No herb garden is complete without basil! This wonderfully flavorful and versatile herb can be traced back to Aristotle, who called it "basilikon", which means "royal". In ancient Greece it was considered the "king of herbs". In India, basil is offered in reverence to two Hindu gods, Vishnu and Krishna. In Haiti, basil plants are used as an offering to Erzulie, voodoo goddess of love. It is a tender annual with a height of from six inches to several feet tall, depending on the particular cultivar. Flowers are spikes of small white, pink or purple, blooming from mid-summer to fall. Leaves also vary according to cultivar, ranging from small, light green and smooth to large, serrated and dark purple. The flower and fragrance is considered spicy, sweet with overtones of pepper, mint, and sometimes licorice.
Cultivar Examples
Ocimum basilicum, Sweet Basil, is the most common. Two or three plants will keep you in fresh Basil all summer, and give you plenty to dry for winter. The flavor is great, but deteriorates some after the plant flowers. Let a stalk or two go to seed for next years crop.
Genovese: Great for cooking, pesto
Purple basils: have dark purple serrated leaves, pink flowering; good for cooking. 'Purple ruffles' is an example that is good for salad vinegars.
East Indian: has a spicy clove-like aroma and flavor; good with tomatoes and curries.
Lettuce leaf: grows huge leaves good for stuffing. 'Green ruffles' and 'mammoth' are examples.
Bush basils: are compact rounded plants, have tiny leaves, good flavor. Examples are 'spicy globe', 'bush' and 'tiny leaf purple'.
West African: has spicy flavor, used as a medicinal for gargles and dressings for wounds.
Anise basil: has a height around four feet and leaves have a sweet licorice scent.
Thai basil: is anise flavored and used in Indian and Thai cooking.
Lemon basil: is lemon-flavored, excellent for fish dishes and salads. It re-seeds itself in the garden. The new award winning cultivar is 'sweet dani', seeds of which can be found at Park Seed Co.
Planting, Growing
Basil can be grown best in zones 4-10 and prefer warm soils and climate. Park Seed and . The Cook's Garden are good sources for seeds, and Rasland Farm is an excellent source for live plants.
Start seeds indoors six weeks before the last frost date in a moist medium at 80 degrees F. Or start seeds outdoors after soil is warm. Plant in well-drained soil with a little compost tilled in or add a small amount of balanced organic fertilizer. Optimum soil ph is 5.5 - 7.5. Space plants 12-18 inches apart. Schedule successive plantings to have a continual harvest. Plant near tomatoes and peppers to enhance their growth.
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