It would be remiss of me to report only on our successes and none of our struggles. And besides, that's not the point! The point is to share the experience in order that we, and whoever may be reading this, may benefit from others' advice/trial and errors. So. Issue #1: Many of our arugula and chard leaves are turning red. Arugula I read something that suggested this may be because arugula hates heat (it sits on the sill of our large picture window, so this is possible), but if it doesn't taste too bitter, it's still good. It tastes like arugula to me, which is inherently bitter in any case, but I'm still not sure if it's dying or what. We are hoping to transplant everything to our more shaded back porch soon - could this revive it? Also Wikipedia didn't offer much in the way of advice, but it did have this rather amusing anecdote about arugula: "Grown as an edible herb in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, it was mentioned by various classical authors as an aphrodisiac,[12][13] most famously in a poem long ascribed to Virgil, Moretum, which contains the line: "et veneris revocans eruca morantuem" ("the rocket excites the sexual desire of drowsy people").[14] Some writers assert that for this reason during the Middle Ages it was forbidden to grow rocket in monasteries.[15] It was listed, however, in a decree by Charlemagne of 802 as one of the pot herbs suitable for growing in gardens.[16] Gillian Reilly, author of the Oxford Companion to Italian Food, states that because of its reputation as a sexual stimulant, it was "prudently mixed with lettuce, which was the opposite" (i.e., calming or even soporific). Reilly continues that "nowadays rocket is enjoyed innocently in mixed salads, to which it adds a pleasing pungency".[17]" But okay, the chard is also getting violently red and some of the leaves are yellowing and becoming papery, which seems to be very bad news indeed. When I read about chard developing red leaves, it said that the leaves redden when the temperature dips to freezing (probably not the case, as they're indoors), or if the soil has Boron deficiency. If the later is the case, is there any chance they can be revived? We're also noticing some mold in the soil, which Dan believes to be benign because it is the good kind (i.e. white and fuzzy, not colorful). We are thinking we'll just pick it off, but I wonder why it's there in the first place. It's growing in the soil of the basil, which otherwise looks very healthy and smells terrific. Anyone have any experience with reddening leaves on their indoor plants?
1 Comment
Joan
4/10/2015 06:28:14 am
For the yellowing, papery leaf issue, it may be that they're pot-bound, meaning they are mature enough to need transplanting into bigger containers, or outside. Since you'll be doing the former, I would suggest getting them moved soon if possible. Reddening...perhaps you have a red variety of chard?
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