Gardening Topic for August 2005
Sweet, Sweet Basil

Provided by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.

"Garlic Fest tonight!!!" was how my friend greeted me when I picked up the phone one Friday afternoon. This group of friends were always a lively bunch to socialize with and my husband and I knew a "Garlic Fest" with them would prove to be a lot of fun! We were told to bring a hearty loaf of bread and a bottle of red wine. When we arrived that evening, the aroma of garlic filled the air. A big bowl of warm pesto, among other garlic cuisine, sat on the table waiting to be enjoyed and savored. This would be my first taste of pesto and after that first bite, I was hooked! My husband was as well, and he decided to learn to make this delicious pesto. Basil was the main ingredient, we were told, as our friends gave us the recipe. That summer we planted 12 plants of basil and began our love affair with pesto. We enjoyed pesto all that summer and even froze enough to last us through the winter until we could plant again!

In our quest to grow basil and make pesto, we learned that basil has a very rich and quite interesting history. It was most likely first cultivated in India over 5000 years ago and then introduced to Africa and the Mediterranean region through the ancient spice routes. The ancient Greeks called it "The Herb of Kings" and it was believed that only the king himself should harvest the herb, with a golden sickle. The ancient Egyptians burned basil and myrrh together to appease their gods and to embalm their dead. In Romania, when a man accepted a basil sprig from a woman, he found himself officially engaged! Haitian shopkeepers believed in basil's protective powers and would sprinkle basil water around their shops to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity. Today, as we know, it is well-liked for its warm, sweet, spicy aroma. It compliments a variety of dishes. My favorite way to use fresh basil, other than in pesto, is in pasta salad and on my homemade pizza.

Basil is a warm season annual and can easily be grown from seed, but in New England, it is best to start the seed indoors 4-6 weeks before setting out. Starting from seed also gives you the advantage of choosing the most interesting varieties, such as lemon basil, cinnamon basil and purple basil. Place a soilless medium, such as a mixture of fine grade vermiculite and perlite, in a small flat or seed-starting pan. Plant the seeds in this flat about 1/8 inch deep. Cover the flat with clear plastic to prevent moisture loss. Remove the plastic when the first seed sprouts and place the flat in direct light, or 2 - 3 inches below grow lights. Be careful not to over water. Transplant the seedlings to 2-inch pots when they have developed their first set of true leaves, which is about 2 -3 weeks after they have germinated. You can begin to put the plants outside during the day when temperatures are warmest to get them used to outdoor temperatures and weather. This is called hardening off. Transplant the young basil plants into the ground when the night temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees, which is usually in late May. If you choose to skip growing basil from seed, you can purchase transplants at your local garden center in the spring.

Basil thrives when temperatures are in the 80s and 90s. It also loves full sun and a rich, well-drained soil. Mixing well-rotted manure or manure compost into the soil before planting will help your basil flourish. Mulch the basil once the soil has warmed up since basil roots love to be warm. Fertilize the plants at planting time and then every 2 - 3 weeks. Be sure to keep the soil moist.

Prune your basil often to have nice, bushy plants and be careful not to let the plants flower. This will cause the normally aromatic leaves to taste somewhat bitter. You really don't want that to happen after all the work you've done to grow it for your summer recipes, so make sure you pinch out the flower buds as soon as they appear! Throughout the summer, cut the young leaves for making pesto or other recipes, since older leaves have less oil content and become tougher. Being a very tender plant, basil will be damaged by frost, so completely cover it if a frost is predicted, or make a final harvest at that time.

My husband and I use our basil throughout the summer, but at the end of the summer we harvest all the basil and set time aside to make our pesto for the winter. We cut all the leaves, wash them, let them dry, store them in plastic bags and then make sure we make our pesto within 24 hours. Once we begin making the pesto recipe, the pleasant, spicy scent that fills our kitchen is mouth-watering We make sure we have a hearty loaf of bread available for dipping, and of course, we set aside enough for a few "Garlic Fests"!

Here's our Pesto recipe:

1/4 cup pine nuts
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups basil leaves (packed)
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Romano cheese

Wash the basil leaves and pat dry with a towel. Set aside.
Put pine nuts on a small cookie sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven. Set the oven to broil and lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Watch carefully so they don't over brown. Remove and set aside.
Press garlic cloves, using a garlic press, into a small bowl. Add olive oil and stir. Place in the microwave on HI for 30 - 40 seconds. Remove and set aside.
Place basil leaves in a food processor. Slowly drizzle garlic-infused oil into the feeding tube while processing. Add reserved pine nuts and continue processing. Continue until all garlic- infused oil, pine nuts and basil are fully processed.
Remove mixture from processor and place in a small bowl. Blend in grated cheeses. Reheat in microwave for 20 - 30 seconds.
Stir and enjoy!

Now that I've learned to grow basil and my husband makes a terrific pesto, I should seriously think about growing garlic. I guess that will be the topic of a whole other article!

Pesto Ingredients
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Provided by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org