Bountiful Basket Plan

I picked up my first Bountiful Basket today and am trying to make sure I use the fruit and veggies in a way that makes sense, so I'm doing resarch to find the right storage techniques. I must admit, my kids usually eat fruit so fast that I don't have time to think about what to do with it, but I don't usually have such a sudden influx of a pile like this. For $15, here's what I got and after the jump, how I plan to use them!

Recycled Basil

I needed fresh basil for a recipe and being the dead of winter, I had to go buy it at the store. They didn't have any small containers of it, only a HUGE container. So, I brought it home, used what I needed and wondered what to do with the rest. It was very fresh, so I decided on an experiment. I sliced a few on an angle through their growth points, and put them in a jar of water. I knew they would root if this was done as soon as they were taken from the plant, but wasn't sure how it would work since they had probably been cut at least a day or so earlier. Maybe even a week! Who Knows?!

One of them grew a root so fast and big that I had to trudge through snow to my shed to get potting soil and a pot for it.

Here is a photo explanation:

The root in the jar picture was over an inch long by the time I planted it--about 5 hours after this photo was taken!

So, I put it in potting soil in a pot the same day that picture above was taken, and now, almost 2 months later, here it is, and this is after making a turkey sandwich with a layer of basil:

 

Now, I just need to get a pretty pot for this free plant!!