I'm hopeless when it comes to indoor plants...and some outdoor plants. I have what I have affectionately termed the "black thumb," which is, by my estimate, the exact opposite of the green thumb that allows human beings much more awesome than myself to grow plants with confidence and ease. It's unfortunate, really, because of how much I love cooking with fresh herbs - I want to be one of those people who has an herb garden outside in the summer, and a little one inside in the winter. I've tried and failed time and time again, and finally just resigned myself to purchasing them from other folks. Those with different colored thumbs than mine.
In the winter, when I can't indulge my Saturday morning City Market wanderings for those fresh herbs, things get a little bleak. I really hate spending the cash for those tiny plastic coffins that they sell the fresh herbs in at the supermarket. The ones I pick end up being half-rotten and go from bad to worse quicker in the refrigerator that I'd like. And I've always been intrigued by the beautiful aromatic Living Basil plants that I see at our Price Chopper, but do I have to keep it alive? Can I? That fresh sharp basil smell is its own selling point, but on the label (which I finally read) it read "CalAnn Farms" and" Locally Grown in Basehor, Kansas" and then the plant magically flew into my cart.
Now it's sitting on my kitchen counter. I'm keeping the roots moist, as directed, and keeping my brain busy trying to figure out how to best use my new favorite thing. Fresh pesto in January while the temps outside are in the single digits? A chiffonade of basil in my scrambled eggs? Fresh basil on an open-faced toasted mozzarella sandwich? Yes. Yes. Yes.
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3 comments:
Oh hey! I too recently purchased one of those "locally grown in Basehor" bundles of live basil from Hen House! I potted it and almost immediately began to despair. It went from a beautiful, lush plant to limp and sad overnight. I took it to work to see if my plant-loving coworker could do anything with it, and so far it has begun to revive a little, although most of its leaves died and had to be trimmed off. So I see you wrote this about a week ago - how is yours doing? My coworker insists mine will pull through. If I have any amazing revelations, I'll pass them on to a fellow herb lover!
I didn't even attempt to plant it! I just kept the roots moist in its little plastic sleeve and kept it on my counter top until I had used it all up. A couple of times it started to get droopy, but I watered it and it perked right back up.
If you look at the FAQ on their site, they don't guarantee that transplanting it will work - it's more of a cut herb alternative, which worked really well for me!!
its not meant to be planted at all. its to be used and cut off of. how would they keeps selling if you planted it? planting hurts business
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