Bay Tree

One of the many things that I use in the kitchen is bay leaves. They are great in stock, soups, even macaroni and cheese (at least my recipe calls to add a bay leaf to the milk while you warm it). The one thing I never remember to pick up at the grocery store? Bay leaves.

Bay leaves are simple to harvest and use so I finally decided to bite the bullet and order one. An Internet search for organic bay trees provided many results but The Tasteful Garden's trees looked and sounded the best. Plus they would ship immediately. Price wise, they seemed to be in line with other retailers, although there were a few that were cheaper. I know the saying about judging a book but I found their site pleasing, straightforward and so I ordered the same day.

When checking out, you can select a shipping date and I selected the following week. I was pleasantly surprised to get it so quickly. The company did a fantastic job packaging the plant with minimal waste while still protecting it.

The plant looks incredibly healthy and vibrant. I am giving it a week or so to acclimate, then I will be transplanting it to a bigger pot. Since I live in the northeast, my bay tree will need to come inside during the winter. Bay trees can be outside up to 25° F. Needless to say, it gets a lot colder than that here so a movable pot is a must. The trees can grow up to 15 feet, although plenty of resources say that you can keep them smaller by pruning and shaping. I am looking forward to seeing how it fares this winter and cannot wait to use a few to make stock this fall.

Now I just need to keep the chickens from getting too curious. Have you ever grown a bay tree? Any tips you could share?

This article was shared on The HomeAcre Hop, The Chicken Chick.