I have not used all of the space in my garden plot, but that is my goal. I always intended to add basil, but could not find the varieties I wanted in a large enough quantity. I decided to root my own by cutting the basil plants that are at my house. For every one stem I cut, two grow in its place — whether I’m harvesting (for pesto or drying for later use) or making cuttings to transplant, it’s a win-win situation for me and the parent plant.
Here are three cuttings that I took last week:
I store basil this way, too, which I learned from my former CSA. (Now called Wabi-Sabi Farm) I prefer keeping my stems in a bottle or jar over keeping them in refrigerated plastic. It seems more natural, and the plastic bags or boxes cause the leaves to get icky-moist and discolored.
After a couple days of rain, my basil looks good in the ground. Before I started the basil though, this package arrived:
I was in dire need of spare equipment. Spares make it easier for me to move frames around. They also give me something to swap when something needs to be repaired.