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Last year was the first time I was able to grow basil successfully.
Even though it's supposed to be easy to grow, something always happened to my basil crop.
With my first attempt, my transplants were immediately decimated by earwigs who ate the leaves right down to the stem.
The next year, I got started a bit too early and frost killed my baby basils.
The third year, I planted my basil in wine barrel planters and they grew quite well until a soil fungal disease killed them in mid-summer.
I decided to satisfy my need for this tasty herb by buying it at the farmers market.
Well, last year I decided to try one more time. I devoted an entire gigantic plastic planter to growing a plant of basil. I kept the soil moist and the basil was situated where it would get morning sun and afternoon shade. The plant flourished until half of it was blown down in one of our summer winds. The remaining part of the plant took over the space and still provided me with plenty of fresh basil leaves until frost threatened.
This year, there's a new variety of basil I want to try. Boxwood basil is a compact bushy plant with small leaves, growing from 12 to 16 inches tall. It's great for use in pesto or other dishes if you don't mind the trouble of picking the very small leaves.
According to Burpee, who is the exclusive distributor of this new basil, boxwood was discovered in someone's garden on "one of the hottest days of August where the plants remained in perfect form." Burpee, located in Pennsylvania, sells both the seed and plants of this new variety. You can reach W. Atlee Burpee & Co. at www. burpee.com.
This newcomer is just one variety of basil. According to the National Garden Bureau there are four basic types of garden basil.
Gardeners and cooks are probably most familiar with sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) with its strong, clove-like flavor.
It's often used to make pesto. The species grows from 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall. The leaves are tender and 2 to 3 inches in length.
The other basic types are dwarf green basil, purple-leaved basil and scented leaf basil.
Dwarf or bush basil (O. basilicum var. minimum) grows to a height of 10 to 12 inches and has small leaves and a compact form. Purple-leaved basils (O. basilicum purpurescens) have ornamental purple leaves and purple flowers. The purple basils tend to have a very pungent flavor. Scented-leaf basils, have flavors that differ from the sweet clove-like taste of sweet basil. Lemon basil (O. americanum), for example, has a lemony flavor.
Another savory form of sweet basil, Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflorum), has a somewhat different spicy flavor. It's used in Thai cooking along with Thai lemon and Thai holy basil. The tastiest sweet basil is supposedly Genovese basil (O. basilicum 'Genovese Gigante'), an Italian cultivar used in making authentic Italian Genoese sauce and pesto.
Basil is a tender annual that is killed by frost in the fall. You can grow your basil from transplants or you can sow seed directly in the garden. They need at least six to eight hours of direct sun a day, but will benefit from some shade during the hottest part of the day in our region.
Like so many other plants, basil prefers a well-drained, slightly acidic soil. The basil should be harvested regularly by snipping the stem just above a pair of leaves. When flower buds appear, they should be pinched out as soon as they are detected to prevent the stems from becoming woody and the leaves from turning bitter.
All this talk of basil makes me long for its delicious fresh leaves served with fresh mozzarella cheese and vine-ripe tomatoes, splashed with a little olive oil and some golden balsamic vinegar.
Hurry up, spring!
* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Extension Office in Benton County. Read more of Ophardt's Garden Tips columns at www.tricityherald.com/ophardt.
