Anyone else going to the International Herb Symposium at Wheaton College, Massachusetts in June this year? I'm signed up and raring to go. Info is at www.sagemountain.com

That's a lotta basil :D

What do you possibly plan to do with all that basil?

are you getting a italian type basi or thai ?

Tracy

The leaves almost look like a lemon basil.

i don't know what type of basil it is but the package says sweet basil, product of Thailand. i initially thought it was thai basil, but it doesn't look like it.

I plan to do a lot of cooking with basil this summer. I also plan on giving some to family.

as for the rest of the seeds, well, i just might try the bubble drink :)

I have had terrible luck with basil! Right now the leaves are covered with a transparent looking black spot. Can anyone give me any hints? How often does basil need to be replanted? What are the problem pests?

By the way, I just discovered (in the course of thinning my newly-planted basil seedlings) another possible use for Max's seeds: basil sprouts. The little sprouts are so tender and tasty!

herbalbetty, thanks for the information about the Herb Symposium. You might start a separate posting about this to spread the word!

Baxter_bud, why don't you post more about your growing conditions? Basil likes full sun, warm temperatures, and well-drained soil, and needs fairly frequent watering and feeding. Cut it frequently to keep it bushy and to prevent flowering, which hurts the plant's flavor and hastens its decline. If your plants keep trying to flower no matter how often you cut them back, that's usually a sign that it's time to harvest them and put in a new batch. Otherwise, sounds like either underwatering (don't let the soil get so dry that the plants wilt) or overwatering (let the top half-inch of the soil dry out between waterings).

never tried basil spouts, I imagine they must taste pretty good. You'd need a lot of sprouts to make it worthwile.

Currently I have 15 pots (I show only 6 in the pic). Haven't decided to sow more yet,but maybe this weekend when I feel like doing something.

Baxter Bud- Basil seems to have serious fungal problems when grown under less than ideal(cool & wet) conditions. I have had much improvement by buying the "Nufar" disease resistant variety Basil seed(Johnnys) for starting inside sweet basil plants to transplant. It performs better in the cell packs and better transplanted in greenhouse soil early. I save the less expensive seed for direct seeding once the weather is more suited.

This is my 3rd season for growing Basil. I have a freezer full of basil and quart jars of dried Basil. I have the Sweet Basil and that is what the photos look like to me. Basil is the easiest thing to grow, but as suggested, you have to keep it cut back. Usually by the end of the summer I am so busy with harvesting other vegetables, that I put off cutting my basil until it is almost ready to flower. Then I have to work around the bees to get it all cut. Bees love Basil, so if you have a problem getting plants pollinated, just plant some basil and you will have more bees than you know what to do with. I have never had a problem with insects or diseases with the basil that I have grown. From what I understand, Basil is in the mint family, and as a lot of gardeners know, non-beneficial insects usually can't stand the scent of mint.

To put up basil, I have picked them, then washed the leaves, patted dry, and then put up in freezer bags and when needed, just broke off what I needed out of the bag and stick the bag back in the freezer. I also have a dehydrator. I wash the leaves, take a blow dryer, set it on the cool setting, blow dry the leaves and when thoroughly dry, put them in the dehydrator and dry. I have given a lot of basil to family and friends. A couple of basil bushes go a long way!
Sheila

Max, it kind of looks like Thai basil. Does it taste like regular sweet basil, or does it have an anise-y flavor mixed in? (Thai basil is also great for pesto.)

Sheila, using a salad spinner might save some drying work. If you grow it in a garden where the air is clean and it's not visited by critters, you might not need to bother washing it at all.

Comment to Sheila's thought about non-beneficials -- Japanese beetles here will decimate basil. They must not have read the book and certainly are NON-beneficial! Chuckle, chuckle, but not funny on a crop where spraying isn't my option.

I haven't tried any of them as they are too small. this is my first year trying them from seed. I normally buy seedlings from the garden store that sells them in black plastic cells x 6. They are now twice the size of the pics. Hard to tell what variety of basil they are but will plant them and see how it goes.

We love pesto so we harvest basil and make pesto and freeze it in small containers. It tastes as good as fresh made. We have also chopped basil and put it into ice trays with a small amount of water to freeze for future use in sauces and other dishes. After it freezes just put the cubes in a plastic bag and keep frozen.

We are crazy about basil but I found that I can just toss the basil leaves into the food processor with a little olive oil and then into a freezer bag, freeze and break off bits all winter and save on the ice cube stage. I also make pesto and freeze in baggies . . .I can either use the whole baggie (I use cheaper baggies for smaller batches or use a bigger better baggie and break off a piece and put the rest back in the freezer.

Tracy

MAX how is your basil doing??? What kind is it? PLEASE let us know!!!!