If you are growing basil this summer, or find yourself tempted to buy an armload at the Farmer's Market, you may need a quick way to preserve it. Rinse the leaves and gently pat them dry. Remove stems and place the leaves in the food processor. Cover with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pulse until chopped. Then pack the chopped leaves into an ice cube tray and cover with more oil. Freeze, and then pop the cubes into a freezer bag for later use. If you use enough oil, they will not discolor and can be added to pesto, pasta sauce, soups and bruschetta over the winter.

Is your garden mildewing away?

Are your lamb's ears languishing, your artemesias anemic and your phlox floundering? Is your whole garden feeling gray? This is the time of year when mold, mildew, rust and something called 'melting out' creep over the garden. Your favorite plants, beautiful in June, get brown lags, powdery looking leaves or wither away all together, leaving a gray scum on the spot where they once thrived.

After the wet spring we had here in northeastern Illinois, the problem could be worse this year. After earlier rains splashed the spores around, the heat and humidity of high summer act as the perfect incubator for these fungal infections.

Clean up plant debris on the ground around infected plants and cut away spoiled foliage. Discard the waste in a closed bag. Spray the crown of the plant and the ground around it with a mixture of one-tablespoon baking soda in a quart of water. New, healthier growth should sprout up soon. You may want to spray it as well to keep the problem in check. If you want to treat the lower portions of plants like asters that have not yet bloomed, remove only the bad leaves and then spray the whole plant.

Free Plants!

Did you know you can make new plants from many of your existing ones by 'planting' the end of a stem? It's called 'layering.' Let's say you have a Seven Sisters rose or a favorite forsythia you would like share. Simply bend the end of a stem to the ground and place a heavy rock over it or use a ground staple to hold it down to the soil. If you use a staple, sprinkle a little leaf litter or mulch over the stem to shade the rooting area. Allow two or three inches of the plant tip to stick out. Splash some extra water on it whenever you can and wait. It may take a month or a year to root well, but eventually you will have an extra plant to dig.