Two summers ago, i bought a basil plant from Home Depot. I decided to put it in a deep container/pot...and i used basil ALL Summer. I even bought the plant inside in the winter...and put it in my windowsill, and she kept growing...and we enjoyed using her leaves in all (almost all) our meals. I mean, my basil plant was huge. Every time someone came over, and asked about her, I'd rip off a few branches, and send them home with some. I mean, I had basil, coming out of my ears!! I made pesto, put it in my sauce...i did EVERYTHING you could possibly do with basil...and it was lovely! My hubby's mother is Italian, so they use basil in everything, so whenever she needed some, I'd gladly hand her a bunch!!
OK, so i was really surprised that this basil plant survived...after me pruning her ALL year...April came, and i decided, "HEY, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO LIVE OUTSIDE AGAIN"...and boy was I wrong. She was happy for 1 full day, and the next day...it snowed :( She was dead! And i couldn't even revive her.
All of the sudden, I needed basil...for like...EVERY MEAL! :(
So, then i started buying basil at stores like Trader Joe's and the supermarket, but...basil goes bad, really quick :( I would have it in it's package, and within a few days, the leaves would start to wilt! It just wasn't the same. I missed my basil plant.Fast forward to this year...while shopping at Lowe's we realized that all of the seeds were out, and all of the new planters and plants...since HOORAY-it's finally spring!! So...I thought to myself...why not plant my own basil, cilantro, tomatoes, and parsley!
So that's exactly what I did.
It's SERIOUSLY the easiest thing...in the entire plant. My husband can even do it!
I purchased these cool looking planters from Lowe's called Jiffy Green house planters:
You can get them bigger, but i wanted this to fit on my windowsill, so i got the one that only holds 12 plants. I also purchased these really cute silver tins from the Dollar section in Target...
First, I followed the Jiffy Greenhouse instructions. There are little flatted looking pellets at the bottom of the planter (in each planter)...and it asks you to fill them with water. It's really cool. Like one of those toys you got as a kid, where it was a face cloth the size of a pill and you put it in water and watched it expand:
Next step is to open these little satchels...and TA DA!! Real dirt:
Now you place 3 or 4 seeds in each little pocket...and push with your finger....to push it into the soil
Then, you just put it on the windowsill!! LOL
Wasn't that hard, right?
The ONLY PROBLEM IS THIS GUY:
Who clearly seems to think the windowsill belongs to him!! But, he's been really good...thankfully. Since we live on the top floor of a 2 family house...we are able to put these plants on the roof that sticks out of our window on really sunny days. I bring them in every night...so i don't murder them (not yet, at least).
SO FAR MY PLANTS ARE LOOKING SOOO CUTE!! Everyday i get home, i talk to them...and hubby thinks I'm crazy! I can't wait to actually see them grow! It's so exciting!!
Since i live in a 2 family home, we share the yard, so I'm thinking these plants will live upstairs with me all year round!
Any of you have windowsill gardens?
Oh, I love that! So cute and it does look easy! (I'm not a good plant grower.) We want to plant a garden next year, but maybe we should start with something small like this... must you keep them inside? I suppose it's too late in the planting season for Phoenix to do it outside. ? I love it though! Can't wait to see how it grows!
ReplyDeleteI have really wide windowsills in my house and I have plans on every one. I'm not too good with herbs for some reason, but can't wait to start an herb garden outside (the deer won't eat basil).
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely adorable!! I have been wanting to do this, but we don't have a kitchen window. So sad. Great idea!!
ReplyDeleteLooking good!! Sorry to hear about the first Basil plant you had... :( I should've started my tomatoes inside (like you're supposed to). I put them outside with everything else, and similar situation like yours, we had a night get colder than 40. Those poor little guys didn't make it.
ReplyDeleteI might just have to go to home depot and get those little trays. :)
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ReplyDeleteHypehn: I believe the greenhouse pot requires you to replant them outside when they get big enough! Since i live on the second floor, it would be a pain to go down the steps to get some parsley. I plan on replanting them in something a bit bigger to allow them to grow correctly. I have some new pics of how they are growing!! It's been raining a bunch in NY...so they are loving sitting outside.
ReplyDeleteChandeen: So far, so good!! Let me know how your outdoor garden works out for ya!
Megan: That really sucks that you don't have a window. Do you have on in the livingroom?? Maybe you can do it there?
Alisha: Trust me, i was really sad with Basil plant #1 :( It was such a crazy, vibrant plant too!! I really did contemplate going to home depot and calling it a day...but i wanted to try some DIY this time around. Hey, if it doesn't work out...I can always go get a tray! ;)