Buy basil starts to get a jump start on spring!

This year we are forced to buy basil starts to get a jump start on the season.



We have been very busy and have not been able to find the time to get anything started.
Since fresh basil is one of our favorite cooking herbs we settled on buying a 6 pack of starts to get the ball rolling.

In the past we would have had numerous flats of genovese, opal, Thai and lemon basil already to the size of first harvest but with everything going on and with no practical greenhouse there is nothing started at all.

So a week ago we found ourselves at the regional market, Syracuse NY. Unfortunately the power went out the night before so with no alarm we slept in and we were late, and the market shuts down between 2 and 3 so we were luck to find anything at all.

And if that was not enough we were in a rush and did not stop by the ATM. We had about a dollar and a half in change. But the young lady behind the table was satisfied with that and we were happy to find at least something.

When we do buy plants we look for fresh vigorous starts, with nice clean stems. We always look under the leaves for aphids and other unwanted hitch hikers. The soil should be moist and free from any hint of mold.

It’s a good idea to keep the plants in isolation for a few days after bringing them home just to be sure they are indeed healthy. Some pests can take a few day to show up. We don’t want to jeopardize the health of our other plants.

These basil plants were nice and green with big leaves and strong stems, not leggy at all. Someone had been taking care of them.

Now with our wet and miserable weather we still do not have the plants potted up but they seem happy on the window sill. We picked up a few bails of pro mix so when the dust settles from opening the store this coming weekend we will be ready to get at it, hammer and tong.