Becky's T-Blog

Sunday, July 16, 2006

The Basil that Lived

I have a love-hate relationship with fresh basil. You know, the kind that comes in it's own little plant pot. I see it on the shelf in Tescos and think "mmmm, basil, great for pizzas and pasta and stuff."

So I buy it, take it home, snip a few bits off for my tea, and watch it die.

I am the Dr. Harold Shipman of herb care.

Except this one. I was going away for a long weekend, so as an experiment I stuck the pot in half a sinkful of water, thinking it would probably drown.

But it thrived. So I keep it constantly in a big bowl of water and it loves it. It's even survived several prunings for various pasta dishes.

You're probably saying "yeah Becky, that's how you keep basil, everyone knows that."

Actually you're probably saying "Worst. Blog. Post. Ever."

Hell, I needed something to replace that last blog entry. :-)

Labels: photos

Jane Don't forget to snip off the flower heads before they bloom, that will keep it going for longer as well.

Joanna We have a little herb patch in the corner of our garden, planted a few of these. Mint, Basil etc .. Only plants I dont seem to kill :-)

Siobhan Curran Anyone any good with parsley? I planted some in the yard and all it's done is grow really long stems with flowers on them.

Not what you want really. :-\

Miss K This is actually a very good blog post - I always wondered how to keep the buggers alive.

It's much more interesting than my last post anyway.

Steph Angel Basic rule for most herbs is... Give them bucket fulls of water & (importantly) pick them on a regular basis, it encourages more growth.

The 2 exceptions are...

Mint - Do what the f#@k you like with it, it would probably survive the holocaust!!!

Coriander - It will die... Don't waste your time or money!!!

Natalie Most definitely herbs are worth your time. Basil, oregano, and especially rosemary are soo much better fresh. Just give them buckets of water. They don't like this southern US heat too well....

thribble I love you soooo much. I've killed masses of the stuff since coming to Oz, and leaving my herb garden behind. Having moved to a 1st floor flat, herb garden isn't an option - it's just a graveyard! Off to buy more basil and a bucket.

PaulaJayne Was the Basil Faulty???

Isobel Basil can be a very vain and greedy plant: it loves full exposure (to the sun),it drinks a lot, and really likes being fed.

Parsley is a biennial: when it eventualy germinates it will grow quite well for the first year, storing energy in it's root. In it's second year all that energy is used for reproduction. So plant some every year and remove any incipient flower heads. Parsley is related to carrots, parsnips, angelica, coriander, and... er... hemlock. Just remember what happened to Socrates.

Pete Johns Thribble's right, we have pots of dead basil on our balcony. It usually dies shortly after I put a bit in the ratatouille!

Alan Titchmarsh Stuff the gardening, can we have more tranny related posts please :D

Charlee Brown Took me ages to get a basil plant to live. My Mother, who really doesn't have green fingers, revived mine by mistake by it falling in the sink. So that's how I learnt that lesson.

I do however, REALLY, want to know how to keep the coriander alive. And out of interest, when I once asked in Tesco, they said "they're not suppose to last you know" and I questioned why they called them "living herbs" they pointed out that they were alive til I got them home 8-)

Sirena I hear Basil was a Siberian hamster.

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