Beginning Gardening Vegetbale Gardening Guide.

Isn’t basil one of your favorite herb plants? Having an Italian meal without basil just is not any good. This awesome smelling plant is one of the best ones to begin with because it is so not complicated to grow and harvest.

You’ll see basil all over Greek, French and Italian menus, but this little 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 that was. One of my favorite dinners is pesto, which is a a cinch green sauce made by chopping a whole lot of basil and mixing it with olive oil. Wonderful!

There are many types of basil to choose from, including:

• Sweet Basil: This type is the most popular one for dishes. It has glossy leaves and has the full basil taste.
• Lettuce-Leaf Basil: This kind of basil has broad leaves and a milder flavor. There are a number of kinds 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 couple of the many varieties of this shorter basil which is awesome for edging.
• Lemon Basil: This lemon scented variety has short, small leaves. You can use the leaves in vinegar, fruit salad, fish and poultry dinners and herbal tea.
• Purple Basil: It’s no surprise that purple basil has wide purple leaves and delicate pink flowers. This type is best in vinegars and Greek dinners.
• Thai Basil: This kind of basil has long, thin leaves and is (of course) native to Thailand. It also has a slight licorice flavor that adds extra flavor to Thai and Indian dishes.

Beginning with seeds is a good way to get going with basil, but you can also purchase your herb from the nursery, greenhouse or home improvement store. Regardless of how you start, your plants should reach about 20 inches high as long as they have lots of sun and well-drained sod.

I pinch back the white blossoms that will start showing up during the summer. The reason I do that is because I’m not in it for the flowers; I want those lovely 1-two inch leaves. When you cut off the flowers, you get a fuller plant with more leaves.

To harvest your basil, clip the stem just before the flowers, remove the leaves and dry them. They can be stored in a freezer bag once you dry them. You can also skip the drying out part and stick them immediately into the freezer. If you really want to release their flavor, put the leaves in a container and cover them with olive oil. They can keep for a number of months this way.

You may grow basil indoors, but I cannot suggest it. My attempt at wintering basil several years ago was not successful. Basil just cannot grow and thrive unless it gets moist soil and gets around 5 hours of direct natural light a day. I just didn’t have the right amount of lighting 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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