Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 04/30/2008 11:51 AM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 04/30/2008 11:52 AM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
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Growing Basil is Easy!~By Ken Churches
Sweet basil is easy to grow, very useful in the kitchen, and easy to store. Basil is as beautiful as it is useful. Foliage colors range from pale green to emerald, vivid purple and purple laced with gold. Texture varies from silky and shiny to crinkled and matte. Brush against its foliage or crush a leaf, and basil releases a wonderfully spicy fragrance. Varieties include cinnamon, lemon and anise.....
Basil is a member of the mint family and has the familiar four-sided stems and whorled flowers, but is more refined in its growth. Basil is native to the warm parts of India and Asia, where it has been cultivated as a perennial for thousands of years. In the foothills, it grows as an annual.
Start basil in flats or wait until the soil temperature is consistently above 50 degrees, then plant basil seed directly into a well-worked, composted garden bed. Cover seeds with fine soil, no deeper than one-eighth of an inch. Gently tamp down soil over seeds and water with a fine spray. Seeds should germinate in one to two weeks. Keep the soil moist, as these warm spring days can dry soil out quickly.
Young basil seedlings wither easily in the hot sun. Provide shade for them the first week after emergence. Thin seedlings by cutting unwanted plants off at the soil surface with scissors. Basil plants should eventually be planted 12 to 18 inches apart. After seedlings are about six inches high, pinch off the tops for bushier plants. Basil leaves can be harvested off the plants periodically throughout the summer. Water and fertilize your basil plants frequently. Pinch off the flowers to keep the plant from setting seed.
Basil can dress up a garden as well as a dish. It will blend with colorful lettuce, and really grow well on the edge of a bed of tomatoes. Combine it with annuals, such as dwarf snapdragons, and French marigolds. The dwarf basil 'Spicy Globe' makes a wonderful mounded edging, where the chance brush of a hand will fill the garden with spicy scent.
Excess Basil can be chopped in a food processor or blender, mixed with olive oil, placed in a sandwich bag, and frozen flat. Then small amounts can be broken off while still frozen for inclusion in recipes all year long.
This article adapted from Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, USDA. Please contact the Farm Advisor’s office at cdcalaveras@ucdavis.edu or 754-6477 with your agricultural questions. Talk to a certified Master Gardener every Wednesday, 10:00-12:00, 754-2880.
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