The amaryllis bulb experiments having come to a successful conclusion at the office, a colleague gifted me a trio of hyacinth bulbs — which are currently sprouting in water, suspended on glass chips. I know this sounds pessimistic, but I’ve grown hyacinth before and never succeeded in raising anything but deformed or stunted flower heads* — all without the benefit of alcohol, not for the plants anyway.
With such low expectations of them blooming well I’ve prepared another experiment to see me through to the summer — freshwater biospheres in old preserving jars.
The biosphere picture above (one of two I started out with) is four months old at the time of this edit. The project was started in February 2008 and remains sealed. In June 2008 the snails have prevailed, even multiplied, but the ghost shrimp died off within the first two months.
slappHappe 