Basil Wars Part II: Lidl vs. Superquinn
Though attentions have been turning towards the new season, a rare snowfall in Ireland gives me chance to check in on some indoor growing, in particular the two basil plants from Superquinn and Lidl I have been pitting against each other.
It’s now just over ten days since the basil plants were purchased. I’ve been harvesting them both equally in an effort to maintain an even playing field. I’ve also made every effort to give them the exact same light, temperature, compost, pot and watering.
Lidl (right in picture): €1.69
Mid to large sized leaves: 34
Price per leaf: €0.05
Bonus marks for: leaves generally are healthy, evenly coloured and not withered
Superquinn (left in picture): €2.99
Mid to large sized leaves: 20
Price per leaf: €0.15
Bonus marks for: plenty of stalks that are self-supporting and not droopy
I was going to compare the two plants in terms of calories per euro but I discovered that basil doesn’t actually have any calories rendering such a comparison a bit of a pointless exercise.
It looks like the Lidl basil has edged it so far with 34 medium to large sized leaves. The Superquinn basil with a measly 20 leaves so it has a lot of catching up to do. The Lidl plant might have an unfair advantage as I suspect that it is in fact more than one plant underneath it all. I’ll check back in a while to get an update on the competition but knowing my history with basil, the winner of this particular battle will be the one which dies second.
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Tags:basil, herbs, lidl, superquinn
Planning Germination and Photos of Dirt
Winter is fizzling away (the snow this morning aside!) so it’s time to look at what needs to be germinated in February.
A reliable
source informs me that last frost (hereafter: “F-Day”) is the first week in April for Ireland and that in Dublin it’s a week before that (on account of the sea and concrete). Working backwards from F-Day it would seem that some plants need to be germinated now in order to make it out in time. I went through what I have in my seed arsenal and did a bit of research. My findings about germination and various other tidbits are below. This is all secondary research and not from my own experience so send on any suggestions or corrections!
It now being the start of February means that 6 things need to be done – potatoes, chilies, lettuce, broccoli, peas, tomatoes.
Four of the above require seed trays. The tomatoes are covered in cling film to help retain moisture during germination. The pot on the top left is a mystery to me – girlfriend won’t tell me what’s in it.
Here are the Charlotte or salad potatoes ready for
chitting – this is in the cooler room in the apartment. The egg cartons help the chits, or sprouts, to grow freely while keeping the potato upright. Takes 4-6 weeks.
The trellis for the peas I fashioned out of bamboo. If there are too many shoots, I may supplement the trellis with some taught twine or wire for the shoots to grow up. You have to be careful not to use anything with too big a circumference as the shoots’ tendrils are quite small. Apparently.
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Tags:germination, last frost, seeds, spring
Sunflower Seeds – Gathering, Cooking, Eating
Growing sunflowers have two great advantages. The first is that they are pretty. I don’t think anyone will contest that.
The second is that they produce sunflower seeds if pollinated sufficiently. As well as being convenient to eat, they also possess an array of health benefits.
Towards the end of last season, when the head of the sunflower looked decidedly downbeat, we decapitated it and stored the head in newspaper to dry out. (No more personification I promise!) Upon opening the newspaper now, the head is dry and disintegrates allowing the seeds to be picked out easily.
There are a number of ways that the seeds can be used in cooking but my personal favourite is toasting them. The seeds can be toasted under a grill, or even in the oven, but I find the best way to keep an eye on them is to have them in a frying pan on the hob. The main danger is in burning them as the time between toasted and overdone can be very short, depending on the heat.
So, the method is:
- Put seeds in dry pan (optional salt, no oil).
- Cook on a lowish heat, tossing occasionally to ensure all round toastiness. This usually takes somewhere around 15 minutes, depending on heat.
- As soon as seeds are evenly golden, remove from pan.
More ambitious (read: “impatient”) people might want to toast on a slightly higher heat though you have to be pretty sharp with getting the seeds off the heat as soon as they are done. The same technique applies to most nuts such as pine, peanut (a legume I know!) and cashew.
After toasting the kernel must be removed from the black and white husk (colour may very for different types). Alternatively, the husk can be removed before toasting. The toasted kernels can then be used for example in salads or stir-fries. Toasting seeds before adding them into another dish helps bring out their flavour. I find that nuts added straight into, say a stir-fry, end up tasting a bit bland. They can also be eaten as a salted snack where the eater removes them from the husk much like a pistachio.
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Tags:cooking, sunflower, sunflower seeds
