Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Basilarium

I have been out of the blogosphere for far too long. I will not bore you with excuses but suffice to say these two things: 1) kidney stones are not recommended, it was the most painful thing I have ever encountered and I've had two children; 2) I am pregnant again. Both of the above were discovered coincidentally and each provided complications to the other. But it hasn't been all about me...the Bean has had to have an operation on her foot after getting an infected splinter which turned into a huge abcess, and that took good month to heal.

But we are all well again, and I'm through the horrid first trimester, so let's get back to business!

Of course I have not been neglecting the little projects, but they have been more in dribs and drabs. So I will be reporting them in a similar fashion. First up is the Basilarium.

I have had trouble growing basil successfully outside in this country. Firstly the slugs and snails just can't get enough of the stuff, and secondly any sign of cold the the whole thing karks it. I've had this old bottle garden hanging around for a few years. I inherited it from my sister when she emigrated, and much as I love it, it just doesn't mix too well with the toddlers. Bug in particular thought it was a fantastic repository for anything from toys to clean, wet washing, so I put it to the side some time ago. I'd acquired 5 or so basil seedlings of mixed variety from a charity stall in Epsom, and decided this might be the perfect match!

Sadly I didn't photograph the rather tiny seedlings in situ, but here's the result 4 weeks later:


Marvellous! I don't even have to water them that much as the bottle is lovely and humid. The only downside is that harvesting is relatively difficult. The bug delights in adding a bit of soil every so often with her mini-trowel, but the basil doesn't seem to mind.

I made some lovely pesto with this lot and can't wait for the re-growth.

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