What's GROWing On?
News from the MSHS Greenhouse
Have you placed your order yet?
Sales Update
We filled 37 online orders and had several walk in customers who walked out with as many as 20 items. All together we sold 40 percent of the plants we grew in this five day period... That means we have more than half of what we grew left to be sold. Place your order today for the best selection.
Visitors Welcome
...but please use the door.
In case you're wondering, we are pretty sure the bird is a male House Sparrow. According to the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Birds (Eastern Region), the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), is descended from a few birds released in New York City's Central Park in 1850. This makes them an introduced species - something the Environmental Science 1 students study in their ecology unit.
The moral of the story is: If you want to visit the greenhouse, we would love to see you, but please use the door... It may be a little less exciting, but it's a lot less of a headache.
MSHS Car Show
Saturday, May 21, 2016, 11:00 AM
200 North Wade Boulevard, Millville, NJ, United States
Back of the House
Basil Basics
Genovese basil is the most popular variety for making pesto, a bright green, rich and flavorful basil and cheese sauce used mainly for pasta. (A simple pesto recipe is included below.) The Genovese basil produces extra large, fragrant leaves with strong flavor. It will grow about 18 to 24 inches tall and you should plan to space your plants about eight to ten inches apart in your garden.
Sweet basil is the other variety available from our greenhouse and is a general, all-purpose basil that can also be used for pesto, or as a seasoning for just about any other dish.
Fertilize each plant and water it well when you plant it and then fertilize about every two weeks or so after that. Basil, a moisture Goldilocks, prefers the soil to be "just right" not too dry and not too wet. Water when there isn't regular rain and don't let it dry out.
Basil needs to be pruned regularly - if you are using it quickly, this isn't a problem. If the plant begins to flower it will lose some of its flavor, so avoid flowering by cutting it back, or pruning, regularly to produce fresh leaves throughout the season.
Immediately after planting, prune your plants back to just above the bottom two sets of leaves. It seems crazy to do this and you probably will second guess yourself, but do it anyway because this severe pruning encourages growth. Every four weeks or if the plant shows signs of flowering, depending on the weather and how quickly the plant is growing, this aggressive pruning can be done again.
Basil should be watered the night before you plan to harvest a large quantity as the leaves will store water and last longer when picked. Pick in the morning before the heat of the afternoon sun. When you only need a few leaves, use your fingers to pinch from the top of the plant all the way down to the next set of leaves. This keeps the plant producing lateral branches and prevents flowering.
Basic Italian Pesto
*Pine nuts, or Pignoli nuts, can be found alongside the walnuts and other nuts in your grocery store. They tend to be expensive and are normally not toasted when you buy them. They are easily toasted in a few short minutes using a dry frying pan over medium heat - be sure to keep them moving or they will burn. If you have walnuts in your cabinet, they can be substituted for the pine nuts but doing so will change the flavor of your pesto.
Millville Senior High School Greenhouse
Email: MSHS.Greenhouse@millvillenj.gov
Website: http://millville.oncoursesystems.com/websites/12591130
Location: 200 North Wade Boulevard, Millville, NJ, United States