My tomato plants all turned brown and the leaves dropped off. The horticulturalist at Teas Nursery on Bellaire said to pull up the plants and rake out all the roots, then cover the soil with black plastic for four weeks.

The heat of the sun will kill all the diseases and then you can plant again first of August, he said. The process is called solarizing.

I had some basil planted in there too. So I ended up with 8 cups of basil leaves on my hands. Pesto time!

Robb’s Pesto:

Julia Walsh

Start with these…

You’ll need:

  • 8 Cups of Basil Leaves
  • 2 cups of Olive Oil
  • 10 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups pine nuts
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan

    • Process in batches until presto, it’s pesto. — Robb Walsh

    …and you’ll get this.

    This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2006.