Basil is a great herb to grow in the garden. I have three types growing in my vegetable garden. Pictured above is a purple variety (probably Purple Ruffles) and Spicy Globe Basil (in the back left corner). I also grow Sweet Genovese basil.Basil is easy to start from seed beginning in early March. It can be planted in the garden in late April but will not grow much until the weather really warms up. Here is my only problem with basil, it flowers too soon and requires constant deadheading beginning around early August here in my garden. Spicy globe basil does NOT flower as much or as early as the purple and sweet Genovese flowers so it is a good option for gardeners who don't wish to deadhead daily. I just love the smell of it and use it with tomatoes quite often. Unfortunately for me, most of the fun is in growing more than preserving so this will mostly all go in the compost bin.
One good note, you can expect basil to self seed and return the following year, so look for the seedlings. A great surprise!
in the garden....
I love fresh basil, it's the staple in chowder! I didn't know it came in different varities.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to have a winter herb garden inside. Killing frost tonight.
Hi Tina, yum, I can smell it through the laptop! I agree that the spicy globe is less likely to flower and still has the fantastic fragrance and taste. It was grown here for the first time this year and will be a regular in the veggie patch for years to come.
ReplyDeleteWe all love basil here. I have a few pots by my kitchen door, it is easy to reach when I am cooking.
ReplyDeleteI've grown purple ruffles as both an herb and an ornamental for it's color.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Love the color of that purple basil. I grew green ruffles basil some years ago and it was my favorite. The leaves were much stiffer than regular basil and didn't bruise as easily when I used it in cooking. But it is hard to find the seeds unless you order them. You can't count on self seeding in PA.
ReplyDeleteWe love basil here! Unfortunately I never got my herb garden going with the purple basil and globe basil. I just have the sweet Italian. It's pretty good though! You should make some pesto!
ReplyDeleteOn my way out, just wanted to say good morning! It is great to try other varieties and like Frances, I can't believe that spicy globe basil is so slow to flower-which is great!
ReplyDeleteDawn, Never thought of basil in chowder but a taste of garden is good!
Frances, It IS a keeper!
Gisele, I bet you are a SUPER cook! Fresh herbs always good.
Marnie, Yes, I think I grow mine more to look at and to give away. Sigh. I need to cook sometime.
Cindy, I am going to try to find green ruffles. Stiff leaves are good. Thanks for the tip. Too bad it doesn't self seed in PA but you know it can be annoying since it always tends to grow where you don't want it!
Dave, Sweet Italian is good! I keep meaning to make pesto as I love Italian food. One day soon. Gotta get those pine nuts and food processor out. Yes! I surely need to!
Great post today Tina. I love basil. I have seed to grow 'Opal' which is a purple variety for next year & my mom is sending me seed from Italy of a green variety. I love the fragrance of this wonderful culinary herb in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about adding an herb garden in front of the shed next year. Any suggestions on what I should try to grow? I'm planning on drying some throughout the season. If Cheesehead thought I was crazy this year, just wait til next year. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love basil, but have never had it grow back the following year from seedlings, and trust me, plenty of it goes to seed. Is it only certain kinds of basil that will do this?
ReplyDelete~ Sophie
Pretty and tastes good. What more can one want for?
ReplyDeleteI picked up a small pot of Basil this past week. The scent is wonderful...
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for little seedlings next year.
ReplyDeleteThis is great basil information, Tina. I will get the kind that does not flower as much and start some next year.
ReplyDeleteIs basil a perennial? I have some growing but if I want it to come back next year do I need to let it go to seed?
ReplyDeleteI didn't grow Basil this year. It is a wonderful herb, we cook with it, but it didn't get on the to get list!
ReplyDeleteYou've convinced me to give seeds a try, now to remember to get the less flowering type. Thanks, Gail
We have lots of herbs in our garden, but I've never seen such a purple looking basil. How cool! I've always seen the green varieties.
ReplyDeleteRacquel, You solved it for me! It is Opal pictured not Purple Ruffles. I found my seed packet too. My memory is not what I wish it should be sometimes. Great fragrance all of them.
ReplyDeleteCinj, Try them all! Oregano is perennial, basil for sure (doesn't dry well), mint (contained), sage. Go wild!
Sophie, I think I have had lemon basil and Genovese come back from seeds. They may need the conditions for it. Mine are in the veggie garden so that might help with good soil and all. Not sure if all self seed but don't rely on it totally. I was just surprised it self seeded here and wanted to let you all know it could do so.
Mom, I want it to preserve itself too:)
Skeeter, Yummmmmm! You had some of mine in that tomato salad. Have you made some for the Saint yet?
Mother Nature, They can be easily mistaken for weeds but the fragrance is unmistakable.
Jan, I was surprised to see how the spicy globe held off flowering a great little basil.
Stacy, No, definitely not a perennial Annual only but maybe it will self seed for you?
Gail, Do try the spicy globe. Small leaves and fairly compact-but LOTS of leaves.
DP, Purple ruffles or Opal are purple colored. Nice change and contrast.
I love it. I grow it in the garden and on my back porch. I just top it off with the scissors a couple of times a weeek. I put a piece of twine around it and hang it on the back of a door. Sometimes I just pull the leaves off and leave it laid out on a tea towel until it dries. Then I bag it in a zip lock and write what it is on the bag.
ReplyDeleteI use it in a lot of things. Tomatoes of course, but I also chop it up fresh in scrambled eggs, put fresh leaves on a sandwich like lettuce,,Since I have to cut back my parsley, thyme and lemon balm a lot, I will mix them all together and store them as a mix.
Hi, Tina--I love basil--I'm an herb junky, and this may be my favorite. I often buy more plants than I need for cooking because I like the flowers--Thai basil is my fave, both for flowers and for flavor. By the way, while I really like the flavor of pine nuts, you can make fabulous and less expensive pestos with walnuts or almonds, both of which are good for us to boot.
ReplyDeleteLoved your toad lily post, too--I've had the vole problem, didn't think to just stick them back in the ground--yet something else I've learned on your site.
Tina, it's funny, but a basil plant was the only herb left from the herb garden I planted last year. I hoed everything up before I left in mid-June this year, and when I got back a few weeks ago, the basil was thriving in the midst of a weed jungle. Do you suppose when they check my luggage this weekend at the airport, they might get a little suspicious about a plastic bag stuffed full of green leaves?
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed to say I planted one plant of basil this year--I have no idea what variety, just that it's green--and I never picked any to use. It's good to know it might re-seed itself, since I didn't deadhead it either. Maybe next year I can be more diligent about it. I really like that purple variety, though.
ReplyDeleteJust read yesterday's post about the toad lilies. I am definitely going to have to add some of these! A plant that's not particular about watering is always welcome in my garden:)
MMMMMMM...yummy. We have reseeding lemon basil and just love it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Tina. I love the smell of basil & I too, like Eve, use it on sandwiches especially if you have tomato slices on it. Great taste. I had the Globe one yr. also with Opal or Purple Ruffles. Lemon is nice also. I like to have a variety. My oregano is walking--it has traveled from one side of bed to the other. I really need to put it in a pot as it's invasive. So I've heard. I brought some back from Ala. a few yrs. ago. I really should learn how to cook with fresh herbs more. They are much better for you. Some I try to dry & some I try to freeze. Always good in soups in winter. Some of them will even over winter here.
ReplyDeleteEve, I seem to remember hubby cut one of you basil plants down. I bet it has grown even larger by now than it was before. I have never eaten it whole and will give that a try soon.
ReplyDeleteCosmo, I did not know you could make pesto with almonds or walnuts. I believe I may try almonds. I REALLY need to make some. Being a herb junkie is a good thing!
Walk2write, Do NOT take basil to Illinois in a small baggie! They might not like it at all! People are very suspicious nowadays and not all folks (believe it or not) know what basil smells like.
Rose, One plant of basil is more than enough I think. Never too late to use it:) I plant mine more for fun. It is easy. I hope yours self seeds. Look closely as sometimes they can be mistaken for weeds until you touch it and of course smell it.
Aunt Debbi/Kurt's Mom, I find the lemon basil is a shameless self seeder more so than the others. But that is good as who doesn't love lemons? Lucky you!
Lola, You and Eve both use the basil leaves whole? That is so neat. I will be trying mine this way soon! I love oregano in the garden. It doesn't migrate itself but yours is probably self seeding pretty well in Florida. Herbs are good and soup loves them-or do the herbs love the soup or we people just love it all?
Tina, I just picked up a Purple Ruffles Basil plant {3} in the same container. I will keep it close so I can watch it. I do need to get all my herbs close to the back door. That's where I started out with them. I was just wondering if I do indeed have oregano as it is putting out runners that continually root, therefore is the reason that I said it "walks".Maybe it's NOT even oregano. I will have to be more careful. My cousin said it was oregano when I got cuttings from her.
ReplyDeleteTina, you can rest assured, I did not take any basil with me to Illinois, at least not in the leafy form. I always carry bottles of essential oils with me wherever I go, and I guess that form of plant material is acceptable cargo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief Walk2write. lol
ReplyDeletedecided to explore your blog, searched on herbs. if you like pesto, than on the night before the first frost make a vat, freeze it and it will keep you happy till spring time.
ReplyDeleteGood advice Wayne, And I have some in my freezer right now. Just took out a baggie of it to toss with pasta and sweet Italian sausage the other night-very good. I think I'll make it each year now:)
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