Basil!
It’s July and my gardening efforts are starting to pay off! There’s lots of basil coming up and I should have plenty to make pesto. Yum!
So far I’ve beaten the squirrels to the miniature yellow tomatoes. I’m not going to have tons of tomatoes – just enough to snack on here and there, but that’s okay. My dill isn’t doing as well as I’d like, but I think that’s because it’s not getting enough sun.
I’ve forgotten everything I planted in the courtyard, so there’s going to be some surprises. What’s long and vine-y and grows all over everything? I don’t think I planted kudzu. Pretty sure.
Okay, more updates later!
Yellow Tomatos!
Radish harvest
The rain and unseasonably cool weather made it difficult to muster much enthusiasm for gardening, but all thoughts of giving up left with my first veggie harvest! Right now I have more radishes than I know what to do with and if the carpet of seedlings are any indication, I’ll have more dill and basil than I can hope to use. The courtyard garden isn’t all good news, though. It looks like the rain has beaten my spinach into the ground. Ah well.
Confession time – I bought herbs. I swore I had a budget this year and I would raise everything from seed. So much for that! I also lost all eco-cred by running to Home Depot for more plastic pots. What’s the point of going organic if I have to buy plastic pots to do it? I struggle with my eco-ism. Still, I couldn’t resist buying night-blooming jasmine and variegated basil. Who could?
My container garden includes tomato plants, herbs and flowers.
I’ve got basil coming out of my ears, so I decided to try my hand at making pesto. I think it was a success! Here are the essential ingredients:
* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup Olive oil
* 3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
There were more detailed directions, but I basically threw everything in a food processor and blended until I was happy. I then served it on top of the tomatoes I managed to salvage from the squirrel.
Yum!
Thanks to Diana’s Kitchen for the recipe!
Follow me on Twitter 
