The Tucson Gardener

Bed of winter leaf lettuce.

 Current Cultivations

Garden Clubs

Garden Books

In the Garden Calendar

Tucson's Wildlife


Ruby Swiss chard.

Local Garden Links

Links for Special Needs

The Archive

The Tool Shed

Snow peas ready for harvest.

FAQ

Glossary

Search

Site Index

You're visiting Tucsongardener.com

Lettuce Leaf Basil
As a vegetable gardener this desert gardener has always managed to grow basil so there was plenty on hand when needed for cooking spaghetti sauce. I even tried my hand at basil vinegar using the purple or opal basil which produced a nice color to the herbed vinegar. Placed in fancy bottles the vinegar made interesting gifts at Christmas.

Note the large leaves of the lettuce leaf basil.

As an experimenter I've also tried the cinnamon and lemon basil when I ran across the seeds in a catalog. The herbs I usually grow are the herbs used on a regular basis in cooking and that includes the distinct aroma and flavored green leafed basil that does wonders for tomato based dishes.

While perusing the Natural Gardening Company's catalog (217 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo, CA 94960) I saw seeds available for lettuce leaf basil and decided to give it a try. It's an impressive breed that produces large leaves. Not all the leaves are as large as the one in the photo, but the plants did well in containers and there was plenty of basil available to season marinated bush beans and sliced tomatoes. The plants grown in the ground showed signs of leaf burn during the hottest weather but plants started in containers and grown in a shady spot provide plenty of flavorful basil.

If you like regular basil for your pesto or as a seasoning for your sauces be sure to try lettuce leaf basil in your herb garden.

Transplanter's Delight
If you start your plants in flats and then have to transplant the seedlings to larger pots you need a tool that can help dig, pry and separate. Things like old, dull knives, putty knives, even a flat blade screwdriver will work as an adequate tool to get the job done.

Set of handy metal tools have many uses.

For years I had a Chicago cutlery paring knife that someone had used to pry something and broke the tip off. As dull as it was it made a great transplanting tool when it came to young seedlings. I've still got the paring knife but I've also got a small set of metal tools that I find really useful. There's a miniature shovel and a two tined fork like instrument. But my favorite is the tapered tongue depressor shaped tool that works great for anything I do when it comes to transplanting seedlings.

I found the set of Canada made tools in a catalog specializing in greenhouse supplies which said the tools were good for bonsai, terrariums and potted plants.  That's the only catalog I've seen selling the tools. I guess greenhouse growers do more transplanting than other gardeners.

Watch the garden supply catalogs for similar tools. (1998)
 

|  Current Cultivations  |  Garden Clubs  |  Garden Books  |  In the Garden Calendar  |  Tucson's Wildlife  |  Local Links  |  Links for Special Needs  |  The Archive  |  The Tool Shed  |  FAQ  |
 |  Glossary  |  Search  |  Site Index  |