Herbs and Greenhouses

A few months ago, a good friend of mine showed me a trick for keeping her cut herbs fresh for more than a few days. She cut the tips off (diagonally, like you would with flowers), stuck them in water, covered with a plastic bag, and put them in her fridge. I know this is a pretty common method, but I'd never seen it before and thought it was brilliant. I ran home, chopped off the ends of the cilantro I'd just bought, and promptly forgot it in the back of my own refrigerator. I was so surprised when, a month later, I stumbled upon the still fresh herbs on the middle shelf. I swore that I would remember this for after I moved, and hopefully save some money at the grocery store.

Well, my first batch of store-bought thyme came and went already, and while we're having problems with our fridge, I think my negligence was to blame there. Even the basil I bought at the farmers market last week was already wilting, and I thought all was lost. I was an herb failure.

The voice in the back of my head said to give it a shot anyway, and so I dutifully cut off the tips and stuck them in a glass of water. Lo and behold -

Ta da! Within an hour, they were looking good as new (for my plant nerd friends, the leaves had regained their turgidity). I had the problem, though, that my fridge wasn't working, and I didn't have any plastic bags on hand. So I stuck the basil on the three season porch, where my cat (Faust) promptly started to eat it. This poor basil just couldn't catch a break.

Enter the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. If you've never been to one, you should stop what you're doing right now and find the nearest shop. Go on, google map it. Think high-end goodwill or salvation army. Still used, and certainly some useless odds and ends around. But in general, if you're on a budget like me, this is the place to go to restock on furniture, kitchenware, etc.

Sometimes, you can even find a hidden gem on the shelves. In this case, I walked past this beauty at least twice before registering what it was.

A tiny little greenhouse! Which was perfect, as I had been planning to buy a few belljars to put plants in, and decorate my house a little more naturally. But belljars are expensive, and I figured it would be months before I could invest any real money into decorating. Lucky for me, I found this guy for the brilliant price of $1. New treasure in hand, I came home, windexed the heck out of it, and promptly set it to use.

For now, the basil couldn't be happier. And I just saved myself $2 at the farmers market tomorrow.

- Cait