Growing fresh basil...

[neeter]

Hi - I've planted a small basil plant into a container. Hopefully it will thrive in a sunny window!

My question is how to keep the plant wide and full, as opposed to tall and scrawny?

I had basil before, and all I did was pluck off some leaves to generate re-growth. But I can't remember which type of leaves to pluck -- the big ones, the little ones...???!!?

Any tips on keeping this plant alive (plus keeping it full) would be great! Thanks!

Anita

[sneezles]

This is my first experince with growing basil. I pinched back the new growth for awhile after first planting it and now I just cut the stalks off as I need them and after a couple of days you'd have thought I hadn't taken any!

I just made my own pesto last night-my gosh it was so good!

[This message has been edited by sneezles (edited 06-07-2001).]

[KarenNC]

This tip may not help you but I will offer my method.
I grow my basil outdoors in herb garden. When it starts to flower I always snip it off as one way to keep it growing.
As far as an indoor plant, I would probably keep plant low in height by cutting tops off of plant causing it to grow more compact.

[This message has been edited by KarenNC (edited 06-07-2001).]

[Julie A]

Can anyone tell me how to make my own pesto? The only recipes I've seen are loaded with oil - I'm looking for something a little bit healthier, Thanks Julie

[valchemist]

sneezles and julie,

I entered it into my mastercook (because I want to try it) and here is the nutritional information I got assuming four servings in the half cup.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 130 Calories; 13g Fat (88.2% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2mg Cholesterol; 47mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat.

[sneezles]

Valerie,
Thanks for doing that and yes it was four servings in the whole recipe. I did add more garlic because I didn't think my cloves were large.

[Vanessa]

In todays www.washingtonpost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com) look under home & garden there's an article about basil

Basil grows quickly once night temperatures stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit; the herb abhors cold weather, and the greatest failure with the plant is when the gardener too eagerly puts it out in early May. The best time to plant or sow basil is right now, soon after Memorial Day.

Once established, the plant will thrive with few pests. Occasionally, slugs will go after young seedlings; copper rings and slug bait do a pretty good job of keeping them in check. Even slug damage should not set plants back too much, however, unless the foliage is stripped. Basil actually responds to pinching and frequent harvest, becoming bushier and putting out more leaves
il.
I just put some seeds for basil and have a pot filled with "baby basil" which I will separate and transplant in the garden.

[Beth]

You want to pinch off the top leaves. Everywhere you pinch, the plant will probably put out 2 new branches, one on either side, making it bushier. Also, you want to pinch off the blooms when they start to come out (before they open if you can)to maintain the best flavor.

[jesses584]

i grow fresh basil indoors. I attempted to grow my own herb garden so i have a bunch of variety. I started with cinnamon basil and regular sweet basil. the only difference between the two is that i ran out of terracotta pots and planted the C.Basil in a small wide mouth mason jar.

I didnt cut any leaves for a long time. i only pinched off ones that were yellow. Now to keep up on the plant i pinch off all the flower buds before they grow big enough to even think about blooming. Pinch them off just as you notice them. this will keep the plant growing noticibly creating lots of off shoots.

and if i havent used it in a while, i either plan a recipe that uses it or i cut 2-3 stalks of basil and toss it out to prevent over growth and to encourage more stalks. so far this works for me.

jess

[neeter]

Thanks all for your great tips (and a great pesto recipe!!) I will put them to good use.

Anita

[Julie A]

Yes, thanks for the pesto recipe! I can't wait to try it...

[sneezles]

Julie,
I had some pesto leftover and spread it on some hot baguette tonight-it was wonderful! Of course my guys thought it looked gross but I convinced the oldest to try it and he loved it! So now he just thinks of it as green butter!

[lorilei]

Julie -

You can actually replace a great deal of the oil with chicken stock or water (see the Pesto Salmon in the April issue). The pesto's flavor won't suffer, and you'll end up with a lower fat content. I would advise against eliminating ALL the oil, though. Usually you'll need a little bit to emulsify the pesto and maintain its consistency.

[sneezles]

Julie,
This is the CL recipe that I used, it's from
The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, pg 268.

Basil Pesto

2 tbs pine nuts, toasted
2 large garlic cloves
2 3/4 cups loosely packed fresh bail leaves (about 1.3 ounces)
2 tbs grated fresh Parmesean
2 tsp lemon juice
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1. Drop pine nuts and garlic through food chute with food processor on, and process until minced. Add basil, cheese and lemon juice; process until finely minced. With processor on, slowly pour oil through food chute; process until well-blended. Yield: 1/2 cup.

If you need the breakdown I will have to enter this into MasterCook to get the Nutrional Analysis because it's part of another recipe (Linguine with Pesto and Tomatoes)