Random ideas for growing & harvesting basil

[WSMom]

In spite of a general lack of sunshine, I have a nice basil harvest this summer and I thought I’d share what has worked for me…

1) Do not plant basil until the night time temperature is absolutely over 50 degrees, don’t even purchase it, just wait and be patient, I’ve killed more basil starts purchasing too early than I care to own up to.

2) I found W. Seattle Farmers market basil starts are the best (there were actually 3 plants in each 4″ pot, so they were an excellent value), they also sold a purple basil variety which tastes a bit like anise and looks pretty mixed with the green basil on top of bruschetta

3) Find the sunniest, warmest spot in your garden to plant your basil and water consistently. Basil likes it’s roots in sandy soil, but seems to appreciate compost at the top.

4) Harvest part of your basil consistently throughout the summer, especially be vigilant in taking the tops off whenever you see flowering beginning to form. I can remove up to 3/4 of each plants leaves without killing the plant and it will grow back even more full of leaves as summer progresses

5) Be prepared to make a ton of pesto over 2-3 harvests of the same plant. This year I am placing 2-3 tablespoons of pesto in sandwich baggies, twisting the air out, then placing the filled baggies into gallon size freezer bags. Last year I ended up tossing too much pesto when I couldn’t use the entire jar in one recipe. The baggies defrost very quickly and I’m pretty excited to see if this method works better for me.

I’m sure there are more experienced gardeners out there if other tips…please share as I’m anxious to learn what works for other West Seattle gardeners

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[JenV]

WSMom- another good way to store pesto is ice cube trays – and then when it’s frozen you can transfer to baggies. One ice cube is approx one tsp of pesto.

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[Bayou]

I don’t think that I have enough basil left to do pesto. I’m going to be experimenting this weekend with dehydrating some moisture rich herbs like my basil, mint & sage. I’ve also read that you can freeze whole basil leaves in ziplocks if you spread them out where they don’t all freeze together.

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[Oliver]

Another great way to grow basil in our mild climate is to grow it in a greenhouse garden. My husband built a small greenhouse out of old framed windows from one of the restoration stores on 1st Ave. We have bags and bags of basil from April-October.

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[Author]

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