this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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Gardening

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[–] shanghaibebop@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Rosemary and bay leaf. They grow so well here in Ca, it’s criminal that they sell the leaves at 8 dollars a pop at most stores.

[–] WomboCombo@lemmy.nilskrau.de 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

8 dollars? That's crazy. Especially because the plant itself isn't that hard to keep and produces an amount of leafs you will never be able to use all.

[–] shanghaibebop@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

Exactly!

It's absolutely insane, I remember needing it in a pinch to make some soups, and had to buy one for 8+ dollars at my local store, and it was like 4 leaves.... I went to the plant nursery the next weekend and bought a small bay laurel for 20 bucks, and never looked back. Zero maintenance, it seems to be pretty pest tolerant, and I just put it in my backyard in a pot close enough to catch some residual water from my sprinkler, and it has been thriving ever since.

[–] thrawn21@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm in inland southern California, and I've never thought about growing bay leaves. I don't think I've seen it at my local nursery, where did you get yours?

[–] shanghaibebop@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

I got them at a local nursery!

But I was also told by a plant geek friend that folks grow them on the side of the road, and there are quite a few "semi-public" (true) bay laurel trees in most places in California if you know where to find them. They grow exceptionally well here since they are a Mediterranean plant. We also have a native California bay laurel variety that grows quite well in southern California without much care at all. They taste pretty similar and it's EXTREMELY easy to forage. https://www.foragesf.com/blog/2019/10/5/california-bay-dont-buy-bay-forage-it