FAQ

Seeds germinate, plants grow, bloom, fructify and finally produce seeds. Throughout this cycle, the plants are grown without any chemical fertilizer or pesticide and the crop is called organic or bio. The seeds produced in this way are organic, they can be identified by the AB label on the bags and packaging. Their cultivation is controlled by an independent body, Ecocert for Radishes and Capucine and my Organic mention is indicated on the bag and kit.

The plants in our regions are subject to the seasons. They must therefore anticipate periods of cold, intense heat and cold in order to be able to grow, flower and produce the seeds that will ensure the survival of the species during the periods that are favorable to them. All stages of their life, germination, flowering, fruiting, ripening, leaf fall, dormancy etc ... are controlled by hormonal balances. Because there are plant hormones.
In the wild bulbs spend autumn and winter in the ground. When they have experienced a certain number of cold hours, they “know” that spring is back and they are growing and blooming. Cold storage in the fridge has the same effect. By deceiving the bulbs, we talk about forced bulbs, horticulturists offer narcissus, daffodils, crocus ... to flower the house from autumn.
It is easy to notice that the mushrooms are sometimes colored but never green, they do not contain chlorophyll. This means that they are unable to photosynthesize and can grow in the dark, therefore. So they have to look for their food differently, they find it already ready in the soil humus.
For almost all cultivated plant species it is very simple. You need to bring little water but very regularly. The soil of a potted plant must have the consistency, texture and moisture of a wrung-out sponge. Do not water every day, only when the surface of the earth begins to dry and in a measured way. Too much water is bad for the plants because the roots can no longer breathe.
In the garden or in nature, the soil serves as a support for the plant to anchor itself by its roots. It also brings the mineral elements for its nutrition, and the water it retains, finally it must be sufficiently ventilated to let the gases circulate at the root level. The composition of a potting soil takes all these factors into account, and its components must achieve this balance. It’s always a matter of compromise.

Seeds germinate, plants grow, bloom, fructify and finally produce seeds. Throughout this cycle, the plants are grown without any chemical fertilizer or pesticide and the crop is called organic or bio. The seeds produced in this way are organic, they can be identified by the AB label on the bags and packaging.

Vermiculite is a natural mineral that under the effect of heat takes on a layered appearance, somewhat like mica. In horticulture, it is used to lighten the soils and aerate them. It is inert and does not provide any nutrient to the plants that would distort fertilizer inputs. Used at 25% in soil mixtures, it considerably improves the root hair of seedlings and cuttings. Its insulating properties make it also used in animal stores, especially for the breeding of reptiles.
Cats lick themselves constantly to clean and swallow a large amount of hair. Catnip allows them to regurgitate the hair balls in their digestive tract. That’s why even if your cat is not herbivore, it needs catnip regularly throughout the year.
Perlite is a natural rock, rich in silica. Heat treatment produces expanded perlite, in small white light porous grains. This insulation is also used in horticulture to reduce soil mixtures, such as vermiculite. But its white color is useful for pot cultivation because it reflects light under the leaves and promotes better photosynthesis. It is nutrient-inert.
The small pots of 5 cm in diameter of the mini-kits are usually only used for the first stage of the plant’s life, germination, and the first 15 days of the plant’s life. After this time, the plant must be repotted in a larger pot or placed in open ground.
There is the blond peat, the brown and the black peat, all three representing the increasingly advanced stages of decomposition of sphagnum, the kind of «mousses» that make up it and which have accumulated for millions of years in the bogs. The blond peat is very acidic and retains water like a sponge, it is used in special cases such as the cultivation of carnivorous plants.
Most of the time, the cat grass offered is a cereal, barley, wheat or rye, it is used to purge the cat. But there is another cat herb, Nepeta cataria, that cats like to rub against. It has euphoric and exciting properties for the matuses that remind them of the season of love. A small, legal and safe soft drug for the cat of the house.
With the sprouted seeds we leave the garden for the kitchen. In the first few hours after germination, seeds are rich in vitamins and growth factors, produced to help young seedlings grow out of seed until they can produce roots and draw their nutrients from the soil. Sprouts consumed between 12 hours and 2 days after germination are therefore a good nutrient for us.
This is normal. This dry ball waits for years in the desert areas of the globe waiting for rain. When it is watered, it opens, spreads out into a flat disc and reverdit. You can observe the phenomenon at home in 1 to 2 days by soaking its base in a saucer of water. When the drought returns, it closes and dries until the next time.
The flower is emblematic of the high alpine peaks, where it is perfectly adapted to the cold and UV, but it grows very well in plain, and everywhere else.

All plants in temperate regions, that is to say our own, follow the rhythm of the seasons, so they know winter. The seeds in the soil are exposed to cold and after a number of hours of accumulated cold, which varies according to the species, the seeds germinate. This germination can be caused by a passage to artificial wet cold, thus having good homogeneity in the brew. Since seeds were once laid in alternating layers of sand, we are still talking about stratification.

You can sow the exotic seeds indoors at any time of year by giving them 20 to 25°C heat. However, you have to wait until the risk of frost is removed, around May, before taking out the plants on your balcony or in your garden.
The range of exotic plant seeds offered by Radis and Capucine is mainly intended for pot cultivation, except in the Mediterranean region where many species can be planted in the garden. So yes, you can grow a baobab in Burgundy and a coffee tree in Savoy. In pots, and indoors, warm and with direct sun exposure in a sunny veranda. Consider taking the plants out in summer.
It does not matter as long as the soil is moist over its entire height and that the excess water is emptied from the saucer. For seedlings it is essential to water the surface of the soil with a spray, only a fine rain avoids upsetting the seedlings and unmasking seeds.
Once installed in the garden, the strawberry can split itself, it does so almost by itself by emitting stolons along the soil and producing small plants on its periphery. But it can also be sown, you need a start at all, it is in particular a mode of multiplication common for the strawberry trees.
In the garden there is the cress, in specialized market gardeners, watercress and at home you can have fun growing cress. It is a small aromatic plant that has a pronounced flavor, a little spicy, you can shearing its fresh leaves to aromatize the raw. Pedagogically, it is very popular with children because its speed of germination and growth is lightning fast. In 24 to 48 hours all the seeds sprouted, in a week the leafy shoots are several centimeters high. Unbeatable !
When sowing, no matter what you do, you always use too many seeds, except for those that are large and can be caught individually. And since the seeds of the trade are always of good quality, they all sprout at the same time. The seedlings are too dense, young seedlings pressed against each other, you have to keep only one in place otherwise they compete for light and nutrition that does not benefit any and everything is ruined !
Place the tablet in a saucer and hydrate it by pouring water on it, it takes about two to three times its volume of water. It swells instantly. Dissolve it between your fingers to homogenize (it does not dirty the fingers or clothes) and use it to fill the pots. Avoid the mistake of first placing it in the pot and then watering it, otherwise there are always voids in the soil.
In our minds, tomato is round and red. But for centuries, there have been thousands of varieties, of all colors, sizes and shapes. The old gardeners know it well. No fear, all these tomatoes are classic vegetable garden.
This plant from warm countries, mainly in Africa, also grows in our temperate climates, in the south-west for example. It is sown like beans. The seed sprouts, the plant grows, and after fertilization it emits a long stylet that sinks underground. It sows the earth in some way. Peanuts, enclosed in their shells, grow underground between the roots.

With a high-pressure content Sensitive, Mimosa pudica is a small herbaceous plant of about 1 m in warm countries. In our country it is grown as an annual and it has smaller dimensions. To escape its predators but also to fight against episodes of drought or intense heat during the day, it closes its leaves. It is less visible and reduces its evaporation surface. A light touch triggers the mechanism instantly. It takes a few minutes to reopen.

The speed of germination should not be equated with the speed of growth of plants. If it takes decades to enjoy the shade of a parasol pine, it takes 8 to 10 days to germinate its seed. As with any plant, it is the freshness of the seeds that guarantees rapid and homogeneous germination.

The seed sprouts to give a plant that itself produces seeds to ensure continuity of the species. The cycle is carried out in a few months spread over a year, usually from March-April to September-October for annual. In annuals, the cycle is spread over two years, in autumn they stop growing, in spring they resume their growth, bloom and grow into seeds. This is the case of the carrot for example.
If we want to be rigorous, it is even 4 leaflets, because its leaf counts four. Next to the field clover, there is a 4-leaf clover, which belongs to the genus Oxalis, and which gives its four leaves at all times. And luck has nothing to do with it. The first one spreads by seeds, the second by bulbs.

In a soil, fibers are added to retain the water and aerate the texture, a role usually played by peat. Outside the bogs are threatened ecosystems because they are irreplaceable, they take millions of years to form. Coconut soil is a good alternative. The coconuts found in the market are naturally contained in a thick fibrous gangue. It is this envelope that provides the coconut fibers, they are washed, dried, compacted and sold under the name of coco soil. It can be raw or fertilized, as is the case of coconut earth pellets in Radis and Capucine products.

Place the tablet in a saucer and hydrate it by pouring water on it, it takes about two to three times its volume of water. It swells instantly. Dissolve it between your fingers to homogenize (it does not dirty the fingers or clothes) and use it to fill the pots. Avoid the mistake of putting it in the pot first and then watering it, otherwise there will always be voids in the soil."