Fail

I’ve been delinquent in updating everyone on the status of my kitten chia.  I’m back on the wagon for now and should have some new pics up.  We’ve got some serious green chia going on.

Day Eight

Success!  I see fields of green…

Day Seven

 

*Photos Courtesy of Sheeva Ghassemi

Day Six

Meow!

Day Five

Like watching grass grow.

Most of the seeds have developed little sprouts as shown in the photo below.

I’m concerned that I don’t have enough seed coverage, so I’m fearing that it’ll look nothing like this:

Behind the Chia

The Chia Pet Story: How Do They Do It?

Since there isn’t any major growth breakthroughs yet, I thought I’d discuss the elaborate process that is required to bring a Chia Pet to life.

Chia Pets are handmade by artisans using techniques passed down from the Indians of ancient Mexico.  Each Chia Pet is sculpted from rich terra-cotta clay.  The multi-stage process takes several days for shaping, drying, kiln firing and finishing.

Chia (salvia hispanica) was popular among the Aztecs.  It was eaten as food and included in medicines.  Chia seeds were ground into flour and pressed for oil.

I don’t know if I believe all that, but it sounds nice.

How to Make a Unique Chia Pet: Apparently you can make your own, homemade Chia Pet using a woman’s nylon

Day Four

Unfortunately nothing super exciting, but it does look like a few of the seeds have stems growing from them, however, its not very visible. 

The box said 3 to 5 days and we are dangerously coming close to a breach of warranty here.

Day Three

As you can see the front of the kitten chia is seriously lacking in seed coverage. Also the tray fills up with water very quickly.

Day Two

After a long 24 hours (actually more like 18) the chia kitten was ready for seed implantation.

Gel-like paste of seeds

 

Chia Pet fully soaked

Step 3

Spread water-soaked Chia seeds on animal.

Beginning with a teaspoon

 

Having to spread seeds with my hands

 

Sticky Icky

 

It's a lot messier than the commercial made it look

Ready – Set – Grow!

Seeds should sprout in 3-5 days (we shall see)

Alright, so after that messy debacle it’s time to chart the Chia Pet’s progress.  

I’m supposed to keep the chia pet full of water (see hole) and make sure that it gets the appropriate sunlight.  

Hopefully the seeds take, if not we can always try again.

Day One

Step One

Soak clay kitten in water overnight (24 hours).

Kitten Chia Submerged in Water

 

Step Two

Mix 2 teaspoons of Chia Seeds and 1/4 cup of water.  Stir well to moisten al seeds.  Allows seeds to set for 24 hours.  The seeds will form a thick, gel-like paste which will help seeds adhere to your Chia Planter.

2 Teaspoons of Seeds mixed wit 1/4 cup of water to soak overnight

The Chia and seeds must be soaked for overnight before we can move on to the  spreading (ugh!).  The commercials make it seem so much easier, but hopefully  this will be gratifying.