"Magic" basil cutting, keeping company with Annie the gnome
Last week I felt safe attending our monthly Master Gardener meeting. Why? Because it's held in a gigantic, many-thousand-square-feet, extremely high-ceilinged room (higher than in a Walmart Supercenter), those of us there were like a few ants in an empty swimming pool, and I sat at a distance from everyone else. Almost no one walks up and gets right in my face trying to talk to me, and if they do, there's nothing in the way (e.g. a church pew, table, row of chairs, or bathroom or church foyer wall) to keep me from backing well away from them. (You wouldn't believe how many people don't take the hint and keep getting closer as you back away from them!) The restrooms are very large, with many stalls, and well ventilated. Of course I wore an N-95 mask with a second mask over it - and was the only person wearing a mask. Of course. A woman has to do what she's got to do to protect her immunocompromised self from everyone else.
The presenter for the educational portion of our meeting, a fellow MG, spoke on herbs, and brought seedlings and cuttings to share with the rest of us. She's an expert on culinary herbs; every time she speaks I learn something new, and leave inspired to keep experimenting, both with growing new herbs and cooking with them.
This is a "Magic" basil stem cutting; I don't know if it's "Wild Magic," which doesn't produce viable seed, or some other cultivar, but regardless, Linda said these root in water, and are "too sweet" for her traditional Italian cooking. Now it's time for me to learn the difference between sweet and not-sweet basil in cooking. And even if I don't use it to cook with, the fragrance is delightful! LIFE is finding its way. It's only been three days and already, tiny root hairs are visible coming out of the upper node!
"Magic" basil cutting
Saturday August 20, 2022
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