Each state has a symbolic flower. For California, it's the poppy. If families had a symbolic plant, ours would be: basil.
The primary purpose for basil in our house is to convert into pesto. We put pesto on everything!
One of the things I love about pesto, besides the taste, is that it is such an inexpensive sauce to make, that is if you grow your own basil.
Usually, I have a respectable herb garden with plenty of basil plants. However, two years ago we were in the middle of remodeling our house so I didn't have a place for a garden. Last year Dante was only a few months old and I was just getting back into my Budget Savvy and Fearless Fitness routine so opted not to plant a garden.
Paul and I fed our pesto habit by purchasing basil at farmer's markets, the grocery store and whole plants at Trader Joe's. It got expensive!
This year I was eager to get some plants in the ground. Two weeks ago, I happily planted the first three basil plants of our summer crop. Next weekend I will plant an additional three followed by three more a few weeks after that. Typically, I like to have 12 basil plants total, but it has been an unusually cold spring here so I got a late start. If I can squeeze in a fourth planting, I will. Otherwise, we will make due with nine plants.
I purchased those first three plants at $2.25 each. I hope to catch sales for the additional plants that I need to purchase. However, even at $2.25 I will more than get my money's worth. By harvesting the top leaves only, the plants will grow throughout the summer, continually replenishing our stock.
Our goal is to harvest an ample supply of basil to make enough pesto to freeze for our use throughout the winter.
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