Baby basil

I forget why this shocks me every time but it still does.  You find something that you 1) really like  2) it fits and works great for you  3) fills a very necessary niche, and they either quit making it or offering it, and you need it.  They offer the long version but not the short one.  So, do they think you are going to buy the long version, and cut it off ????  And did I mention they sell out of this item every year???  It's that popular.  And, yes, I've got my tail in a knot over this.  Oh, well.  Guess that's just money saved.....quit laughing.  We both know it isn't.
                                                                  

                                                
Here is a shot of my latest experiment.  They are home grown, from my own harvested basil seeds.  In the beginning, there were loads of spouting seeds and plants but trying to separate them is hard and they are so fragile, you can pinch them in half very easily.  I decided to take more of a survivor attitude and just let nature take it's course--survival of the fittest.  Very Lord of the Flies of me.  I'm trying to see if I can keep them going until I can transplant them outside.  One is pretty stubby but could catch up.  We'll see.  I transplanted them with a baby spoon to dig them up, reposition them, bury them up to the neck in soil that was sprinkled with fertilizer, and watered occasionally.  No, they weren't intended to hug the edge of the pot--that's just sort of how they all settled.  It doesn't matter anyway since they'll ultimately go outside to live assuming I can keep them alive.  Not sure why they're wimping along but then we already know I'm not exactly gifted in the growing department.  Remember the year of the 5 pitiful tomatoes that ended up costing  us close to $100 in our garden plot at the church??  As a result of that less than rousing success, I have lowered my expectations considerably.  Since we are big basil eaters during the summer and early Fall, I figure if these totally hit the skids, I'll just go buy 2 plants.  I just wanted to see if I could do it.

The Alaska book I mentioned last week was a total flame out so I won't even mention the title again here.  Not awful but just not worth the time it takes to read it and most of it was totally deeeeeeepressing.  Avoid it like the plague.  Watching mom's steady descent, I don't need help in that department, thank you very much.  I am, however, just snobby enough that I won't read "beach fluff" but escape fiction is fine.  Sometimes the bigger the escape, the better.