Tomatoes are beginning to trickle in from the garden. I want basil to go with it! But my basil plants are a whopping 1-2" high right now. We looked at the local grocer. Of the two stores in town, one didn't carry fresh basil, and the other had a tiny, skinny box of organic basil for $3. Three bucks for about 10 basil leaves? [gasp, hyperventilate, preparing to rant...]
We asked one of the employees, "Is there any non-organic basil? The organic is a bit pricey." No, they didn't carry any other brands, but they carried live kitchen herbs, including basil. Wow! I bought a pot of basil and a pot of rosemary. Even if the basil didn't grow, even if all I harvested was what was on the plant that very day, it was still twice as much fresh basil for a smaller price than that expensive little boxful.
The basil is doing great. The rosemary has dried up and looks pitiful. But if I can make this work, it may mean basil and fresh cilantro through the winter. It's a 3x3x3" container (with holes in the bottom) with several basil plants growing in it, and it sits on a dish. The instructions say to keep snipping off the tops of plants to harvest leaves, and to keep water in the saucer/bowl so that the soil soaks up the moisture.
Huh. I always was pulling leaves off the sides of my herbs. I guess I should've been chopping their tops off. Well, this is good to know, whether for inside or outside herbs.
Basil on my sandwich tomorrow!
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Evan and I just picked up a basil plant this week for the same reason. $3 for a little box is just silly. What's really bothering me this year is that, when I want zucchini, I have pay $.99/lb for it. It's unnatural. No one in the midwest should have to buy zucchini in the Summer. :o) I can't wait to be in the position to have a garden, again.
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