What to do with that homegrown basil?

Last month, I planted some basil seeds in a container. It sprouted in two days. Now, I have lots of little basil plants on their way to becoming LOTS of basil. I love basil for cooking, so I have no doubt I'll have plenty of excuses to use it. The question is, what to do when I need to harvest it, but can't use it right away. It's a bad idea to let Basil flower and go to seed, as it diminishes the flavor.

Here are some links to interesting ideas for preserving extra basil:

Freeze it.

Dry it.

Make Pesto.

When to plant veggies.

Some resources:

Harris County Vegetable Gardening Guide (.pdf)

Lazy Gardener's Guide by Brenda Beust Smith.--Straightforward, simple, month-by month gardening tasks and planting tips. I bought my copy at the Urban Harvest office in Houston.

Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston, by Bob Randall---If you are serious about having your own veggies, this book is AMAZING!

UrbanHarvest.org

A first time for everything.

The first tropical storm I have ever experienced is approaching. We'll see what happens. :)

"True love and Homegrown Tomatoes"

Homegrown Tomatoes
by Guy Clark (click here to hear him sing the entire song)



Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with egss, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the site put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes


To hear John Denver sing this song, check out the last two minutes of this YouTube video.

Cherimoya

Had a little discussion with my grandfather today about the two Cherimoya trees he has growing in his Southern California garden. He says he grew them from seeds he obtained from fruit purchased in a market.

It would seem that these may not be as hard to grow as some of my reading has led me to believe. I had heard that the only way to get these things to pollinate is to do it oneself.

Now, If I could just find someplace around here that sells cherimoyas, I could get myself some seeds and a little treat all in one!

Eugenia Aggregata--the saga continues

I spoke to somebody today who knows more about Eugenia aggregata (Cherry of the Rio Grande) than I do. She says the seeds I planted several weeks back may take up to a year to sprout. She says that she has found this to often be the case when she has tried to sprout woody, tropical seeds.

That would explain why nothing seems to have happened yet.


Read the rest of my Eugenia Aggregata posts.