Basil Plant
Basil is the herb of the summer, perfect because it goes so well with tomatoes and it does not like the cold weather, not even a little bit. Plant after all danger of frost has passed, late May for us in Central Ohio. It loves to grow along side with the tomatoes and they both like a sunny and warm location. Who doesn’t? I start it from seed and grow lots of it! I grow Italian, lemon and Thai basil varieties. I have it planted in my herb garden, in pots and among the flowers. The Thai basil is very pretty with large purple flowers.
Remember to deadhead/pinch your basil flowers. First the bud appears and then it flowers and forms seeds. We are growing basil for the flavorful leaves; once a flower bud is produced the energy will go into the making of the flower and seeds. By removing them, the plant will continue to produce more leaves and become bushier. At the end of the season I will let it go to seed and then save the seed for the next growing season. It is said the leaves will lose flavor, become bitter and tough after it flowers. I have not experienced that and I continue to use the basil leaves until the frost kills it, even if it is flowering. Don’t sweat it if your plant keeps flowering, some are stubborn, just keep pinching and using the herb. Lemon basil just wants to flower; I can’t keep up with it.
Even the slightest frost will kill your basil plant; it is very sensitive to cold. You can drape a sheet over it when an early frost is coming. I have cut branches off and placed them in a vase of water; they will last for weeks in the house and even begin to root. I do not have luck with indoor basil plantings, but that’s just me.
Use basil fresh in salads, with all your summer veggies, add leaves to your sandwich instead of lettuce, make pesto or add it to anything you want. Check out the recipes under “Basil & Basil Pesto”. I make pesto and it freezes great. It also dries wonderfully; to dry the leaves, see “Drying and Storing”. Lemon basil adds a lemon flavor and goes great with fish. Thai basil is used in, well, Thai food. It has a noticeably stronger flavor.
