All posts filed under: basil

The Basil 🌿 has Sprouted!

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WE DID IT!  WE HAVE ACHIEVED SPROUTYNESS!!!! Now What????? If you have made it this far, you might be wondering what to do next to keep your basil babies alive.  Here’s a short list of things to do to keep them going. Remove your seedlings from the top of the fridge once they begin to sprout Reduce the number of times you spritz your seedlings to once a day, and gradually taper down to every other day, and then just start watering them with a watering can as the soil starts to dry on the surface. Why?Seeds need to be kept moist constantly until they sprout, then you want to gradually reduce the amount of water you give them to avoid causing them to rot or suffocate. This could be another separate article! Take the set up to a warm, sunny room, away from heat vents(at least 5 feet away) I have mine sitting on the top shelf of a bakers rack that sits in my sunny foyer. Begin removing the clear lid from the …

Seed Starting Basics

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We Planted Our Basil! We Did It! Finally, after talking about it, we made some time to plant a few basil seeds.  It’s so easy to put it off, and then 3 weeks have passed by and still no seeds planted!  I try not to stress too much about it, because I know I can always buy a plant at the garden center if I get behind.  The point of all of this is to have fun and learn something anyway right? The Case of the Missing Basil Seed So I was all ready to get started.  I went to the basement, found the wooden box that we keep all of our seed packets in.  I began digging, and digging…..and digging some more. I am now the proverbial squirrel in search of the nut! No luck.  No basil seed to be found!  “I could have sworn I still had some of that basil seed!”  I did find about 3 packages of Arugula seed, and a bazillion packages of Zinnias and other garden flowers, tomato, pepper, …

How to Collect Basil Seeds From Your Garden

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Why collect seeds? I say why not?  Isn’t it kind of cool to save a buck or two and learn something with your kids at the same time?  Plus, you can use those saved bucks to go buy some ice cream or a cup of coffee for $3 and not feel so guilty! “I think it’s important for us and our children to know that it is possible to find something that looks dead and worthless, and know that underneath that withered exterior, lies the key to something beautiful and full of life that is fragrant, nourishing, and even if you don’t like to eat it, is still fun to scratch and sniff! ”  – Marie Stephens Aside from the idea that you can eventually eat the basil that emerges from these adorable little onyx colored seeds, do you see the beautiful metaphor about life that you can teach to your little ones?  Collecting seeds and being able to grow them on is a great lesson for that old saying “Never judge a book by …

Self Watering Seed Starting Kits

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I found something interesting today related to seed starting.  The older I get, the more I think I should simplify. I was looking around on line for some cool indoor containers that would be fun to grow basil seeds and found this cute little kit.  It seems a bit pricey, but it looks sleek and contained. This unit is self contained and includes: a grow light a self watering system with water reservoir cartridges of special soil with seeds already embedded in them (evidently these are re-usable)   How it works: According to the video, you pop in a pre-planted seed thingy that has the perfect amount of nutrients, special soil, etc. all in a cartridge of sorts. pop in a cartridge, fill a reservoir with water, and plug it in. Self watering seeds are a go.   Who Could Benefit from a Product Like This: It could potentially be awesome if you are one of those crazy busy people who wants fresh basil, but can’t handle one more thing to remember to take care …

I Garden Because I Can….Pun Intended

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Why do you like gardening? This is a poem I wrote about what gardening means to me, during the summer of 2012, when my family and I took on a huge garden plot…we planted around 100 tomato plants, thinking only a few would survive…but almost all of them did! I was in over my head, and it was so much work, but it was an experience I’ll never forget! Since then, I have taken on much smaller gardens, only planting about 6 tomatoes a year.