I noticed a slender stem coming out of the ground in the front bed this morning about 5" tall with 3-4 green leaves on it that I didn't recognize. Because so many seeds fall into that bed and sprout I assumed it was something "wild." My normal action is to grab, pull, and toss.
When I grabbed the stem and pulled it didn't give -- so I pulled harder and it snapped in two. So I grabbed the remaining stem and pulled again and brought up a sprouted avocado pit. This was not one of the ones I pictured a couple of weeks ago on the blog. They haven't done much. This one sprouted by itself and was healthy and strong with leaves unfurled. I quickly buried the exhumed pit and watered it, but now that I've disrupted its roots I'll be surprised if it grows.
Looking around, I found another exactly like the one I pulled up -- maybe an inch shorter. An avocado tree -- California in Carolina. (Look closely and you can see the yellowish pit at the base of the stem -- split in two with the stem coming out of the center. Very nice.)
Here's my one basil "bush" that I've babying along -- and I'm really pleased with the result. I talked to one of our local organic farmers (from whom I bought this transplant) about how I've grown basil in the past. He advised me to keep pinching off the new two-leaf starts that appear at the end of every stem. That stops the "vertical" growth of the stem and forces more "horizontal" growth from new shoots off to the side. Continuing to do that produces a really full "bush" instead of a "plant." The leaves on this one are large (my chief complaint from past basil plants -- very small leaves) and luscious (except for the holes where the Japanese beetles have already been chewing -- arrrgghhhhh!). The growth is slower at first but is beginning to be exponential as stems produce stems produce stems ad infinitum:
When I grabbed the stem and pulled it didn't give -- so I pulled harder and it snapped in two. So I grabbed the remaining stem and pulled again and brought up a sprouted avocado pit. This was not one of the ones I pictured a couple of weeks ago on the blog. They haven't done much. This one sprouted by itself and was healthy and strong with leaves unfurled. I quickly buried the exhumed pit and watered it, but now that I've disrupted its roots I'll be surprised if it grows.
Looking around, I found another exactly like the one I pulled up -- maybe an inch shorter. An avocado tree -- California in Carolina. (Look closely and you can see the yellowish pit at the base of the stem -- split in two with the stem coming out of the center. Very nice.)
Here's my one basil "bush" that I've babying along -- and I'm really pleased with the result. I talked to one of our local organic farmers (from whom I bought this transplant) about how I've grown basil in the past. He advised me to keep pinching off the new two-leaf starts that appear at the end of every stem. That stops the "vertical" growth of the stem and forces more "horizontal" growth from new shoots off to the side. Continuing to do that produces a really full "bush" instead of a "plant." The leaves on this one are large (my chief complaint from past basil plants -- very small leaves) and luscious (except for the holes where the Japanese beetles have already been chewing -- arrrgghhhhh!). The growth is slower at first but is beginning to be exponential as stems produce stems produce stems ad infinitum:
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Man. If my basil ever looks that good...Soil health is so important. Very nice work!
ReplyDeleteDaniel
Sometimes soil isn't everything. I planted two of these and one died within 2-3 days. No idea why.
ReplyDeleteI'm pumped about that avocado tree that sprouted. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it -- where to move it before it gets to big to move. Where it might survive in the yard. Hey -- I'll check the Rodale fruit/berry book for ideas!