Visit My Food/Farm Blog
Nearly everyone dreams of moving to the country at some point, but few people are crazy enough to actually do it. I'm one of those few. In 1994, when I was 26, I sold my little bakery cafe, packed up 200 boxes of books & antiques, & waved goodbye to my native California. Armed with a very basic knowledge of gardening, an overenthusiastic sense of adventure, & lots of naivete, I ended up on a 280-acre, 140-year-old farm in the middle of nowhere. I became cook, gardener, shepherd, farmhand, vet, surrogate mom, wildlife expert, sheep midwife & animal undertaker. My prep school education & graphic design background were useless. I went from attending restaurant openings & gallery receptions to working the rural fire dept's BBQ booth at the crafts fair & munching fried pies at country auctions. Nine years ago I moved to an even more remote 240-acre farm which I share with sheep, chickens, 4 dogs, 9 cats, 5 very entertaining donkeys, & one really well fed farmguy. My life revolves around food.
Labels: basil
posted by Farmgirl Susan at 10:48 PM
7 Comments:
Must remember to start new batch of basil seeds!! Thanks for the reminder!
LOVE the pic btw... Doesn't it make you just want to sit there, looking all dreamy eyed at those basil plants all day, occasionally brushing your hand over their tops to release the smell?
I just tossed some watermelon seedlings, who am I kidding trying to grow watermelon around here?
My basil is going nuts and I'm going to have to plant more because it's going to try to bolt before tomato canning time.
I'm going to have my garden at your place. Here it is June 26 and I'm still dreaming. It will be just like going outside for me and it has been in my head for so long I'm so glad I fell upon your garden. I'm going to enjoy it so much! And if my picture shows up here, it's not me, it's another dream.
I wish my basil looked so good! Mine hasn't grown much since I planted it despite getting plenty of sun.
How do you do it? Please share your secret...
Bruno
someone is eating my basil - can't figure out who - any ideas?
Hi Jeph,
That's what I should do--grow successive basil plantings. Hmmm. Looks like I'm doing it by default this year, LOL.
Yes, this photo definitely makes me want to sit there all day. : )
Hi Steven,
Just what I was thinking yesterday when I saw how big my basil is--no way it's going to be around by the time the tomatoes are ripe. Oh! But I have all these unplanted seedlings still (duh). Geez. Must be too much sun or something--I'm totally losing my mind.
Watermelon? Why? : )
I used to grow the most incredible cantaloupes when I first moved to Missouri, but after the first few years the squash bugs kept killing off the plants before I could get any fruit. Didn't stop me from trying over and over and buying fancy French melon seeds. I think I've turned a corner, though--no melon seeds bought or planted this year. I wonder if that would be considered (mental) progress or simply admitting failure, LOL.
Hi Sisumama,
That's the beauty of blogs--somebody else does all of the gardening/cooking/whatever, and we get to enjoy it. : )
Hi Bruno,
Hmmm. Unfortunately I have no basil growing secret. For some reason it is one of those things that does consistently well for me in the garden. I don't know why yours isn't growing, especially if it's getting plenty of sun.
What is interesting is that last year I posted a photo of basil on Farmgirl Fare (click here) and several people said that they had tons of trouble growing decent basil, too. I have no explanation. I figured it did well for everyone.
Of course there's one thing I know helps everything I grow--sheep manure! : )
Hi Linda,
Someone is eating your basil? The nerve of them. : ) Who it is would depend on how big the bites are. For example, are there lots of little holes in the leaves--then it might be some kind of worm or flea beetles. If you can practically see teeth marks, I'd blame something larger like a rabbit or a deer or your neighbor. Funny, I was just thinking this morning that it's so nice the deer don't like basil, but then I realized they probably just haven't gotten to it yet.
Anybody else have trouble with something eating their basil?
What a fabulous blog! I found you on a search to find out what's been eating my basil, and am now bookmarking your site.
Yes, something is eating my basil--in my case, basil seedlings (they're about 1 inch high now). Only a few have survived the constant munching of something very small. I'm curious, too...though I've sowed more seeds and nothing's eating my tiny tiny germination seedlings...yet.
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