Basil seeds

***********************************************************************************************

I'm officially closing out this offer.

I'm down to a few trade packets, and I've been sending them out with other seeds, and nobody else has requested seeds here in over a week.

If you sent SASBE/trade and your seeds haven't arrived, PLMK -- I had one address label fall off on another trade.

If you are interested in basil seeds, Dmail me, and I'll see what I can do.

I hope everybody has fun trying out some new basils this year!

*************************************************************************************************

Heya! I harvested seeds from several varieties of basil last year, and I should have plenty to go around of most varieties... but it's been busy here lately, and I'm getting behind on things, so I'm going to start this offer out with 5 packets available for each type on the list (those packets are already labeled and ready to go). When I get more labels and packets done, I'll bump the thread up for another round.

I'll try to edit this top post to keep track of availability...

SASBE will work just fine for me. Although I'm quite open to trading, my seed box is pretty full at this time... I could be tempted by low-growing groundcover type plants, by butterfly-friendly plants, or by zinnias... love purple/pink/burgundy, not too keen on orange/gold/red. Please don't be offended if I turn down your trade and ask you to just send SASBE instead.

Thanks!

Italian Genovese type -- seeds originally from Italy, my absolute favorite for pesto and sauces
Cinnamon Basil (few) -- spicy flavor, a nice "edible ornamental"
Lemon Basil -- nice lemon flavor and aroma
Lime Basil -- flavor is quite distinct from lemon, my original plants were from DeBaggio's
Thai Basil 'Siam Queen' -- nice in stir fry, beautiful in bloom
Greek Basil -- small leafed, intense flavor, nicely rounded compact form
‘Window Box’ Basil -- small leafed
‘Minette’ Basil -- tiny leaves, nicely rounded very compact form
‘Spicy Globe’ Basil -- small leafed, seems to be a taller strain of this variety

For SASBE (self addressed stamped bubble envelope):

Please send me a bubble envelope containing 52 cents in loose postage (no metered labels), a return address label, a note with your DG name and a list of seeds you’re requesting. (Remember that it will also cost 52 cents to send your BE, as they need the 13 cent nonmachinable surcharge.)

If you do not have a bubble envelope, I can provide one, but please enclose a couple of extra stamps to cover the cost.

My address is in the exchange... if you do not participate in the address exchange, just Dmail me please for my address.

Please post your requests in this thread, do not just send me a SASBE with a list if I am not expecting a SASBE from you.





This message was edited Mar 16, 2007 10:21 PM

Hi Critter, I would love some of the lemon basil and the lime. I can trade for some Cameo Basil that I got from Renee's this year or I have tons of different cosmos. If you're not interested in those I can just do sasbe. Thanks. Fran

Hi critterologist (I love that name). I'd like to try the lime basil. I have a variery tomato seeds if you (or anyone else) are interested. I'd be happy to sned them along with the bubble envelope.

Fran, do you have any dwarf cosmos (2 feet or less)? I'd love to find some of those... regular cosmos don't just grow 3 feet tall here, they are more like 6 feet tall, and they end up towering over my young dwarf fruit trees, looking very silly. Otherwise, SASBE will be just fine!

Ooh, I didn't think I could possibly need any more basil... but I just looked up 'Cameo'... a compact variety with big leaves! Cool! I wonder how it will taste... I would love a few seeds to try!

Since we're trading... if you're interested in other seeds (hot peppers, tomatoes, flowers), please Dmail me and I'll get those lists to you also.

Thanks!

Sheeba, I think you'll like the lime basil, and I'd love to send you some others to try if anything appeals to you. I'm pretty well set for tomato seeds, but I appreciate the offer. :-)

Jill... I NEED basil!

Darius! I will send you some forthwith! Which varieties would you like (you have to try the Italian one regardless)? :-)

ANY, LOL!!! Although I'm finally not homeless, I am still plant-less!

Darius -- you've got Dmail. :-)

I edited the top post to reflect availability of the seeds I'm sending to Darius and to another DGer who Dmailed me but didn't post....

Please do post on this thread when asking for seeds, as that makes it much easier for me to keep track!

Thanks.

:-)

I guess I'm the guilty party who forgot to post here. I would like to have some of each.....
Thanks... Peg

Thanks, Peg -- I gotcha!

Jill,

I would like some Italian Genovese, Lime, Thai, Greek and Spicy Globe. I have some Phlox of Sheep seeds and tons of zinnia seeds but they are mixed colors. I live on an acreage and have a 50 ft row of zinnias and just go out and harvest seeds of all the colors so you may not be interested but if you are let me know. I also have a few Tidal Wave Silver petunia seeds that I use as a flowering ground cover as they spread so much. If you're interested in any of these let me know.

Nancy

I did order a few Tidal Wave Silver petunia seeds for my windowboxes (Fedco had a pretty good price on them, I thought), so I'm good there. But I would love a bunch of mixed zinnia seeds! I had a 50 ft. row down the back of my veggie bed for several years, but I didn't get to harvest seeds (out of town, then bad weather) 2 years ago. I want to put a swath of zinnias like that again this year, so I would love some of your extra seeds! I'd love to try your Phlox of Sheep seeds, too... what a great name!

Since we're trading, if you're interested in other seeds (tomatoes, hot peppers, flowers), LMK and I'll Dmail you a list. Meanwhile, I'll get your basils packed up!

Thanks!

Critter...I would like some of each if there are any left. Thanks.

Welcome to DG, wineaux! I've got you covered. :-) Please send me a SASBE as described above... If you aren't in the address exchange, you'll need to Dmail me for my address.

Just checking in to see where we're at...

Chesapeake, rosethyme... your seeds went out today (sorry, missed the mailman the last couple of days -- delivery has been erratic).

Nannybee, I've got a couple of non-basil seed packets to add to your BE yet, so it'll probably go out Monday.

Fran, your other little envelope is on its way today also. Darius, your seeds went out a couple days ago.

Sheeba and Wineaux, just waiting on your SASBEs.

For anybody else who's interested, there's plenty of seed left... I'll print up some more labels this weekend... We're nowhere near running out of Italian, Lemon, Lime, or Thai Basil. Once the packets of small-leafed varieties are spoken for, I can still accommodate requests for those, but it'll just be a little pinch of seed.

Jill, did you get your seeds from me yet?

Not yet... they'll probably arrive Monday. Our USPS delivery people are a little erratic lately... I sure wish we were on a regular route with the same mail carrier each day! Instead, our little corner of the world keeps getting tacked onto different routes, so we have different carriers, different times, etc... but generally everything arrives eventually! LOL, guess you can see why I've switched to UPS for plant boxes.

Heya, princess! Your seeds did arrive in today's mail... DH swears he was not hiding them from me, LOL. Thanks for a fun trade!

Great! I was starting to get a little worried. Enjoy and thank you for a great trade! :)

Hi
If you have alittle of each flavor that would be great....My mouth was watering and my mind thinking of recipes just reading the list of what you have...I will become a basil fenactic!!!!
Thanks
Gail
Ps...I found your link here at herbs...
Please let me know that it is okay to send you a bubble envelope and postage...

Gail, go right ahead! I know I'll be trying to set you up with some flower seeds too (if I don't get a SASBE offer posted soon I'll just Dmail you a list), so if you'd send 63 cents in return postage with your BE I'll put your seeds all together. I'm sorry for our earlier confusion -- glad you found this thread! :-)

I'm pretty much a basil fanatic already, as I guess you all can tell LOL. The different forms and scents and flavors are just so fun, and I love to tuck them all around in various beds.... I don't just plant them in my herb garden or with my tomatoes!

I would be interested in any of the varieties, esp the Italian, Cinnamon, Lemon or Lime, and Greek. I am new to DG. I have Purple Hyacith Bean, and Limelight Four O'clocks. Next year, I will be saving seeds from everything for swapping! Let me know if any of those two are helpful to you, even though they are not in the herb catagory. Thank you.

Hi Critter,

I also would be interested in some seeds for whatever variety of basils you have left. I love the scent of all basils that I have ever seen. I never thought of just putting them out in the garden in amongst the flowers, etc. What an excellent idea!

I love to cook and have started an herb garden this year. I have a variety "butterfly friendly" seeds at the moment. But have lots of other plants that I'd be happy to offer cuttings of. Most of my plants are in my diary/journal.

Thanks so much in advance. You can d-mail me for more info on what I need to do.

Janet

Hey, BDigging, I've got you covered on those except for the Greek. I appreciate the offer of the seeds, but I don't need either one. Just send a SASBE as described in the first post. Thanks!

Janet, please Dmail me with a list of your butterfly friendly seeds, especially ones that are hardy in my zone 6. If we can't work out a trade, SASBE will be fine. Thanks!

I must admit that cooking with fresh herbs is pretty new to me. Within the past year and a half, I've discovered the Food Network. I got sick and spent a lot of time in the recliner and that was the first time I'd truly had control of the remote in over 25 years. I just didn't watch much TV. Now, that's the only channel I know the number of and I'm always seeing the folks there use basil. I am assuming that they are using the sweet basil since they never say otherwise. (Wondering if Alton Brown ever did a show on basil..... Hmmmmmmmmmmm)

In addition to the usual Sweet Basil, I had some pretty exotic basils last year, like chocolate basil, purple ruffled (I think that was Greek) and another one that is escaping my brain at the moment, and wasn't really sure what to do with them. Can you share some of the things that you use each of the basils with? I like to get creative with my cooking and would love to know when to use the different kinds.

The seeds are not where I can put my eyeballs on them at this very moment. I'm not sure about the zones, but will be happy to do some checking. I will send your list tomorrow Critter. Thank you!

Janet

Janet, you're welcome! You are going to have fun playing with fresh basil in the kitchen... The one I use most is my favorite Italian one. It goes into pesto, into sauces, into bruschetta, etc. I have a new one this year, a Sicilian basil that I'm trying out -- the catalog blurb says it's got a strong flavor like my Italian one, but without that overtone of "cloves" (I always thought it smelled a little like anise). The various small-leafed basils on my list are also good for cooking. Sometimes I make pesto with a mix of varieties for a fuller & more balanced flavor.

I was trying to add some threads to the sticky for recipes like pesto, but... there have been more than 90 views of the "resources" thread, but no feedback or input except from downscale_babe and from me.... Terry is not going to add a link to the sticky just because I like it, she wants input from everybody! So take a look at the pesto recipe links I posted http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/696281/#new, and see which one(s) you think look useful. Thanks.

The purple basil (sorry, frost got my purple basil seed last year) is great to add to herb vinegar because it turns it a lovely rose color.

Thai basil is nice in stir fry. I get the "Taste of Thai" pouch of red curry paste, add coconut milk, and throw in a handful of thai basil leaves toward the end of cooking.... the basil is a "must" for that dish!

Some people have mentioned using cinnamon basil in fruit salad, but I mostly grow it for "pretty." I do like to pick a random handful of basil leaves (all varieties) to toss into a green salad, though.

Lemon and Lime basil... I've used them in marinades and salad dressings, but haven't come up with a culinary need for them in large quantities. I keep thinking that the lime basil might be good in salsa, though (especially as we're not fond of cilantro).

Thanks again for your generosity. I will have to check out your recipes.

Thanks so much Critter for your info. I have this thread marked to watch, so will refer to it for future basil use.

Today, I went out and took some photos of my herbs. I found this really cool stacking pot set up, new and never used, at Goodwill. I have put it to good use. It hangs outside my back door, so the herbs will be easy to get to, even in the rain.

There are all kinds of herbs in this pot. Some were salvaged from last year's herbs, some were bought this past weekend, others were planted from seeds.

I also have this plant stand outside my dining room window. Most of these were leftover from last year. I was so thankful that I didn't lose much in the way of herbs over the cold weather.

On the photo above, I labeled each herb just in case my memory fails me (been known to happen a time or a thousand!)

I know I will enjoy this set up much more than what I had last year, shown below.

Cool stacking pot! You could probably try 'Minette' or 'Window Box' in there, but the other basils would perhaps be happier with a little more space... or maybe the taller basils would work in the top portion of the pot! Remind me that you "do" pots, and I'll add a few 'Tumbling Tom' tomato seeds to your BE... :-)

Thanks. I thought it was pretty dern cool for $2.99. I've been debating on what to put in it. Then decided herbs would get the first try out.

I am forever finding cool little pots at the thrift stores. I just can't seem to pass them up. So I bring them home and try to find things that won't outgrow them. I had one of those colorbowl tubs that Walmart had a billion years ago filled up with basil and sage last year. There was plenty of space for upward and outward growth.

I did some looking in the plant files for the BF friendly seeds that have. They are all good for your 6 zone. I have seeds for pincushions, white clover, pink hardy hibiscus, cassia alata, zinnias elegans. I've started some of the seeds and still have plenty leftover.

Janet, you've got Dmail. :-)

Thanks. I've been having so many problems with my computer locking up tonight. I just replied to your mail.

I'm looking forward to trying out your exotic basils. One other one I remember from last year was chocolate basil. How can ya possibly go wrong with chocolate in the name of something! HAHAHAHA

Janet

Chocolate Basil does sound like a fun one!

I still have some of it. Can I send you a cutting? Is it rootable?

Janet

That would be fun! But we'd need to wait for warmer weather here... My "safe" date for planting out tenders like basil is Memorial Day. Basil cuttings will generally get good roots in water in just a week or two... :-)

critter, thanks for letting me know about your offer.
I would love to receive:
Italian Genovese type - Is this the good one for spagetti sauce?
Lime Basil - most wanted!!!!
Thai Basil 'Siam Queen' - have never tried this one before.
‘Spicy Globe’ Basil - tried this one years ago and it was such a pretty 'globe'.

Just thought I'd let you know we use Lime basil to spice up fish and some salads.
I will have to try it in my salsa, now that you mention it. :o)

Thanks again,
toofew~