> A fresh batch of basil at the grocery store is essentially a luxury item, exclusive to those who can afford it
I grow a fair amount my food on my allotment, and one of the interesting things I've noticed is how little the grocery store prices are related to the effort it takes to grow it myself.
For example, I no longer grow potatoes except for rotation purposes, because the time and inputs (fertilizer, etc.) aren't worth it compared to £0.5 per 1kg of potatoes from the supermarket.
On the other hand, basil is extremely fast growing and doesn't need any fertilizer, other than a bit of manure/compost at the start of the season. From my basil bed, I get about 50kg in a season, which has an ASDA street value of about £1000.
This obviously comes down to things like the ease of mechanical harvesting, the complexity of cold chain logistics, etc. Still, if you have a free windowsill and find supermarket basil ludicrously expensive, it's worth sticking a few Sweet Genovese on there.
I grow a fair amount my food on my allotment, and one of the interesting things I've noticed is how little the grocery store prices are related to the effort it takes to grow it myself.
For example, I no longer grow potatoes except for rotation purposes, because the time and inputs (fertilizer, etc.) aren't worth it compared to £0.5 per 1kg of potatoes from the supermarket.
On the other hand, basil is extremely fast growing and doesn't need any fertilizer, other than a bit of manure/compost at the start of the season. From my basil bed, I get about 50kg in a season, which has an ASDA street value of about £1000.
This obviously comes down to things like the ease of mechanical harvesting, the complexity of cold chain logistics, etc. Still, if you have a free windowsill and find supermarket basil ludicrously expensive, it's worth sticking a few Sweet Genovese on there.