Thanks to podster and critterologist, I was able to make a very small batch of pesto - with basil from my very own garden! They provided the seeds - podster sent lime, and critterologist sent window and italian. There was not enough of any one variety, so I did a mix of all three . . . turned out great!
Of course, all of my basil plants look like a tornado hit them . . .
Basil
All right! You are welcome. Your basil will bounce back quickly ~ I'm guessing you didn't use quite as much lime basil in it?
Actually, I think the bulk of it was the lime. I couldn't tell, though, 'cause I used too much garlic!
LOL ~ so you need some garlic now? 8 )
You know, I wanted to grow some cajun garlic this year, but I was too late to get it in the fall . . . and now I can't find that website! But that IS something I would like to try and grow - should work well in containers . . .
The only garlic I have is a vintage one from an old timer here. It is suited to our climate. I'm not familiar with a cajun garlic, sorry.
Hooray! Not to worry -- the more you pinch, the more you'll harvest! For each tip that is pinched off, you'll generally get TWO tips growing back. :-)
Critter - I have noticed that - especially the lime basil - that it is back at the original size. I think the windowsill basil stays small . . . but that has shown more growth as well the italian basil.
'Windowbox' stays compact, yes, but pinching will still make it more bushy. :-)
Mmmmmm, pesto! Now, make some variations. Tarragon pesto with walnuts is delicious. Sage/parsley pesto is the most wonderful thing. Soon, my garlic scapes will be up and garlic scape pesto is a thing of beauty. Just the garlic scapes, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan. Slurp!
You're making me hungry, and I have't had breakfast yet!
OMG, Garlic pesto. mmmmmm
Podster may share some of her garlic stock with me later this year. I'm also considering ordering a pound of creole (that's what I meant before . . . not cajun . . . but it boils down tot he same thing, doesn't it?) garlic from http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/creoles.htm . They say creole garlic is also suited for the southern/coastal areas . . .
Did you see the article yesterday on Creole Garlics?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1032/
I did! I've been watching the garlic articles, and was very much looking forward to the creole article. I had already found the Gourmet Garlic site last year, but was too late in the season. Now, all I have to do is wait for payday, and I will put in an order . . .
looks like a lot of them are sold out. boo.
'Ya know? I'm thinking that the basil you're describing as "windowsill basil" might very well be the basil I purchased from Crimson Sage nursury that was labelled "Greek Basil", it's very small, about 8 inches or so, (my lemon and sweet basils grow about 18"-2'). The Greek basil has a strong flavor, though, in spite of it's compact, rounded form. What do you think? And congratulations on the pesto!
Oh, and I think I saw quite a garlic selection at www.rareseeds.com , (Bakers Heirloom Seeds), if that helps any.
Greek basil is another small leaved variety with a rounded, compact form. I've grown it (and saved seeds that didn't come true, boo hoo, no idea why because it's not a hybrid so maybe I goofed and got the seeds crossed), and I've grown 'Windowbox' basil (from Renee's Garden seeds), and they're definitely not the same.
:-)
Thanks, Critter, and for the link, too. May check out Renees next year, and compare the two. You just can't have enough basil, (IMO).
So true! BTW, the 'Greek Basil' I had was from DeBaggio's, and it grew into more like 15 inch mounds, but it was in the ground by a soaker hose rather than in a container. You might try saving seeds from yours... I still think it was an anomaly that my seeds didn't grow out true that year. I would have been glad to try again this year, but they didn't have the Greek available when we went down to the greenhouse this spring.
Well, Critterologist, I have two Greek basils in the ground, in fairly close proximity to each other, in a sunny spot, and flowering. I will let nature take it's course, if viable seed results, you're welcome to some if interested, in exchange for an SASE.
Thanks! With a little luck, I may have some basil seeds to tempt you with for a trade, too... I've got a couple of new-to-me ones this year that I'm making sure to grow in (relative) isolation. (Note that the problem with the Greek basil is pretty much the only time I've had basil not come true from saved seed... mostly, my seed is trustworthy!) From the info I've found on it, I don't think 'Magical Michael' is a hybrid, so I'm planning to save seeds from it. I also have basil from seed sent to a friend from an island off the coast of Sumatra, labeled "Hot & Spicy Basil" that may be similar to the Greek basil (smaller leaves, good pungent flavor -- still too small to know about its habit). And I'm growing out a few other varieties again... :-)
Any thoughts on how much distance for isolating the basil so as to avoid cross polination?
25 feet generally seems to do the trick for me, although bees and such are very busy little pollinators, so I'm sure you'd need more like 100 feet to be certain. You can also isolate varieties in time rather than in space by pinching off buds/tips so only one variety is blooming and setting seed at a time.
woops, I grow regular next to lemon and lime. Are my seeds doomed?
Try to see if you can have them flower at different times to set seeds... you won't be able to isolate all the blooms that way, but you should be able to get a few stalks that you're pretty sure of, and you can tie a ribbon on those to mark them for seed saving. The rest of the seeds will probably mostly come true also... at least with basil you know pretty quickly what you've got with the seedlings. If your sweet basil comes up smelling like lemon, you know your seeds got crossed! (actually, the nurse leaves won't tell you much, you'll have to wait for the first set of true leaves)
What a great idea to delay the blooms on one of the basil. Hard to cross then! Thanks...
Greek Basil is fun because it makes a topiary all on its own !
A.
How cool BerkeleyAnnie. Mine doesn't do that.
Ok, I'm confused. I had thought I saved 3 Lime Basils for myself, and gave the rest away. I have the Lime Basils growing in a mixed container. I noticed this morning that one of the three looked different than the other two.
Here is the mystery basil . . . .
This is one of the other two in the big pot - should be the Lime Basil.
Just for comparison, here is my Windowbox Basil:
Italian Basil . . .
and the Siam Queen Thai Basil.
Any ideas what the mystery one is?
This message was edited Jul 4, 2008 3:44 PM
What does it smell/taste like?
Sometimes you get a "sport" or maybe a plant from a cross-pollinated seed... if you don't think it's true to type, just don't save seeds from it (keep it pinched back so it doesn't bloom). Of course, if you get a "different" plant you really like, you might want to save seeds and see what you get next year -- just be sure to keep the seeds separate, and don't forget to label them (been there, done that, LOL).
Over the course of the weekend, I tasted each of my basils on their own. I did the mystery one first . . . it doesn't have a strong initial flavor, and more of what I thought was a lemon-peel aftertaste.
The Lime Basil, though - strong limey flavor right away! The Italian Basil had a peppery flavor. Haven't tried the Thai Basil, only because I tried the Windowbox Basil next . . . and it tasted just like the mystery basil. The Windowbox Basil leaves are a bit wider than the mystery, but shape and taste are similar. Must have mislabled that one . . . oh, well!
This message was edited Jul 7, 2008 8:35 AM