Basil

I just had to buy more seeds today! I bought Greek Basil, miniature. Can you'all tell me which Basil to grow, and what it is used for. Also, how many squares should it have.
Thanks, Jo

littlejo wrote:I just had to buy more seeds today! I bought Greek Basil, miniature. Can you'all tell me which Basil to grow, and what it is used for. Also, how many squares should it have.
Thanks, Jo

I am guessing you like basil and use it a lot. I like to make pesto so I plant the genovese variety and make my pesto and freeze it in ice trays. After they harden put them in a freezer bag and put the in sauces, on top of pizza, meatloaf, ect.

If you keep cutting it back you could use on plant per square but I usually plant 2. My suggestion is learning how to harvest basil and there are many videos on the web to show you how. I continually harvested you get a lot of basil and it loves the heat and in your area I would suggest 1 plant per square as you have a longer growing season..

No, I've never eaten Basil! I'm just a garden addict and I buy different seeds/plants to try. This yr I'm starting my own seeds (DH says he's living in a mini forest) I've run out of room to make new beds, so I'm thinking of new things to fill some of the squares.
Jo

How cute are these Purple Petra basil seedlings!?
Has anyone ever grown and tasted them? If so, how are they?

The seed package photo is so pretty I'm thinking of using them in my perennial gardens as well as the SFG.

CC

What a great idea to use them in the perennial garden. Maybe you can take a photo when they get bigger and show how beautiful they are.

Those are so cute!  We (well, I) love basil (hubby tolerates it).  I especially love it paired with the sun-dried tomatoes I make with our cherry toms.  Add zucchini "pasta" and I'm just about in heaven 

Yummo, that sounds delish, Audrey! I love squash pasta. Just wish I could grow some zucchinis and such. Hopefully the Trombocini seeds I got this year will take care of the SVP issue so I can make lots and lots and lots of squash pasta.

Yes Sanderson, of course I will post photos of those pretty little basil. They are already so photogenic I'm sure they'll grow up to be runway models.

CC

I love basil.  It is my favorite herb.  I grow mostly sweet green but also some purple.



I love  Pesto so lots of basil for that. 

I also make a basil aioli.

1 cup Mayonnaise - home made is best Hellman's is 2nd best.
2 Tbsps. EVFCP olive oil
1 bunch - 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil 
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Zest of small lemon
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice

Put all ingredients in your food processor and pulse until basil is finely chopped and all  ingredients are well blended
Taste and adjust seasoning

Refrigerate in a  tightly sealed container.  The  Aioli will keep for a couple of weeks if you use Hellman's about a week if you make your own mayonnaise.

Use as a dip for fresh, raw veggies, a sandwich spread or as a salad dressing.

I live for summer so I have fresh basil to make my Aioli.

I use fresh  Basil in so many ways:

Garnish for green salad
In tomato sauce
In omelets, scrambled eggs and a toping for poached eggs
A MUST HAVE for a variety of sauces

Fresh Basil for Caprice Salad.  A summer lunch favorite.

Garnish and flavoring for a multitude of soups both hot and cold. 


I can  not begin to list the many ways I use fresh basil on a daily basis.  I am always experimenting and trying new things with my basil. 

My all time favorite herb.


Enjoy

This will be my third year planting basil.  I'm still using the packet of seeds I bought my first year.  Genovese variety.

I've found that my basil gets crazy big in my MM beds.  As was commented, if you pinch it back, it can get quite bushy.  I've found that one per square is quite enough (although I'd love to squeeze in more!).  I like to plant it around my tomato plants. 

We use it in everything, but we especially like using it in a fresh caprese salad.  I posted this photo last season.  I made this for my wife and me:



The above caprese salad was made with my own tomatoes and basil.  The cheese is regular old mozzarella, but buffalo mozzarella is best.  The bread came from Publix bakery and I roasted garlic to go with all of it.  (This is not my own garlic... we had already eaten up what I raised... I think.)

Cape Coddess, that purple basil looks amazing.  Could I interest you in a seed trade?  You would be welcome to everything I have, including some pricy F1 hybrids.

Windmere, I just PM'd you. let me know if you do or don't get it because they seem to be building up in my outbox. One has been in there for 2 months now... Camp!

Windmere, that looks a fine feast! Manga bene!

+1, Windmere!

I'm trying Lemon & Lime basils this year.  My Greek basil did great last year and tasted wonderful!

CapeCoddess wrote:Windmere, I just PM'd you.  let me know if you do or don't get it because they seem to be building up in my outbox. One has been in there for 2 months now... Camp!

Yep, CC, I got it.    I responded.

Thank you Camprn. 

And, Marie, the variety you're trying sounds very interesting.  Please keep us posted on how that turns out!

I have Dark Opal Basil (purple) seedlings as well and they are soooo stinkin' cute!  I grew Greek Columnar Basil several years ago, it was beautiful and tasty!

LOVE the idea of incorporating beautiful purple basil in a landscape bed. I am a fan of planting attractive vegetables in a landscape bed.  A favorite is artichoke.  Your purple basil will be an awesome addition.

I love Caprese.  A favorite summer lunch.  Yes Buffalo Mozzarella is the best.  Next best is Mozzarella packaged in whey.  Dry or shredded Mozzarella is garbage.

I enjoy the different flavors of basil.  My friend makes purple basil jelly.  Incredible flavor and stunning color.

Love pesto.  I frequently use pecans instead of pine nuts.  A very nice, woody flavor.

I have this Terra Cotta "thing" for roasting garlic  I can roast 5 - 6 heads of garlic at one time.  I store it a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and use it daily in recipes.  Roasting adds such a depth of flavor.


Rock on with Basil and roasted garlic!

Windmere - did you drizzle your Caprese with a Robust FCPEV Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar?  If not - try it.

You guys are making me very jealous.  We haven't been able to grow decent basil for a couple of years now and it is one of my all time favorite herbs.  We get some kind of nasty stuff on the underside of the leaves.  

Boy, would I love to be able to brow basil again!!  And, yes, it used to be a perennial for us.  Boo hooooo!

Besides freezing, here's a neat trick I just read for storing basil for up to a year: 

Here’s What You Do:

[*]Clean your basil thoroughly in cold water, then allow it to air dry completely.

[*]Sprinkle some salt in the bottom of a clean glass jar (with a lid). Then, add in some basil to the jar followed by some olive oil. Repeat in layers (salt, then basil, then olive oil) until your container is full or your fun out of basil.

[*]Be sure that you press down to covered all of the basil with olive oil. Put the lid on the containers and label with the date. You can store this jar in the fridge for at least a year!


http://tiphero.com/ingenious-trick-for-preserving-fresh-basil-for-a-year-or-more/



CC

Kauairosina - what about growing it inside?  Do you still get the nasty stuff?

CC - I take it you'll be trying that technique this year?  Please let us know how it does...

the truth is we have no facilities for growing inside.  And i understand the fungus comes with the seed.  I am now trying seeds from Italy (got too many, want some?) and they do not have the fungus so far.  Wish us luck.

My purple basil seedlings got leggy under my inadequate lights. Can I transplant them and bury the stems like we do with tomato plants or will they damp off?

countrynaturals wrote:My purple basil seedlings got leggy under my inadequate lights. Can I transplant them and bury the stems like we do with tomato plants or will they damp off?

I don't recall what I've done with basils so I don't have a definitive answer for you. But I have rooted basil from cuttings, so they can grow roots from the stems. But I don't know whether or not they will do so as plants rather than cuttings.

Have you considered an oscillating fan on low in your growing area (not right on top of things, but close enough to wiggle them) to help your seedlings get some 'exercise'? I often do so part way through my seed starting, even though it means I have to water more frequently (blowing air dries out the potting mix; and it's especially rough on Jiffy pellets because they don't have any protection on the sides like a plastic pot would.)

Sorry I don't have an answer for the leggy purple basil but want to take this opportunity after reading some of my previous posts to bring you up to date.

Readers might recall that I was pretty upset about not being able to grow basil any longer because of the nasty stuff that happens to it.

We are now growing plenty of basil, thank you.  Seeds from Italy is one source and planting in different locations appears to help.

To the kind person who thought perhaps starting indoors might be a solution - - We are blessed here in Hawaii to grow year round outside so never consider all the indoor possibilities.

I transplanted them about halfway down in the peat pots, leaving about an inch of stem exposed. Now I'll just have to wait and see. We're looking at 5 days of rain so they'll all be under my puny artificial lights again for way too long.   

Thanks for the fan idea, Beetles. I move everything around so much I think they get enough exercise, but I never thought about that before. I will make sure I wiggle them even more from now on.