Sorellina's Basil Forest 2009

[Sorellina]

Ciao all-

My basil is starting to look more interesting these days. Therer are 2 cells of each variety except Genovese. From left to right and top to bottom:

Anise
Cinnamon
Purple Russian
Blue Spice
Napolitano
Purple Delight
Lime
Mrs. Burns Lemon
Red Rubin
Genovese x 4
Purple Ruffles
Siam Queen
Fino Verde
Minette - self-saved
Green Ruffles - self-saved

Basil Forest

I just sowed a bunch more of the Minette a few days ago. My self-saved seed isn't hugely viable due to our short season. It just doesn't get a chance to mature by the time I'm finished harvesting it for leaves and let the racemes develop. I figure, if I wanted to grow for seed, I'd have to dedicate some plants for that purpose and let them form racemes straight away. I usually just over-sow with my self-saved seeds to get the number of plants I want.

 

[moyboy]

Wow, looks great Sorellina. We can't seem to get that many varieties here in Australia.... You are very lucky......I love basil and I'm very jealous....

I have:

Lemon
Baby (it's called coming else officially but usually referred to as baby basil cause it a small growing and very sweet basil)
Cinnamon
sweet......

That's really all we can find there. Oh yeah, we can get Thai basil as well but it didn't do it for me so I didn't grow it this season....

 

[Pepperfreak]

That is a load full of Basil. I too just love Basil and there is nothing better than fresh basil.

 

[wordwiz]

Sorellina,

Wow, what puny plants. (I had to type that, to get back at you for remarking how few plants I had!)

On a serious note, my basil (Genovese and Siam Queen Thai) are outgrowing their 1"x2.5"x3.5" deep) containers. They have leaves large enough to pick and I can't stick any of these outdoors in the ground for at least a month. I'm thinking about repotting them. I only have 72 of each variety plus my own plants (one of them is 12" tall) but I really don't have the room.

I've got a client that will buy leaves from me as long as I can provide them, two pounds or more per week. At $20 per pound, I might be able to afford a heating system for a greenhouse I want to build.

Mike

 

[Sorellina]

Ciao all-

Moyboy, I'm sorry to hear about the dearth of basil varieties available in Australia. Let me know if you'd like some seeds.

Mike, you are a cheeky one, lol! You know, I haven't ever re-potted my little basil forests. They get very rootbound by the time I plant out, but with the sunshine and heat, they really take off from there. That's so wonderful that you have a market for your extra produce. I make a lot of pesto to give as gifts and I use it in a lot of my canning. The aromatic ones like Cinnamon and Anise make lovely jellies and vinegars.

 

[wordwiz]

Sorellina,

To be honest, in the past all the basil I grew came from sowing seeds directly into the garden and waiting for it to sprout and grow. Decent crops, but nothing to grab before the middle of July. Cheezy is the one who gave me the idea of sowing it - him and a flyer a garden group sent around that said they would have plants for sale at $4 each!

If I have to become a plant whore in order to get enough money for my greenhouse, so be it!

Mike

 

[Sorellina]

Ciao Mike-

I think that's so wonderful that you have a good market to gobble up your plants and help you towards your goal of a greenhouse. I think most, if not all of us would love one of those.

Buona Fortuna!

 

[Josh]

Basil Forest

Mmmmm....that tray must smell delicious.

 

[wordwiz]

Josh,

I think Sorellina ought to work on developing a basil hand soap. Customers would intentionally get their hands dirty just to use it!

Mike

 

[fineexampl]

Very nice! i'm waiting on a huge order of herb seeds including basil varieties, but nothing compared to this.

What other herbs are you growing? i'm doing the usual parsley, thyme, oregano, basils (3-4 kinds), tarragon, rosemary, sage, dill, chives, cilantro, and stevia. New to me this year will be anise, omega flax, and patchouli.

 

[Sorellina]

Ciao Mike-

That's an outstanding idea, basil soap. I do have basil essential oil I can use for that, too. If I do make it, I'll send you some.

FineExample, I don't grow other herbs from seed. I've tried in the past and the endeavour was not what I would call a success. Some of these grow very slowly and need quite a bit of coddling, at least that's been my experience. The only annual herb I grow besides basil is rosemary. Rosemary is a perennial in warm places like CA and TX, but lol, not here in the glacial tundra of the Canadian arctic. I just get a 2 ft rosemary plant every year from the garden centre, cry a little, and am done with it.

 

[wordwiz]

Sorellina,

I would be thrilled to try a sample if it works.

Who knows, maybe you will become rich and famous with 57 varieties of hand soap/body lotions!

Mike

 

[Sorellina]

Ciao all-

Finally, my basils are large enough to be interesting to people besides myself. It's photo-heavy, so I'll show all of them to you in batches. This is what's going on outside right now in the basil beds:

Left Bed:

Genovese Basil - the pesto machine

Red Rubin Basil - notoriously unthrifty in my garden, but doing well this year, one of the best-tasting purples

Fino Verde Basil - a new small-leafed variety for me this year..I like the small leaves for fresh salads and pizzas

Lime Basil - fabulous in jellies and vinegars, also great for marinades

 

[Sorellina]

Self-Saved Green Ruffles Basil - interestingly, the most robust of all of the basil clumps in the garden thus far

Close-up of Green Ruffles - best used to show the leaf off in salads or garnishes

Possible crossing with Purple Ruffles - note the purple tinge..basils cross with each other like crazy..watch how happy the bees are around the plants

Right Bed:

Napolitano Basil - Italian gold standard for Insalata Caprese

 

[Sorellina]

Purple Delight Basil - fabulous basil for using fresh in salads, gorgeous colour

Blue Spice Basil - strong, assertive flavour, slightly fuzziness to stems and leaves, bug-resistant, wonderful in combination with lemon balm in salads

Anise Basil - excellent aromatic basil in combination with fruit and in jellies

Cinnamon Basil - use as you would cinnamon

 

[Sorellina]

Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil - fantastic basil for marinades, jellies, even vinegar..jelly tastes like old-fashioned lemon drop candy

Siam Queen Thai Basil - excellent as a garnish for any Asian dish, also good in salads in combination with lemon balm and other herbs like nasturtiums

 

[Josh]

Very nice selection you have there. I only have one Basil Genovese but it is delicious. I really enjoy it on cheeseburgers with bacon and BBQ sauce.

 

[bigt]

Very nice plants and pics. Great job on the descriptions and uses Julianna. This is my 1st year growing basil and so far I'm only growing Anise. Brings back memories of Anisette and Galliano. Just writing this makes me want to go buy a bottle.

 

[moyboy]

Wow Julianna those plants look great. I'm looking to sow the seeds you gave me in the next week to get them ready for spring which starts in a month for us.....

 

[huntsman]

Ciao Sorellina ~

Beautiful selection of Basil!

We use the entire leaf to wrap around deep-fried Goat's cheese, and for leaves in a green salad, but I'm sure there are many other uses..Perhaps you could suggest your favourites for Thai Basil, which is the only one I can find..?

(Is it perhaps the Siam Queen? Mine only says 'Thai Basil' on the package..)

Grazie Mille...