I've never grown borage before, but I should have guessed from the larger seed size that the plant wasn't one of those slow-growing herbs. While thyme, oregano, and chamomile planted in the middle of February are still so tiny that you can hardly imagine them growing out of their starter cells, the borage planted ten days later seemed to be too big for its home as soon as the cotyledons emerged. Time to pot up!

I like to keep the nutrient levels very low in my seed-starting trays to get the babies to work on roots while also minimizing problematic soil fungi. But bigger pots means it's time to mix in well-rotted horse manure along with the stump dirt or potting soil, at a ratio of one to one. A friend of Mark's introduced the idea of potting up into plastic cups with holes drilled in the bottom, which is a great innovation since the pots are cheap and you're able to keep an eye on root growth. I have a feeling our borage will require yet one more round of potting up before we're allowed to set them out in the middle of May, and the clear pots will help me ensure they don't grow root bound in the interim.

Technical note: Some of you probably noticed we were unable to make new posts for the last 24 hours. I'm afraid that comments you made during that time period may have been lost --- sorry! I think I got to read them all, at least, although I'm especially sorry that Brandy's comment about placenta can't be shared with the world....