope for that little guy. Any progress and you'll be an agricultural savior...an agricultural messiah if you will." We laughed, I chastised his heresy, and we continued on with the "saving" business. I placed the pathetic ball of soil and Cilantro in a bowl and began watering it. Ooops, I over watered it and the water was pouring out everywhere. Well, it was time for dinner so I left it in the bowl drowning in it's own filth and excess.

After dinner Andrew walked past the bowl and said, "Didn't you leave this sitting in a pool of water? It's completely dry." We then began trying to over water the plant so we could watch it suck the water up through the bottom of the pot. Brilliant idea, huh? First, let's over water. Then, let's try to do something with about as much visible reaction as watching paint dry or a kettle boil.

Well, no prophetic story is complete without redemption. Within an hour, a third of the stems were standing upright again. Slowly, over the next few days/weeks the plant continued to revive and thrive.



















This revival didn't occur without casualties though; there are a few wilted stragglers that never quite came back to life, but all in all, we've got a healthy Cilantro plant. The next step is to take these suckers to work. I've had them for about a month and have yet to adequately utilize them for seasoning my food. I figure I should at least spread the wealth before I kill them again!

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