viability XI

another of the zea mexicanan seeds the coach returned to me has come along far enough in root development ( first photo ) to be planted ( second photo )...that's two plants of that particular strain of annual teosinte joining the other six under the light ( third photo )...eight plants in all..although i have some doubts about the long-term survival of at least one...it has already fallen over...as a counterpoint to that two of the northern tepehuan teosinte plants grown from 2012 seed from native seed search have deployed third leaves ( fourth and fifth photos )...an encouraging sign as they are investing energy in leaf production and feeding the roots rather than growing taller...once again, a broader spectrum light may be the key...the last photo is today's morning shot of the scorzonera...the curlicues are almost straightened out and the plant id=s nicely green...perhaps a basement root...the harvesting and processing of these roots isn't complicated but from what i have read it is something of a pain...the roots contain a natural latex and are fragile...broken roots become sticky ( how sticky and how messy will only be learned empirically )...and the peels are allegedly bitter...but the recommendation is to peel them after boiling for twenty-five to thirty minutes...because of the sticky latex business again...one hopes the flavor is good if not exquisite...not quite as complex a process as the andean root crop maaca...but i don't have piles of sheep manure to grow it in so i doubt we will have a direct comparison...more zea morphology in a bit..after the sun comes up.