Growing Basil

Isn’t basil one of your favorite herbs? Having an Italian dish without basil just isn’t worth it. This great smelling plant is one of my favorite ones to start with because it is so a cinch to cultivate and harvest.

You’ll find basil all over Greek, French and Italian menus, but this little herb that could is native to the tropical Pacific islands. I do not know what twist of chance brought it to Europe, but what a nice twist that was. One of the best meals is pesto, which is a not a problem green sauce made by chopping a whole lot of basil and mixing it with olive oil. Delicious!

Just a couple of the numerous kinds of basil that you can select from are:

• Sweet Basil: This type is the most popular one for recipes. Sweet basil has glossy leaves and provides the full basil taste.
• Lettuce-Leaf Basil: This variety of basil has broad leaves and a milder flavor. There are several kinds of this leaf type, such as Mammoth, Napoletano and Green Ruffles.
• Bush Basil: Tiny Leaf Purple, Bush, Piccolo Fine Verde, Spicy Globe and Green Bouquet are just a couple of the many types of this shorter basil which is wonderful for edging.
• Lemon Basil: This lemon scented kind has short, little leaves. You can put the leaves in vinegar, fruit salad, fish and poultry dinners and herbal tea.
• Purple Basil: It’s no shocker that purple basil has wide purple leaves and delicate pink flowers. This variety is best in vinegars and Greek dinners.
• Thai Basil: This variety, which is from Thailand (of course), has long, narrow leaves. The slight licorice taste is a nice addition to Thai and Indian meals.

Beginning with seeds is a nice way to get started with basil, but you can also buy your plant from the nursery, greenhouse or home improvement store. Either way, with full sun and well-drained soil, your plant should grow to about 20 inches tall.

I snip off the white blossoms that will start showing up during the summer. I do that because I could care less about the flowers; I want the 1 to two inch leaves. Pinching your plant back makes the herb grow bushier (more leaves).

To harvest your herb, clip the stem just before the blossoms, remove the leaves and dry them. They can be stored in a freezer bag after you dry them. In fact, you do not have to dry them, your herbs will go immediately into your freezer. If you really want to bring out their flavor, put the leaves in a container and cover them with olive oil. They’ll last like that for several months.

You may raise basil inside, but I can’t suggest it. My try at wintering basil a few years ago wasn’t successful. It really requires about 5 hours of direct light a day with moist soil to grow and succeed. Unfortunately, my kitchen does not get that much light.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Italian Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.