Located in the beautiful Derwent Valley, Tasmania



Friday, November 19, 2010

growing basil using a paper potter and an antique cloche

I was given this gorgeous little wooden tool called a "Paper Potter", which makes biodegradable seedling pots out of newspaper, for my birthday. I quickly made several pots...
Filled them with seed raising mix along with basil seeds...
Stored them under an antique glass propagation cloche on the warm kitchen window sill, keeping them moist...
A week later I was jumping up and down with excitement when my first little basil seedlings emerged...
A week after that the seedlings were bigger...
And eventually big enough to plant in the ground. The best part is, you can put the entire paper pot with the seedlings into the ground as the paper will biodegrade. Soon the basil will be ready for summer Italian dishes! To source your own "Paper Potter" try Karen Wagner Design Studio and Garden Store, 84 Warwick Street, Hobart. Happy gardening!

7 comments:

  1. Happy weekend darling.....also a cloche ...me too today !! hahahah!! lovely times darling......love Ria....

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  2. Wow. I am contently amazed by how many shops I am not aware of. I must walk around with blinkers on?! Thanks for sharing will have to visit.

    Love your little project, how fabulous.

    I manage to kill all my kitchen herbs, I am not sure how to keep them alive. I think it is because I insist on keeping them in my kitchen as I cook in an "upside down house" (ie my kitchen and living areas are upstairs) where if I had to go outside to get my fresh herbs when cooking, I would never bother. But please tell me where did you get that antique potting cloche?! That is so gorgeous. Do you have any at the drill hall?

    Have a lovely rest of your weekend xox

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  3. Yes, we have a few cloches similar to this one at the Drill Hall Emporium - some bigger some smaller. Some of them are actually French cheese domes, but others are for propagation. I love both types!

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  4. I purchased my antique linen grain sack cushion, royal blue. Can't wait to get it as I have the perfect spot for it. Charmaine

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  5. Oh me too! It is almost Christmas and my birthday is not long after that.. xox

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  6. I love the Paper Potter, not to mention all your images of what you did with yours. Very cool, very resourceful, and something to eat at the end. Fabulous!

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  7. Wow - you must have been THRILLED when the little seedlings popped their heads up above the soil! What a lovely idea!

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