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Beautiful Basil
It was a tragedy of unending proportions I can tell you. You see, I can confuse the palates of my family by adding other spices in profusion, but to run out of this spice is a tomato-cooks worst nightmare come true. It wasnt a pretty sight.
Ocimum basilicum
This plant, Ocimum basilicum, has been around for a long time and was originally named by Theophrastus (you know, the guy who co-founded and then replaced Aristotle as head of the Peripatetic school of philosophy back in 323 B.C.)
35 Species
There are indeed 35 species in this family of plants, ranging from annuals right through perennials and into shrubs. The one Im interested in though is a tender annual here in zone 4 and is perhaps the most important culinary herb in my repertoire. Im going to ignore for the moment the other members including O. tenuiflorum, the Hindu Sacred Basil. Sacred Basil is used quite extensively in India during funeral rites as an emblem of good luck and is also used in anti-malarial fumigation. Other species such as O. kilmandschaicum (Camphor Basil) are mostly used for medicinal purposes when treating stomach aches and colds.
Grow Basil Easily
Before we plunge into the difficult part of growing basil, let me give you some easy growing tips. The first is that the seed is extremely easy to germinate. Sow thinly in a warm spot (it doesnt grow well in cold soil). You can abuse this seed in other ways but do keep it warm if you want to see it grow. Barely cover it with soil. If you cover it too deeply, it will not germinate well. Keep moist not swampy. Water with warm water to really bring the seeds along. Grow in as much sun as you can provide. Thats it. Its easy and as long as you keep the seeds and developing seedlings warm, theyll be fine. Sow indoors approximately four to six weeks before you want to plant them outside or alternately, sow outside after the soil has well warmed up.
Damping Off
Damping off is a potential problem if you sow too thickly, grow cool or overwater. This fungus attacks the seedling at the soil line and the seedlings topple over. Mix up a garlic tea (one clove of crushed garlic in an inch of water simmer to release the oils and cool) and flood the soil with the tea and garlic residue. This should slow down the problem. Thin out the survivors, put in a warm, sunny spot, increase the airflow around the pot and water only with warm water to put your plants back on the healthy growing track.
The hard part of choosing basil comes in picking the one you want to grow. Regular cooking basil comes in so many forms and flavours now that it is almost an indecency. How is a poor gardener to choose from lemon flavoured, sweet flavoured, genovese or spicy-flavoured? Do I pick a small leaf, a huge leaf, a purple leaf or just a plain old green leaf? Nobody said being a gardener was an easy job.
Favourites
My favourite form is Genovese. This is a large leaved type plant from the Genoa area of Italy and is, in my humble opinion, the very best leaf to use for making pesto. It has a spicy quality that is lacking in all other varieties. I see this year that a new form of this plant, Special Select FT has been imported to North America and the catalogues call it grown for the best pesto in Italy. Who am I to argue with this? It will have to be in my garden this summer. There is also a compact form of Genovese for those of you who think your garden is too small for a regular basil plant. Personally I cant imagine that situation.
Another variety Ive grown for a few years is Mammoth. Now if I tell you that Ive grown a leaf that is four to five times the size of a regular leaf, you may think Im being excessive in my zeal for this plant. I confess. So what? This form give the biggest leaves which, when you think about it, simply makes using it all that much easier.
There are several lemon flavoured forms, Mrs. Burns, Sweet Dani and the species form O. americanum. (no, it is not an American native it is African go figure) Ive grown the O. americanum several times and it makes a delightful addition to summer salads. Sweet Dani was an AAS award winner from 1998 so you can hardly go wrong growing it. If you are feeling a trifle more adventurous, you might want to grow Ararat, a purple leaved form with strong taste and tones of licorice. This is a bonus for summer time salads.
You can even grow basil as an ornamental if you can refrain from eating it. Osmin has the deepest purple leaves of any of the purple-leaved group. Purple Bush is, what else, a purple dome, bush-shaped basil that is excellent for pot culture or low hedging. Spicy Globe is a dense, globe shaped tiny bush that makes a wonderful accent period mark in the garden. Dark Opal is another dark purple-bronze leaf form and one which makes an excellent vinegar because it turns the vinegar dark purple-red. This variety might throw green seedlings so rogue them out and grow them as regular basil in the herb garden. If you are concerned with possible green seedlings, try growing Rubin instead. Its purple leaves do the same thing to vinegar and its flavour is wonderful too. The last ornamental Ill suggest you grow is Purple Ruffles. This variety has ruffled leaves and is a vigorous grower. Youll have to rogue out the odd green leaved form from this seed mixture too.
And, my spaghetti sauce was not the same.
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