By Chris McLaughlin
Among the tremendous species of herbs from which I could choose, basil (Ocimum basilicum) was one of my favorites to experiment with. I found that not only was basil easy to grow and handy for the kitchen, but storing and propagating basil was a snap.
Basil is a bushy, tender annual with glossy-surfaced leaves that reaches about 18” in height when mature. She’s fast grower, has a prolific leaf-harvest, and blooms tiny white or purple flowers on spikes. Of course, the idea is not to end up seeing these flower spikes, which is a signal to the plant that it’s time to stop producing leaves – which is your harvest.
Basils are used in tomato, pesto, pepper, eggplant, soup, fish, and meat dishes. Another popular way to use basil is as an oil or vinegar flavoring.
Home garden grown basil (like all other fresh food) has the purest flavor. If you enjoy cooking, you won’t be able to live without fresh basil in the kitchen garden. If you enjoy Italian food (and by “Italian”, I mean “tomatoes”), you’re going to be hooked on home-grown basil for life.
Basil in The Garden
Most gardeners plant basil seeds directly into the garden bed
(or in garden jargon, “in situ”) after the last frost date in their
region has passed. As a native Mediterranean herb, basil likes to
be planted in full sun (that’s 8 hours – or as close as you can get
to it), and well-drained soil with some composted manure or other
organic materials. Avoid over-watering the seedlings as basil is
prone to “damping off” disease.
The basil seeds can be started indoors in individual little pots a
few weeks before the last frost date, as well. Your success rate
will be greater if they are placed on a plant growing heating pad
or coils as basil craves heat and despises cold temperatures.
It's also a perfect candidate for container gardening.
Once the plants are growing by several inches, you can mulch basil
(as well as any other herb) with coarse mason sand. Don't buy
regular playground sand - it's too fine. Mason sand is a great
weed barrier and helps regulate temperature fluctuations in the
bed. The most useful part of using the sand as mulch in an herb bed
is that it reflects the sun and douses the sun-worshipers with
heat. While the basil is actively growing, pinch off the plant’s
outer leaves to encourage a bushy growth habit.
You may begin harvesting basil as soon as the plant leaves are
plentiful. Cut several inches of stems and leaves off of the plant
especially at the first signs of forming flower spike clusters. You
want to beat the signal for the plant to shut down production of
your leaf harvest.
As a companion plant in your flower or vegetable garden, basil
plays a intricate role as a repellent against mosquitoes, mites,
and aphids. Basil also acts as a fungicide as it slows down the
growth of milkweed bugs.
Video Series: How to Start a Vegetable Garden
Drying Basil For Storage
There are a few different ways to store herbs, but
this is one of the easiest ways that I have found to hang onto home
grown basil; and you know how I love easy.
Herbs dry fairly well when tied upside down and hanging around
your kitchen or what-have-you. However, when herbs are dried this
way they tend to lose their lovely color, not to mention it takes
quite a while for them to be dry enough to place into jars for
later culinary use.
Refrigerators have a dehumidifying action that makes them the
perfect place to dry herbs quickly while maintaining their rich
color. Gather a bunch of basil or any other herb stalks and place
them loosely into a paper lunch bag. Close the top of the lunch bag
with a chip clip or other such handy item so you can peek at them
every so often. Don’t forget to label them.
The herbs will be completely dry within a couple of days. At that
point you can either keep them right where they are (just tape them
to the inside of the fridge to save space) or break the herbs apart
to fit into air-tight containers for storage in a cool and dark
place.
I’m always finding reasons to use aromatic basil in my recipes
because of its incredible flavor. Well, that and there’s nothing
like the scent of fresh basil on my hands.
What's your favorite basil dish?
For more great articles on vegetable gardening, visit www.vegetablegardener.com.
