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By Sandy, on March 27th, 2009
2 out of my 6 magic beans are growing very fast, and the crystal soil can no longer hold up these big and heavy plants stably anymore. It is definitely time for me to repot these magic beans into a bigger container. And instead of growing these plants indoor in crystal soil, I have let my magic beans grow in regular soil outside my balcony.
   
I didn’t check my magic beans for a few days after day 20. And when I did, I was surprised by how fast some of them had grown 😯
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 26 – Repot to a New Home
By Sandy, on March 17th, 2009
 When planting magic beans with crystal soil during the beans’ seedling stage, it seems that the size and shape of the container matter much. I have grown my magic beans in four containers of different sizes and shapes. While three of these containers are smaller pots with a big flat bottom, one of them is a relatively bigger, fishbowl shaped one.
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 13 – Container Size Matters
By Sandy, on March 14th, 2009
My magic beans are growing fast. They grow so fast that I literally can see some differences within hours.
  
I checked the magic beans in the morning around 11:40am. Since the dried up seed coat on their tips were just loosely hanging there, I could easily take them away.
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 12 – First True Leaves
By Sandy, on March 11th, 2009
 Finally, my magic beans have emerged from the crystal soil. And now I can see their faces 🙂 No matter how many beautiful flowers and potted plants I have, somehow, I just feel very exciting and magical whenever I witness the process of a seed growing into a baby plant.
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 10 – My Magic Beans Are Growing!
By Sandy, on March 8th, 2009
 Today when I checked my magic beans, I found that the crystal soil had turned even more brownish than before, despite that I had rinsed and cleaned them two days ago. So again, I took them out for another wash. And when I poured everything from the container into the drainer and saw my magic beans, I knew I had done something wrong.
 
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 6 – Some New Colors for My Crystal Soil
By Sandy, on March 5th, 2009
On Day 4, I finally could see some of the magic beans had their roots break-opened the red seed coat and got ready for more actions. And, the color of the crystal soil has changed. Some of these crystal beads have a brownish tone now. I am guessing that they are probably colored by the red seed coat of the magic beans.
 
Continue reading Magic Bean Day 4 – I See Some Roots!
By Sandy, on March 4th, 2009
 I bought some beans that have engraved words and pattern on the internet earlier. I think these beans are a great gift idea for kids, for parties, wedding favors, home decor, and such. While some call it the message bean, some others call it the magic bean. Anyways, beans are beans, and I just couldn’t wait to grow them when I got the beans in the mail a few days ago. And I wanted to try this with crystal soil too! 😀
Continue reading I’ve Got Some Magic Beans!
By Sandy, on February 26th, 2009
A few days ago, a friend asked me how often and how much should she water her plants when planting in crystal soil. I would say we should add water to the crystal beads whenever the beads shrink to around half of its size or to a size that cannot stably hold up the plants anymore.
Continue reading Watering Plants in Crystal Soil
By Sandy, on February 19th, 2009
I realized the need to remake my tabletop garden – Ocean Breeze when I watered the garden for the first time after its making. I shouldn’t put the stones and marbles at the bottom of the container in the first place, at least, not so many of them.
Originally, I put the stones and marbles there for three reasons.
Continue reading The Remake of Tabletop Garden – Ocean Breeze
By Sandy, on February 18th, 2009
 I have a friend asked me if she could plant her basil and mint in these colorful crystal soil beads. Although crystal soil is suitable for many indoor houseplants, especially foliage plants, I wouldn’t recommend my friend to plant her herbs in crystal soil. This is because while most herb plants love sunlight, crystal soil is not suitable to leave under direct sunlight for a long period of time.
But if you want to grow a plant that needs lots of sunlight with crystal soil, you can cover the crystal beads with a dark cloth to avoid them from drying out too quickly. However, this may have defeated the decoration purpose in the first place.
Many plants that thrive in crystal soil are hydroculture plants. For example, many foliage plants that like shade and humidity are the most suitable to grow in crystal soil or to root in water. And here are some examples.
Continue reading Suitable Plants for Crystal Soil & Hydroculture
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