We've never had such a good summer for basil. Here is some growing in a pot on our east-facing terrace.
There are actually three pots of basil on the terrace. Walt bought the seedlings from a vendor at the Saturday-morning open-air market in Saint-Aignan. The black basil has about the same taste as the green, and both are really good this year.
Here is some basil growing in the vegetable garden. We've almost never had luck with it planted out there. These healthy plants are a testament to the strangely hot and dry weather we're having this summer, and to Walt's daily watering. Basil loves heat.
So now we need tomatoes. They are growing, but it seems like the weather might be too hot and dry for them. Maybe we'll have a bumper crop toward the end of the month, or in September.
Here are the first tomatoes from the 2019 garden. Walt picked them yesterday. They seem very small. We haven't tasted them yet. Maybe today...
Well I would love to know your basil secret. I have never had luck with it. I was guessing it is one of those plants that likes to be in the ground rather than in a pot, but your potted ones look sop healthy.
ReplyDeleteHi D&D, In Southern France, people grow basil in pots on their windowsills. Here are two links, one in French and one in English on how to grow basil. The French site tries to be witty; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
DeleteFor some reason unknown to me, the links do not seem to work; just copy this in your browser:
Delete5 raisons pour lesquelles votre basilic ne tient pas !
Tips for Growing Basil in Containers
The advice seems to be: water the basil enough but not too much. Give it a lot of sunshine but not too much. Give it a good amount of heat but not too much. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks chm for the link and Ken, yes I guess it's touch and go. I have a green thumb but not with basil! Your telling me it's a Goldilocks plant...everything needs to be "just right."
DeleteI love seeing and smelling basil. I love the herbs that grow wild in Provence, too. My granddaughter loves to find and smell rosemary. I have the best luck with my flowers that face east.
ReplyDeleteWe had basil pop up one year as a volunteer plant, from seeds that had spilled over from the hanging pot the year before -- best year of basil ever.
ReplyDeleteI grow basil every year in my community garden plot. Some years it's been good, some not so good. This year it's fantastic, after a slow start due to a cool, rainy Spring. It's been very warm (although not on the level of France this Summer) and sunny. I water often, but not too much.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me, time to go out and water the basil plants on the deck. I've been forgetting, and they're looking a bit crispy.
ReplyDelete