So let me start out by saying I am an animal person. At one point during a party I can be found sitting on the floor with the family dog, who is usually better company than most of the party guests. I have in the past killed both ivy and a cactus, too little and too much watering respectively. Almost all of the flowers/plants in my yard are perennials that were planted long ago by the previous owner. But I believe that I can learn.
So this year I planted a garden. Raised beds, organic compost, chicken wire gates all around. I picked out my veggies and herbs, made a map of where everything should go and started seeds in February. I assumed with my track record I would have a 75-85% kill rate and planted lots of seeds. When I transplanted them into the garden I had lots of tiny seedlings to pick from. So taking into account my high kill rate I planted 5 basil plants, figuring I would get one nice one – maybe. Well its a funny thing but basil likes organic compost in direct sunlight. In fact it’s quite fond of it. All five grew. And grew.
Now basil is what I like to call an “F -you” kind of plant. You snip a bit to make some pesto, excited for your first batch. It says ‘f-you’ I will grow bigger! So simple math will give us this:
5 basil plants + lots of organic compost + harvested regularly = More basil than you can ever figure out what to do with.
This is one harvest where I took less than a third off each plant. Yes it takes up a large portion of my counter.
This is what the plants looked like AFTER the above was harvested. These are about 2 ft high. (Those boards are 2x6s).
I have given it away. The BF eats basil with fresh mozzarella and our tomatoes (you will here about those soon) a lot. I have made batches and frozen pesto in ice cube trays so I will be set for the winter. I have made this lovely little shrimp and broccoli many, many times.
The funny part of this whole thing is I was never a big pesto fan to begin with. I am a cream sauce girl all the way.
