Sunday, March 1, 2009

I'm on a killing spree

There's something very attractive to me about growing and using your own fresh herbs. I've always dreamed of having one of those cute windowsill mini gardens full of herbs to use each night. But, in light of recent events, this dream is fading fast, so I need your help.

I bought a potted basil plant at Target last week for 2 bucks. It looked something like this:

And it smelled like heaven. A week passes. Now it looks something like this:


And by "something like," I mean "probably even worse than" since I took that photo half an hour ago. Is our home really so bad that plants try to kill themselves just to escape it? Well I've got news for you, basil plant. You're sticking around as long as I can still puree you into pesto. Those dried leaves don't scare me. The way I figure it, I get fresh AND dried basil all in one plant.

But in the meantime, if any of you gardening gurus have figured out the right water : sunlight ratio for basil (or any plant, for that matter), send me a line. I'd appreciate it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I grow it in my garden - but I live in Vegas! All I know is that it likes a lot of sunlight and needs water daily. Good luck!

Kristen said...

I am a major black thumb. I can't even keep a cactus alive--not exaggerating. but I would try extra hard for a pot of basil...

lease said...

I feel for you. When I worked at ancestry mag, they gave everyone in the company little bamboo plants. Mine promptly turned into a hard brown stick while everyone else's grew over a foot in weeks.

Pathetic.

Dana said...

I have always wanted to have a windowsill garden with fresh herbs, too! My major problem is that I don't have a kitchen with a windowsill. I have to grow it outside like Amy. ( "Hi" Amy!!) :o) Fun facts: Did you know that in Mexico, basil symbolizes love and they used to carry it in their pockets in the hopes that the one they love will return their love forever? In Romania if a man put basil in your pocket, you were officially engaged!