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

It is so easy to repot house plants that are planted in crystal soil. It’s dirt-free, pest-free.  And the soft, jello-like texture of the crystal soil beads makes cleaning the roots without breaking them a very simple task

I decided to keep only these 3 magic beans.

I have repotted my magic beans in plastic containers and put them outside my balcony.

And from what I have observed so far, although the magic beans in the three smaller containers are thriving, those magic beans that are planted in the fishbowl shaped container are not doing well at all. Instead of growing their stems and first leaves, they spent their energy growing their roots, twisting around the seeds and getting all wild…

It appears that, when growing the magic beans with crystal soil, it is not suitable to use a big container. Unlike regular soil, crystal soil can be quite slippery and slide around quite freely.

In a big container, where the roots of the magic bean cannot easily find and grab onto a solid surface, the roots will keep on growing and growing, until the seed gets all exhausted one day and die in the soil…

Some of my magic beans have emerged from the crystal soil since Day 7.  This is the day right after I dug out my magic beans and planted them on the top layer of the crystal soil once I found that I might have planted the seeds too deep (check post: Magic Bean Day 6 – Some New Colors for My Crystal Soil). Lucky that I have done so early enough, else, my magic beans might have exhausted themselves and die in the crystal soil.

Apparently, the magic beans in this container are doing not as well as those in other containers. While pushing the seeds too deep into the crystal soil is a problem that causes some magic beans to grow better than others, I am suspecting that the size and shape of the container maybe another major factor of weak, unhealthy seedlings.

All of my magic beans already have their roots emerged from their red seed coats. In fact, some of the roots have already grown very long and are getting quite wild – twisting and wrapping around the seeds. For the past two days, I probably had kept my magic beans too deep into the crystal soil. Even though, unlike normal soil, crystal soil allows sunlight to penetrate through, giving the magic beans a better condition for germination, the magic beans were too deep in the crystal soil that instead of spending their energy on pushing their seed leaves from the crystal soil, the magic beans had spent all their energy on growing roots.

Well, thinking in the positive side, at least I found this out soon enough that I could save a few of these magic beans just in time (hopefully). Thanks to the crystal soil. They make it easy for me to check on my magic beans. I can simply pick up a magic bean from the crystal soil, observe it, and stick it back into the crystal beads. It’s simple. It’s easy. And it’s dirt free too!

So now, I just put my magic beans on the very top layer of the crystal soil; let them partly covered with the crystal beads.

I am crossing my fingers now.

These beans are quite big, around 2-3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, engraved with all kind of random messages from “I love you” to “Come on”, from “Happy” to a design of a patch of grass. Although it is not indicated in any of the websites that are selling the beans, I believe these are Canavalia gladiatas (aka sword bean or jack bean).

I am curious how well the beans can grow in crystal soil. So, instead of normal soil, I have planted the beans in four different containers with crystal soil instead.

Another thing that I really want to find out is the look of the beans when they break the surface. Will the message still be visible as the bean grows? Even though the online seller, whom I have bought the beans from, shows a photo of a bean that has grown a few inch from the soil with the message clearly shown, I am a bit doubtful since the beans I received have a red outer shell but the one in the photo does not.

I wonder whether the message on my beans will still be there as the beans grow and get lose from their red outer shell.

Anyways, I have planted the beans a few days ago. I will take photos and keep reporting the latest news of my magic beans. Cheers!

I water my Buddhist pine whenever I see that too much of its roots is not covered by the crystal soil beads.

I just add more water and let the crystal soil beads absorb as much as they want.  Then after some time (depends on the size of container), I will drain out the excess water to avoid overwatering, which can lead to root rot problems and unpleasant odor.

After watered

Back to the main page – What is Crystal Soil?

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.

Chlorophytum (Spider Plant)
Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)
Philodendron
Scindapus (Pothos)
Hedera (Ivy)
Peace Lily
Caladium
Dracaena (Dragon Plant)
Nephthytis (White Butterfly Nephthytis, Arrowhead Vine)
Maranta (Prayer Plant)
Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen)
Peperonia
Ferns

Plants such as cacti, succulents, and orchids are not recommended. And while some crystal soil suppliers say that bromeliad is suitable to be grown in crystal soil, it is a doubtful claim, for I have an impression that bromeliad doesn’t like as much water as the crystal soil provides.

Maybe let me experiment with it and tell you later

Here is a more comprehensive list of suitable houseplants for indoor gardening (with photos) – Suitable Plants for Indoor Gardening

Back to the page – What is Crystal Soil?
Back to the page – Hydroculture – Clean, Easy, and Simple!