Seedling Surgery with the Peanut

[MacTech]

I have a couple Aerogarden 6 pod indoor hydroponic gardens, and one of them is growing a few assorted herbs, Lemon Balm, Lemon Basil, Chamomile, Greek Oregano, Stevia, and Italian flat-leaf parsley, all but the Stevia are seedlings, still on their baby leaves, the true leaves are starting to develop, the Stevia is a good three inches tall and growing, slowly, Stevia is a very slow growing plant, intolerably slow in dirt, barely tolerable hydroponically....

one of the parsley seedlings still had the seed hull stuck to the tip of the baby leaves, the seedling is small, the seed hull is small, there was no way I could simply pull the hull off without hurting/killing the seedling it was attached to

So, I fished out my Case red bone SS Peanut, opened the short pen blade, which is kept scalpel-sharp (both blades are, really), and very gently, I "whittled" the seed hull off the seedling, peeling off the seed hull coat fiber by fiber

the seedling is freed from the hull, and shows absolutely no damage to it's delicate baby leaves whatsoever

Thanks to the small size of the Peanut, and it's diminuitive pen blade, I was able to perform this relatively minor "surgery" with ease, a larger knife would have been harder to control for such a precision task

Bigger isn't *always* better...

 

[knarfeng]

I have a couple Aerogarden 6 pod indoor hydroponic gardens, and one of them is growing a few assorted herbs, Lemon Balm, Lemon Basil, Chamomile, Greek Oregano, Stevia, and Italian flat-leaf parsley, all but the Stevia are seedlings, still on their baby leaves, the true leaves are starting to develop, the Stevia is a good three inches tall and growing, slowly, Stevia is a very slow growing plant, intolerably slow in dirt, barely tolerable hydroponically....

one of the parsley seedlings still had the seed hull stuck to the tip of the baby leaves, the seedling is small, the seed hull is small, there was no way I could simply pull the hull off without hurting/killing the seedling it was attached to

So, I fished out my Case red bone SS Peanut, opened the short pen blade, which is kept scalpel-sharp (both blades are, really), and very gently, I "whittled" the seed hull off the seedling, peeling off the seed hull coat fiber by fiber

the seedling is freed from the hull, and shows absolutely no damage to it's delicate baby leaves whatsoever

Thanks to the small size of the Peanut, and it's diminuitive pen blade, I was able to perform this relatively minor "surgery" with ease, a larger knife would have been harder to control for such a precision task

Bigger isn't *always* better...

Bigger isn't *always* better.. You betcha.

If I may take a momentary side tack, what do you do with the stevia? I often use stevia sweetener. Can you just use the leaves?

 

[MacTech]

I'm gonna' use the plant as a sweetener, right now it's still an immature plant, and it's extremely slow growing...

It's about 3" tall right now, and it's taken almost two months to get that big, Stevia seeds are extremely hard to germinate (only 50% germination rate) and actually have to be started in dirt pots before they can be trasitioned to hydroponic setups, I planted a good dozen seeds, and the two plants you see there were the only real survivors

I tried a small leaf (about 1/4" or so in size) and it tasted like I had eaten a teaspoonfull of sugar, it also had a very faint, pleasant licorice undertaste to it, just a touch, nothing overpowering or offensive

you can dry the leaves, then crush them, or grind them in a coffee grinder to make "green stevia powder" which you can use like sugar, or just use the leaves straight off the plant for sweetening drinks, stevia is non-caloric, and is even usable for those with Diabetes, it does not alter blood sugar

depending on the plant and growing conditions it can be anywhere from fifteen to three hundred times sweeter than sugar

 

[jackknife]

I guess a sharp peanut can do surgery on almost anything. I know for a fact, there is a doctor up at the Carroll County hospital in Westminster Maryland that carries a peanut, and has done emergency surgery on a person with it.

Successfully!

 

[street soldier]

I guess a sharp peanut can do surgery on almost anything. I know for a fact, there is a doctor up at the Carroll County hospital in Westminster Maryland that carries a peanut, and has done emergency surgery on a person with it.

Successfully!

Successful is always a plus.:thumbup:

Especially for the patient.

 

[puukkoman]

I don't know if diminutive is the right word... has a negative connotation. You wouldn't call your ladyfriend diminutive, or you'd get a slap. She's petite, or dainty, or delicate, or something.