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I am no longer the Angel of Death for plants!
After a recent tip that the smell of basil is a natural repellent to flies, I decided that my kitchen could really use a little green while I worked on the craft room painting project. While at the store, I purchased a cute little planter and three varieties of basil: purple, sweet, and ??? (- I’ve already forgotten!). Following the directions on the back of the plant packets, I planted the seeds approximately 1/8 of an inch below the top of the soil and watered it just enough to make the top soil damp. I placed the planter on the kitchen windowsill and walked away (and snapped a quick fuzzy photo).
A last-ditch effort of moving the planter changed my fate. The kitchen faces the backyard, which I realized is too covered in trees to receive enough sunlight for a sun-loving plant like basil. By moving it to the front porch, it took only two more days to finally breathe a sigh of relief … is that green I see?
Yes! Success! Woo hoo! It’s only a teeny tiny little victory, but to anyone who has ever accomplished a teeny tiny victory for the first time (this is for all you shoe-tying five-year-olds out there!), it was a fun highlight to my otherwise vanilla day. After years of killing perfectly healthy plants, I finally succeeded in making a plant grow. One more thing I can cross of my list of new home ownership. :)
Congrats on the germination of your basil–the leaves are beautiful, and yum! the taste is divine.
If I may offer a wee hint: now that they are lovely and sprouty, it's time to thin out your basil babies a bit. I would use tweezers or little scissors to cut out some of them so there is good air circulation around your strongest seedlings. Pulling disturbs the soil around the ones you want to keep. Maybe leave 8-10 plants altogether. As they grow (in a few weeks), pinch off the growing tips and you'll get bushy plants. When the flowers form, pinch them off too.
I love basil. It's also a great pregnancy indicator. When the smell of basil makes me feel ill, I've got a bun in the oven.
Thanks for the tip, Jan! I guess that means I've got to limit our guests for a little while – at least 4 of our friends are preggo at the moment (I think it's something in the water). I'd hate to get them sick just by walking through the front door!
AWE some!! I know that feeling when something actually cooperates and sprouts. Good for you on giving it a whirl! I sure like that little area you have it in, so cute.
Glad GD helped to inspire you!
Donna
Thanks for the tip! I definitely want to try this. Great post too!
Blessings,
Debbie
Love the planter~!
Funny post. But I can totally relate. Oh, I have been able to grow things, but for every one that lives, about 20 have given their life in my green thumb pursuit. And thanks for the tip about Basil & flies. I'm going to now how to try & grow my own.
I never knew that about flies! I contemplated attempting to grow my own, but it just so happens that our dog is also a natural fly killer, too – he's got a black belt in the art of fly killing (and eating!). :)
Congrats on actually growing something! I, too, have a mostly black thumb – I've even killed bamboo before (a grass that's really easy to keep alive.. lol).
~Chelsea
I, too, have somewhat of a brown thumb, so I can understand your excitement about this!! Maybe I should give basil a try… that planter is cute!