Basil versus basil...

Has anyone noticed the tendency of lemon basil to flower much more readily, frequently and with exasperating efficiency, compared to genovese or sweet basil?

I swear I'm pulling buds off them almost every day and have yet to see a single bud on my other basils.

On the other hand, it really livened up my pesto last night...

Barb

Yes, I have noticed that. I've also noticed that lemon basil has a tendency to grow more 'leggy' or 'spindly' than the other basils, given the same growing conditions. And that it doesn't dry as well (it seems to lose the lemon scent/flavor when dried).

I never dry my basil. I either use it fresh or chop and freeze. I've never had it dry well.

And, yes, the lemon is leggy, too... My lime appears to be the same way.

Barb

Cultivating Perfect Basil:

Some herbs can be stuck in poor soil and, while they won't flourish, a respectable harvest may be obtained. Basil is not one of them. To make basil king of the summer garden, attention to detail is important. A large harvest of sweet, aromatic leaves will ensue.

Choose a site with at least 6 hours of direct sun. The soil should be rich in nutrients and humus, and it should drain well. Add plenty of peat moss or compost to lighten your typical clay soil and encourage drainage. While basil will withstand a fairly wide range of soil pH, if the soil is too acid growth will be poor and leaves may become discolored. Lime will raise the pH.

Basil detests cool weather and cold soil. Use transplants for a headstart as you would for other warm weather lovers such as eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. Plant outside when nighttime temperatures approach 65 degrees F. This procedure will add four to six weeks more basil over plants grown from seeds that are sown directly in the ground.

Cut the stem once the plant has six leaves (three pairs) just above the second pair. This fosters early branching and gives you a small, early harvest.

Slugs may be a particular problem at this stage since they can easily devour a single plant overnight. Jar tops of beer, diatomaceous earth spread around the base of the plant, good sanitation and a search under nearby stones may eliminate the pest. Copper roof flashing 4 inches wide sticking out of the ground around your plants makes a good slug barrier. The presence of slugs is indicated by ragged holes or edges on leaves.

Grow plants fast and lush. That means side-dressings of liquid fertilizer every 2 weeks, or after each harvest. The best basil soil will dry quickly so don't let plants become stressed or wilt for lack of water. Mulch is likely to draw slugs.

The first large harvest is about three weeks from the first stem cutting. Cut each branch just above the first pair of leaves. Try to keep plants from flowering by regular stem pinching. When plants produce about 8 leaves on a stem, flowers begin to appear. Prior to flower spike emergence, top leaves will look wrinkled and their edges folded. Once flowers form, nipping them will not prevent further flowering. The plant's stems must be cut to two leaves on each stem to encourage vegetative growth.

After each harvest, more branches will grow. Plants will be ready for large harvests every three to four weeks. Continue the harvest-fertilizer cycle until cool weather stops your plants' growth.

If you are not harvesting to preserve leaves and want only a few for a meal, be sure to cut stems as described above. Never take leaves alone as branching will not be encouraged.

Problems: Aside from slugs, fungus can be a problem under cool, damp conditions. Late planting is the best prevention. Pests such as aphids, white flies and spider mites may also prove to be problems. A soap sprayed under leaves may help control both.

HTH

~* Robin☺

This message was edited Jun 9, 2005 11:15 PM

Thanks, Robin! All my basil is planted together, near the tomatoes of course! It seemed so weird that the lemon was getting leggy and going to flower when the sweet basil wasn't. I harvest them both often, as we make a lot of pesto here!

The lemon basil in my lemon garden does the same thing...

Barb

Is this true with "thai basil" as well? I've had to take numerous flowers off of the two plants I have and they seem leggier than my "sweet basil".

I haven't grown Thai yet, though I want to. I wonder if it is a hybrid anomaly...

Barb

Thank you. Good to know.

6 hours of direct sun in zone 9a will kill just about anything. My basil is going crazy with about 3 hours of direct sun.

And, I picked off more flower buds today. So far, it's been every other day that I have to take them off... The lime basil hasn't shown any buds yet.

Barb

I'm glad your lime basil is doing OK, BassetMom! :-) Mine are a little leggy, but less so than the lemon. As I recall, the lime basil didn't insist on flowering until quite late in the season. In general, if you leave only 1 or 2 pairs of leaves on a stem (counting from the nearest branch point), you can keep basil from flowering. I actually really love the big heads of flowers on the Thai basil, and there always seems to be plenty of new growth for my purposes that tastes fine (some basil gets bitter when it starts flowering), so I don't bother picking the buds off that one.

Yup, my lime basil is holding his own. I am actually hoping to let that one go to flower and get some seeds later on.

Barb

I can just send you some seeds if you want to let it keep up a good rate of vegetative production.... meant to put some in with your plants, but messed up! I'll make a note of it. If you let them flower in late August, you'll get plenty of seeds before frost.

This message was edited Jun 16, 2005 11:33 AM

That was the plan, though I NEVER refuse seeds...

Barb

LOL! I'll see what else I can find for you. I was thinking just this morning that I should probably shear back the 'Microchip' dianthus that have finished blooming, and then I thought, oh, no, I should wait until I can harvest some seeds before I cut them back, because I'm sure somebody would be able to use them! I don't know if dianthus necessarily come "true" from seed (I think 'Microchip' might be a hybrid; it's a dwarf variety), but I figure you'd get something pretty from the seeds. I just harvested a bunch of seedpods from my new Bergenia 'Winterglow' plants, and I'll get the tiny seeds out when the pods have dried for a couple of weeks.

I'll do my best to harvest lots of basil seeds and to let the different varieties go to seed at different times so they don't cross.... I want to be able to send you & Elsie some cool varieties to offer at your next "Seeds of Hope" event! I've got a Genovese basil that came from seeds a friend brought back from Italy, and another Genovese basil from a trade packet marked "favorite basil for pesto" -- both are absolutely delicious! I'm also growing Greek basil (small leaf, intense flavor), 'Minette' basil (small leaf, not unlike 'Spicy Globe'), 'Fine Verde' basil (taller plant with small leaves), purple basil, Thai basil, cinnamon basil, and lemon basil!

NatureWalker, thank you so much for the basil info. I didn't realize that basil flowered at 8 leaves. While I knew pinching kept it from flowering i didn't know there was a magic number. I have a new favorite recipe that uses fresh basil so I doubt mine will ever get the chance to flower.

Oh, that would be wonderful! I think the flavored basils are very hot right now. I am sitting here making seed kits as I DG for the next sale. Chinese food boxes with small flower pot, soil, seeds and instructions, a cloth "bow" on the handle. So far I have Sweet Dani Basil, Brocade Marigolds, Catnip, Swiss Giant Pansies and Jingle Bell Sweet Peppers kits...

Barb

Barb, those kits sound great! What fun! I'll think of other good ones to send you. I planted my 'Sweet Pickles' peppers in front so they'd be isolated & it would be easy to collect a bunch of seeds. That's a nice, compact plant that's pretty like an ornamental chile (peppers held upright, green, purple, yellow, orange & red all at once on the plant), and the red ripe peppers are very sweet & tasty. This year, I planted my 'Lemon Gem' together with 'Red Gem' marigolds, so the seeds may be crossed, but "mixed signet marigolds" should still be a good thing... pretty little edible blossoms! It'll be fun to keep your project in mind as I gather seeds!

Edited to add that I'll try to put my seeds in packets for you like I did for another project this past spring.... Picture & name on the front of the packet, growing instructions on the back.... I also put a short printed note inside the packet, which was fun.

This message was edited Jun 17, 2005 11:28 AM

Ah, critter, you're a gem! Wait until you hear her next idea...

Barb

am waiting with bated breath....

(I hope that's the right spelling.... "baited breath" just looked wrong, like "minnow breath" or "worm breath!")

RIMCL... (rolling in my 'chair laughing...)

See the recipe, canning or general discussion forums for her next new project... an Ellie's Seeds of Hope Cookbook! RikerBear already sent me the first submission!

Barb

BassetMom....I never thought about freezing basil....How exactly do you go about doing that?

Thanks!

Lisa

I like to make basil into pesto, leaving out the salt, then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen, the cubes can be popped out into a freezer bag, and they'll keep for a year (or even two; I had some drop to the bottom of the freezer once, and it was still fine).

We freeze all sorts of fresh herbs by mincing them in the food processor, adding a little olive oil, and freezing into cubes. If you keep track of the amount you started with (say, 2 cups of packed basil leaves) and divide by the number of cubes (say, 8 cubes), then you can make a note of how much herb is contained in a cube (say, 1/4 cup). Although many people simply put fresh herb stems into freezer bags, which seems to work (I've done this with thyme, as freezing makes it easy to strip the leaves), I think that adding the olive oil may help stabilize the basil for long term freezer storage... plus, it's very handy for me to have it minced & ready to use.

WEEEEELLLLLL, I wash the leaves thoroughly and stick in an icecube tray. cover with very cold water, just enough to cover, and then stick in the freezer. HOWEVER, they can turn on black on you sometimes. And, given a choice, I will always use fresh. Now that I can overwinter in the greenhouse, I don't have to freeze my basil. I still freeze chives this way, however, because it is a great way to keep them.

And, you can just pop a cube into a soup, etc, with no muss or fuss...

Barb

Oh, why didn't I think of that -- that's a great way to freeze chives! I've frozen mint leaves in simple syrup to make great cubes for adding to iced tea....

Wow! Thanks for the tips, critterologist and bassettmom!
you two are regular "Martha Stewarts" As far as the pesto I never thought of freezing it already made.

Here in Sacramento, Ca I can grow great Tomatoes too so...... I take the basil leaves, tablespoon of olive oil and (garlic clove sometimes depending on flavor of pasta noodles) and use food processor to blend. Then I make penne pasta noodles, plain or basil-garlic flavored. I place cooked pasta in individual bowls with heaping spoon full of pesto mixture on top, then I layer on top with fresh diced tomatoes, toasted whole pine nuts and fresh grated parmasan/romano cheese. Always seems to make a big hit......Thanks again!

This message was edited Jun 21, 2005 1:43 AM

Oh, that sounds delicious, and I'll bet it looks really fabulous too! I tend to stir everything together to coat it with the pesto before serving, but I like the idea of the layered presentation! (oooh, "presentation" -- now there's a Martha Stewart word, *chuckle*)

Martha Stewart!!!! Well, I do laughingly refer to my house as my prison so...

Barb

OOPS!Sorry, It wasn't meant to be insulting, hope you didn't take it as such..... Lisa

No worries, Lisa. I am very difficult to insult. I just thought it was funny.

Freeze your pesto in ice cube trays, too, by the way...

Barb

Is a lurker allowed to enter here?

I make a LOT of pesto when I get my basil growing fast and furious. I put the standard ingredients in a food processor but not all of the oil: just enough to keep it together.

Then I lay down plastic wrap, empty the contents of the container, form it into a log shape and wrap it again. When I need some I just open it up, chop off a chunk according to how much I need, re-wrap and back into the freezer it goes.

One of our two neighbors, suffering with dementia, always asks my DH: "Can your wife bring over more green stuff?" and I do.

Hi Jill, Was reading this thread and wanted to let you know that my lime basil is doing marvelous, also. I have rooted a couple of pieces as I couldn't resist it, and I've enjoyed cooking with it. My spearment is also growing up a storm. I've rooted this, also, and have promised it in a trade, so it's making the rounds. Thanks, so much for everything. Oh, I almost forgot ... this isn't exactly the forum to post this, but my Susan's are beginning to take off also.

Oh, cool! Thanks for letting me know. I was about to Dmail you & ask how your plants were doing!

My basils are doing well also, except for one variety that just croaked in the heat. I'm looking forward to trying the lime basil in salsa! All the basils keep trying to flower, but I'm trying to keep up with pinching them back. I want to let them flower one variety at a time so the seed stays pure!

critterologist,

Need any seedlings? I've got 2 spares of each:

Sweet 'Italian Large Leaf'
Greek, Bush Basil 'Spicy Globe'
Thai 'Siam Queen' (Ocimum thyrsiflora)
'Purple Ruffles'

~* Robin

Thanks, Robin, but I've got those, or at least something close to them!

Maybe somebody else watching this thread can use 'em!

(BTW, I haven't forgotten about your Bergenia seeds... they're drying out, and I'll send some along to you soon.)

Jill, it's been terrible trying to keep them from seeding, hasn't it? I no sooner pick them off then they try again! Very frustrating!

Barb

Barb,

Do you want any of the above seedlings?

~* Robin

Well, my "pesto" basil is getting pinched back often enough that going to seed isn't a problem! Actually, I've just decided to let a few of the flower stalks go on it, just to make certain I have seed from it (it was the last of my seed packet!). It's isolated enough from the others that I don't have to worry about crossing.

Interestingly, I do have one small leafed purple/green basil, very beautiful, that's shown no sign of wanting to flower yet. I hope it does, or I will have to try to overwinter it from cuttings! I found it at DeBaggio's this spring, and it's quite different... tasty, too, with a definite touch of anise in the flavor.

Here's a pic of Summerlong Dwarf Basil from Burpee. The catalog says it will grow all summer without going to seed and so far they seem to be right.

Rich