jgourlay - 8-9-2008 at 06:18
When I was a kid, I always tried growing crystals. I always succeeded, but it was a struggle with "small" results.
Now I'm older and passing the crystal growing onto my kids. We're doing the standards: copper sulfphate, alum, epsom salts, etc.
It's been gangbusters! The simple ability of adults to 1. follow directions, and 2. adjust to circumstances intelligently make a huge difference.
I've got my old 9-12 year old notebook with measured and sketched examples. The biggest Copper Sulphate crystal I ever had measured 3/4 long tip to
long tip and had lots of parasitics.
The other day, I grew a beautiful 3" long tip to tip sample with little problem. Ditto success for alum.
And I've got my son helping: measuring, stirring, weighing, etc.
kclo4 - 8-9-2008 at 16:24
Well that is very cool! You should see how big you can really get those copper sulfate crystals. I grew one that is probably about 1" long, and then I
figured that was good enough.
I think large crystals make nice decorations, don't you?