Dear KCSA community,
Yes, it is pesto time! This week the basil beds will go on u-pick. Full and partial share members will need to bring their own scissors and containers to harvest.
I think we'll start off with the basil limit at a pound. For reference, the bags of basil you have been receiving in the share these last few weeks have been about a quarter of that.
The best way for members to harvest basil is by cutting the top, leafy rosettes from the plants as this encourages branching and more growth. Another rule of thumb is the less you touch and move through the plants the less you will spread disease throughout the crop. Some disease is inevitable but we want to slow the spread down so we have a prolonged basil harvest and protect those plants that are most at risk!
We have made a real concerted effort to make sure we had a good basil crop this year and we are very pleased with the result. We changed up the spacing and sought specific disease resistant varieties along with our somewhat trusted Elenora variety.
Over the last few years, we have been having some issues where one day the basil looks just fine then the next (usually after a thunderstorm) it is not! June and July have been pretty dry thus far so hopefully we will have a prolonged basil season this year. The new harvesting technique or "pinching" and "bagging" the leafy rosettes has also helped with growth and air circulation.
Thanks,
Andrew
