TerriWez @terriwez-blog - Tumblr Blog

huffposttaste-deactivated201612

Just a beautiful reminder of where saffron comes from (and why it’s so freaking expensive).

Image credits: Getty Images

#saffron

foodfuck

basilgenovese

Feta Dressed w/ Chili, Lemon, Olive Oil & Herbs

do-not-touch-my-food

Marinated Feta

feministgardenclub

Gardening how-to: propagate basil

I love growing basil because it’s pretty easy and incredibly useful. I throw it in practically everything that needs spices or herbs these days (including fruit water!).

I bought a $3 basil plant from the supermarket and have kept it growing fairly successfully for a couple of months now. One trick is to propagate a few of the leaf bunches every once in a while, which lets you start a whole new plant. It’s good to do if you’re worried about your whole plant dying off, or if the parent plant starts to get too leggy (stems too long/tall), or even if you just want to share your bounty with friends.

Basil is super easy to propagate.

Cut off a bunch of leaves at the beginning of their stem (where it forks out from the bigger stem). The picture on the left is an example of where to cut.

Remove any leaves on the bottom inch or two of this cut stem (but leave a nice bunch of leaves at the top - at least two).

Place cut stems in water. As you can see on the right, I have a ton of them all stuck in a jam jar.

Put your cuttings in their jar in a sunny window.

In a few days, the stems will have sprouted roots. Wait till the roots have grown out a bit, but make sure the leaves don’t wilt too much.

Plant your newly-propagated basil in a pot! (Fill most of the way with potting soil, dig out a little hole, carefully place the rooting stem in the hole, push the dirt around it and pack lightly until the plant stands up by itself. Water. Place back in sunlight.)

Done!

Here’s another tutorial on how to do this, just in case you need more photo instructions.