Isn’t basil one of your favorite herb plants? A meal can’t possibly be considered Italian if there isn’t any basil in it. It’s one of the best herbs to start with because it’s not complicated to grow, a cinch to harvest and it smells awesome too.
You will see basil all over Greek, French and Italian menus, but this small herb that could is native to the tropical Pacific islands. I don’t know what twist of chance brought it to Europe, but what a lovely twist it was. In my opinion, the best basil meal is a scrumptous pesto, which is a green sauce made from a whole lot of chopped basil mixed with olive oil. Wonderful!
Just some of the many varieties of basil that you can select from are:
- Sweet Basil: This is the most typical type used in recipes. The leaves are glossy in appearance and they have a full basil taste.
- Lettuce-Leaf Basil: This type of basil has wide leaves and a milder flavor. There are a number of types of this leaf type, such as Mammoth, Napoletano and Green Ruffles.
- Bush Basil: Tiny Leaf Purple, Bush, Piccolo Fine Verde, Spicy Globe and Green Bouquet are just a few of the many types of this smaller basil which is great for edging.
- Lemon Basil: This lemon scented type has short, small leaves. You can use the leaves in vinegar, fruit salad, fish and poultry dishes and herbal tea.
- Purple Basil: It’s no shocker that purple basil has wide purple leaves and delicate pink flowers. This type is best in vinegars and Greek dinners.
- Thai Basil: This type, which is native to Thailand (of course), has long, narrow leaves. It also has a slight licorice taste that adds extra flavor to Thai and Indian dinners.
Starting with seeds is a good way to get going with basil, but you can also purchase your plant from the nursery, greenhouse or home improvement store. Regardless of how you start, your herbs should grow to about 20 inches high as long as they have plenty of sun and well-drained soil.
I pinch back the white blossoms that can start showing up during the summer. I do it because I could care less about the flowers; I want the one to 2 inch leaves. When you cut off the flowers, you get a fuller herb with more leaves.
Harvesting your basil is as easy as one, 2, three: simply cut the stem just before the flowers, pick off the leaves and dry them. Once they are dry you will put them in a freezer bag to store them. If truth be told, you don’t have to dry them, they will go immediately into your freezer. You can even put them in a container and cover them with olive oil, which will release all their taste. Your herbs will keep for several months this way.
Raising basil indoors is not something that I recommend, even though it can be done. My attempt at wintering basil several years ago wasn’t successful. It really needs about 5 hours of direct natural light a day with moist sod to grow and succeed. I just didn’t have the right amount of sunlight in my kitchen.
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
Here is more information on Italian Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
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