FREE – Sea Monkeys at Metropolitan Market

[christopherboffoli]

For a while now I have been buying live sweet basil plants from the produce department at Metropolitan Market. It doesn’t seem to do very well in my garden and I use enough of it to justify buying the live, hydroponically-grown plants with my groceries.

There is a little root ball attached to the basil with a bit of nutrient-rich peat. I stick it in a small glass vase, put it by the window and I have fresh basil available whenever I need it.

Recently I received a bonus buy with my latest live basil purchase. When topping off the water I noticed a bunch of really tiny white specks darting around in the vase. Under magnification these little guys looked curiously like the Sea Monkeys that my mom would never let me buy when I was a kid.

I’ve posted some highly magnified video of these little buggers here:

http://www.vimeo.com/5357517

Until someone else offers a definitive answer as to what they are I’m calling them Sea Monkeys!

Share This

[herongrrrl]

IIRC, “real” Sea Monkeys are brine shrimp, similar but not the same as what you’ve got there. Looks like you’ve got a healthy population of daphnia in your basil roots; they are a little crustacean that is common in pond water. Enjoy your new pets! :)

Share This

[christopherboffoli]

Nicely done herongrrl! Thanks for the information. I guess the hothouse in British Columbia where they grow the basil must use some kind of pond water for irrigation.

Share This

[miws]

Christopher, maybe those were zillions of Sea Monkey eggs all over your car? ;-)

Mike

Share This

[alki_2008]

Invasion of the Sea Monkeys…or should we call them Pond Monkeys?

Yeah, they don’t seem to move the way the Sea Monkeys did…so must not be brine shrimp.

Share This

[jwws]

Hey Christopher,

I bought the live basil and potted it in a pot in my kitchen and it’s thriving – have had the same plant for over 4 weeks, and I use lots of basil too. Also I grow basil from seed in a pot on my 2nd floor deck (keeps slugs away) – it’s a lot cheaper than the $3.99 bunches at Met Market.

Share This

[christopherboffoli]

jwws: I had always heard that the hydroponic basil doesn’t grow well in soil. In fact, the instructions on the package recommend against planting it in the garden.

When I lived in South Carolina I could grow basil as tall as I am. But out here my mountain basil seems to do much better than the sweet variety.

Share This

[Author]

Posts