apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

When I'm in the middle of herb season, I freeze herbs! I freeze a few leaves in the sections of an ice cube tray. I transfer the herb cubes to a larger container and repeat the process until the end of the summer.

I couldn't get Thai (or Sweet or Aniseed) Basil easily, so when I came across a bag of seeds I planted them in a pyrex ovendish (serving as a make-do hothouse) and I have about 50 seedlings now! In just under 3 weeks they grew to 2 inches tall. And all that in my windowsill!

Unfortunately, I have no idea when is the right time (or height) to convert them to a normal planter, so will have to learn by trial and error I guess! :)

We purchased a bunch of parsley and I wrapped it in a very wet cloth and used it a few days after that and it was very nice still.
I think that was over 4 weeks ago. Last night I was rummaging thru the fridge for dinner stuffs and came across it. Being prepared for the worst as I unwrapped it, the parsley looked beautiful--it was still crisp and very flavorful!
I am amazed and a true believer in the wet cloth/paper towel trick, as changing water everyday...not so much good for a slacker like me.

I find that if i take parsley or cilantro, dry it very well with paper towels and then wrap the parsley or cilantro in a dry paper towel, place it in a ziploc (or any sealable bag), that they will last several weeks. It's very important to get all the water OUT since that is what causes them to rot.

I haven't tried this with other herbs - I tend to either dry or freeze other herbs for longer storage. Dried/frozen parsley or cilantro tends to lose flavor.

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EvalnNL - hurray for baby basils! You can very gently transplant them when they have one or two pairs of full leaves (not their baby leaves). I use a fork to carefully dig the root system out, and try not to apply pressure to any part of the plant.

I'm still debating if my 2'x2' dirt patch in front of my apartment can contain one more plant, because I would LOVE to grow some holy basil. Mmm.

Thanks for the tip swingjingle! You've confirmed what a veteran gardener at the local allotments advised. I'll transplant them to a couple of large pots this afternoon and hoepefully they'll thrive! Can't wait to make my first salad whith my own home-grown basil! It has such a distinctive taste... yum!