[gardeners] Basil
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 22 Sep 1997 13:13:40 -0500 (CDT)
Harvested about a peck of basil leaves today and am in the process of drying
them in the old dehydrator. Have to do them outside as the wife starts
tearing up and sneezing from the smell of them. The variety I'm growing,
Mammoth, from Johnny's Seeds has just now started to set buds. I have cut
them back from 24 to 30 inches to 4 to 6 inches about 5 times since spring
and have approximately 2 gallons of crushed, dried leaves in containers now.
Think I will grow that variety again next year.
The fall cucumber crop is setting fruit now, lots and lots of bumblebees and
mason bees working the flowers over. Eggplant still producing a little and
the peppers are still knocking themselves out. I have one serrano marked to
pot and bring in when, or if, it gets cold and will transplant a new limb
off the one huge Longhorn plant we have growing. That Longhorn is now over 4
feet tall and loaded with peppers. I have harvested two dead-ripe ones for
seed and have 4 more bagged for seed peppers. Picked about 25 peppers off
the thing this morning and there's probably more than 100 more coming on.
The "trunk" of this plant is about 2 inches in diameter. Planted the thing
directly in the ground in May as an after thought. What's happening elsewhere?
George