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With the weather starting to turn colder, it's time to harvest all the basil in the vegetable garden and turn it into my favorite herb sauce--pesto--which I can freeze in ice cube trays for later. I grew three types of basil this year, and next year I'll grow more. I say that each year. I adore basil fresh or frozen. It's that little burst of Italy on the tongue I treasure, especially in a Northwest December when the world is gray and dripping. And basil is very easy to grow if you remember where it comes from.
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a tender annual plant from the shores
of the Mediterranean where the mountains crash down to the sea and the hot winds
of the Sahara blow to meet them. They have dry, stony soil there, with lots
of hot sun and wind. Basil thrives in the Northwest only if you give it the
sunniest spot and don't plant it out too soon. Interestingly, however, you have
to irrigate it in a Puget Sound summer like this past one. It's rainier in Cannes
than here, apparently, during the months of July through September. In fact,
basil is a natural companion to tomatoes, on or off the plate, and most people
grow them side by side as they have similar cultural needs.
There are a number of cultivars of basil available to you, from the little,
tiny leaves of Green Globe to the intense and exotic purple of Dark Opal. For
flavor, however, I really prefer the standard large green leaves of Italian
basil. This is the one you are most likely to find at a home improvement store
shivering in the chills of early May. The others you will probably have to start
from seed. Don't panic--it's not hard to do.
Basils germinate quickly in warm soils. So, start them in the house, not the
cold frame, and make sure they get as much sun or gro-light as possible. I use
fresh commercial seed-starting soil to avoid the evils of damping off and other
fungi that lurk everywhere in the Northwest. All seedlings are vulnerable in
their infancy. I don't cover the seeds--just make sure that they are kept moist.
When the plants have their true leaves, thin them out so they don't compete
with each other or else prick them out to a six-pack planter or individual pots.
You will want them to grow strongly without a check until they are ready to
harden off in mid-May. This means putting the little guys on a tray and carrying
them outside to a shady spot each morning and bringing them back in each evening
for at least a week if not longer. Gradually give them more sun to let them
get used to the idea--indoor leaves always sunburn if you transition too fast
from one environment to the other. By the end of May, it is usually warm enough
to put the plants into the ground in their permanent home.
Transplant the basils to well-prepared garden soil or put them in large pots.
Don't be skimpy with them--they will grow better if their roots have room to
spread out. I space them at least a foot apart for the Italian kind and 8 to
10 inches for the others. Water them well and watch to be certain that they
don't wilt until their root hairs can get established. If your soil is reasonably
fertile to begin with, you will not have to fertilize basil. It has better flavor
if it isn't given excess nitrogen. Compost tea, however, is excellent and really
makes these plants sit up and grow. Keep the soil moist and weed-free with nice,
thick organic mulch. Pick off the flower buds. You don't want basil to flower.
I don't know why, but flowering decreases the intensity of the flavor of the
leaves and that flavor is what I'm after.
You see, gardening and cooking are just two blossoms on the same stem for me.
I love to grow something and then eat it! I eat basil raw, chopped up strewn
on thick slabs of vine-ripened tomato (with just a slight drizzle of olive oil
and some grindings of black pepper). Or I whirr it up in a blender with pine
nuts and Parmesan cheese to make the classic uncooked pasta sauce called Pesto
(also known as "Pistou" in Provence). If you like pesto but flinch
at the cost of pine nuts, use walnuts or filberts instead. What the heck--it
tastes good that way too. If the basil by itself is too strong for you, mix
in parsley. Italian flat-leaf parsley is another great culinary herb to put
in your garden with the tomatoes and basils. Experiment with your basil--there
are at least as many authentic recipes for pesto in Italy as there are cooks.
And when you have ground all of those delicious things up into a paste (whence
the name "pesto"), eat what you want fresh and freeze the remainder
in ice-cube trays. Wrap the frozen cubes up well in plastic and pull one out
midwinter to garnish a bowl of soup or to spread on a toasted pita round with
Parmesan cheese. Yum--instant Roman summer. Buon Appetito, amico! Enjoy your
herbs.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
