Jill, the seeds arrived yesterday. I found them when I got home after work. Thanks!
Now I just have to figure out where I can put each of them (plus the regular and lemon basils that I've already started) so that they don't cross pollinate and get enough sun not to croak.
Basils for SASBE
Great! I think the easy way to prevent cross pollination is to just allow each variety to go to seed at a different time... You'll mostly want tooo keep pinching back branches & especially flower buds anyway, as the leaves don't taste as good after the plant flowers.
Oh dear... I usually have TONS of bees in my garden, they are so drunk off flowers that they fly around and bump into things. (It's kind of cute actually.) If I accidentally let two of the basil varieties flower at the same time, say while on a short vacation, would it be best to assume that cross-pollination has occurred and that I would get some very odd seedlings should I decide to plant the seeds next year? Are there any basil varieties that will breed true no matter how many other basil types are around and flowering?
I try to isolate by pinching flower stalks to allow blooming at different times... but I'm sure I "miss" too, and so far I have to say that my basils all seem to come true from saved seed. Perhaps they are sufficiently self-fertile that the flowers get pollinated almost immediately upon opening? I'm not sure... but there's no reason not to save seeds. I mean, how weird could a crossed basil get? LOL. If you offer seeds for trade, you should probably note for the purists that there's a possibility of cross pollination... but for home gardening purposes, I don't think it's a critical issue.
BTW, my Italian Genovese basil has always thrown some smooth-leaved (and less strongly flavored, I think) sports, even with the original seed from the packet. I generally weed those out, not because they are "bad" but just because I prefer those big, crinkled leaves. I do plant my Italian basil away from the other varieties, because this is the one I want to be sure to have come "true" each year from seed.
Well let's see... this year I will be planting oodles of basil: Sweet, Italian Genovese, Lemon, Lime, Thai, Red Rubin, Cinnamon, and Green Ruffles (just had to try it). Imagine the interesting combinations that could arise! Lemon-Cinnamon basil that is ruffled? Might be popular!
I'll keep the Italian Genovese in a separate place to try and keep it pure. But if I fail and next year I end up with Thai-Italian basil that has both red and green leaves that are half-ruffled and half smooth, I'll be sure to come to you to request a few pure seeds :-) (Perhaps in trade for some tasty mutants?)
Tasty mutants??! You're on! LOL
Jill, my basil arrived today, and I can't wait to get em started! Thank you so much for sharing with me ;).
You're welcome!
Swoznik, your BE went out today, sorry for the delay... the mailman suddenly started coming earlier & I missed him!
Missouriorganic, got your SASBE & have it ready to go out tomorrow... just realized I never edited my first post with your Dmail request, so I'll do that now. :-)
Since most of the seeds in this SASBE offer have been claimed, I'm going to close this thread. I'll continue to "watch" it though in case anyone has questions.
Diane, please LMK if you need those basil seeds sooner or if it will work to put some in with your African Violets.
Whoops, didn't realize I couldn't "close" a thread on this forum.... will just put a note in the top post.
This message was edited Apr 6, 2006 8:58 PM
Thanks! Warmth will make the basil seeds "pop" a little faster. I sow them in rows in about an inch of moist potting mix in a seed starting tray (eg, take out container LOL with holes in the bottom and in the top), and I just press the seeds into the surface of the soil without covering them so I can watch closely for germination! :-)
I think the way the basil seed coats swell with water is pretty cool.... I remember the time that I thought they'd make a good addition to a sprouting mix for salads -- what a surprise! I thought the seeds had come down with some sort of grey mold overnight... so I tried again! Then I looked up information about them and figured out that they were "supposed" to do that. Ha!
If you still have a few lemon and lime basil seeds I'd love to have some.
Thanks,
ddensmore
DD, you're in luck, as you caught me just before I sowed most of my extra basil seed out under the fruit trees with some other mixed seeds! The original trade packets are gone, but I have enough extra to share. Send me SASBE as described in the top post, and I'll fix you up.