Hi!
does anyone know where I can find seeds from this herb?
thank you
anna
compact sweet basil
I know I Dmailed you this same info, but thought I'd repost it here since I know there are lots of different varieties of compact basil. I'd love to see some discussion of which varieties people have grown and how they like them!
I'm growing a couple of varieties of compact basil this year, hoping to save seeds from all... I'm going to try to let them flower at different times to prevent crossing, since they are all in planters on my deck railing!
I've grown 'Spicy Globe' from seed for several years, and although it's small leafed, it's a little more rangy than I would like in a planter or as a border plant.... somehow, it never looks like the 'Spicy Globe' basil we used to buy (as plants) from DeBaggio. I'll probably still grow it every year, though, as the Japanese Beetles seem to prefer it to all others, which makes it useful as a "trap crop" (I spray with Sevin, and then do not harvest from it).
However, 'Minette' is a lovely, compact, mounding plant that just forms perfect globes in my windowbox -- and it has a nice bright, strong flavor too! I think I'm at the end of my seed packet (from Parks maybe or from Pinetree, have to check), so if I don't manage to save seeds I'll be ordering more -- happy to share, either way.
Sequee sent me some seeds of her favorite compact basil, 'Windowbox Basil', which I think she got from Renee's Gardens. It's a little larger than 'Minette', but so far I'm liking it quite a lot.
I bought a pair of 'Greek Basil' plants at DeBaggio's this spring, and they have formed compact, bushy, small-leafed plants that are already about 10 inches high & wide (planted in the ground). I like the flavor and will try to save seeds from them.
I probably have a few seeds left of 'Fine Verde' basil also, which I tried last year. While it's a small leafed variety, it turned out to be fairly tall and not really compact in any way... and the flavor IMO did not make up for the relatively small harvest.
I have grown 'Greek Basil' for several years, and I absolutely love them. They look great in the garden once they form up into dense globes, and the taste is excellent as well. Although I generally use large-leaf basil for pesto, I do make a point to prune this type to add to the mix. This year I've got a bunch of 'Greek' in my front little bed, and I keep hoping that it will form up... Adn it seems to just keep on taking it's sweet time!
This is my first year growing 'Spicy Globe Basil'. So far I am pleased, because it is forming up into an incredibly dense ball (well, actually it's more shaped like an upside down pear at the moment). I've used it in one recipe of pesto so far this season, and found it to be a welcome addition. I do not, however, think that this will become a big staple in our gardens as it just doesn't look as nice as the 'Greek'. I will definitely grow it again next year though because I like the flavour.
I grew 'Minette' several years ago and loved it! I didn't have any seeds this year, but I will be trying to get some for next. This basil was probably the truest "globe" variety of them all. Perfect little globes.... dense all the way through! And they grew quickly, much faster than the 'Greek' variety. I don't remember the flavour as being anything really striking, just really strong, true basil flavour. Another good one to add into pesto.
Hi Calypsa,
thank you for your message. Where do you get your seeds from?
I've grown all the basils above. I love the herb seeds from The Thyme Garden. They have a nice variety of edibles, a good amount in each envelope and the prices are pretty nice. I bought really nice plants from them too this spring.
Another good place for very inexpensive seed is Pinetree Gardens. You can find links to lots of places in the GardenWatchdog here on DG and you can get ratings of what DG customers think of these places. It's a great way to make sure you are going to get the service you want!
GGG
Thankk you GGG. Always a very knowledgeable peep!
Pinetree does have seeds for 'Minette' ($1.25), and they also list a 'Bush Basil' that they say grows 8 inches tall and has a "delicate spicy flavor."
Yep, I agree with what's already been said... Pinetree Gardens is a good source. I also like The Cook's Garden, though I'm not sure how good they are now that they're attached with Burpee. Some years, I've simply found the 'Greek Basil' in places like Lowe's or Home Depot. Every now and then they have a great selection... This year a HD near us had about 8 different kinds of basil! I was very excited even though I already had my seeds started for the season. Hopefully that means there will be a good choice next year :-)
I'm looking for all types of basil seeds for postage and would appreciate your help.
Jenlee, I'm planning to collect seeds from a number of different basils (~10) this year. I'll try to pinch so as to permit only one kind to flower at a time, to minimize the chance of crossing, although I haven't had trouble with that in the past. It generally takes me a while to get everything dried, dechaffed, bagged & labeled... but I did a SASBE offer of basils last spring, and hopefully I'll have enough seed to do something similar next year. If you need basil seed ASAP, Dmail me about sending a SASBE, and I'll see you what I've got.... Lemon Basil & Lime Basil, for certain, maybe a couple of others....