Growing Basil

I love to grow basil.  The Italian Large Leaf variety of basil to be exact.  This variety of basil has such a nice aroma to it, you can almost smell the mozzarella cheese, home grown tomatoes and olive oil you can add to your basil for a nice summer dish.

Just as good as the smell of fresh basil, is how easy basil is to grow at home.  Basil is one of those plants that can be grown in your backyard vegetable garden or in pots, if limited space is an issue.  Either way, your basil will grow fine.  The downfall of basil (as if basil really had any), is that basil loves heat.  Even the slightest cooler temperatures (under 50 degrees Fahrenheit), may make your basil fall over and begin to wilt.

The upside of your basil, because basil loves heat, your basil will do very well in the summertime.  With your basil’s quick to maturity growing capabilities, you can be enjoying fresh basil in just a few weeks.

Basil seeds are fairly small and while you can plant your basil seeds up to a quarter of an inch deep, all you really need to do is lightly cover your basil seeds with some soil.  

If you are going to start your basil seeds indoors, just make sure your basil seeds, when planted, are placed in a warm location and receive at least 5 hours of sunlight daily.  If you decide to sow your basil seeds directly outdoors, you want to make sure that temperatures remain above 50 degrees, or otherwise cover your basil with a cloche, row cover etc.

The Italian Large Leaf variety basil, when given the room, will grow very large.  So make sure you space out your basil at least eight inches.  Your basil will use up that space.

Regardless of which variety of basil you decide to go with (there are plenty to choose from), most varieties of basil love full sun and require a light, but even watering.  As a side note, basil is a great companion plant for tomatoes.

A lot of people like to “warm” up their garden beds for their basil.  This can easily be accomplished by laying a clear .6 mil. thick plastic tarp over top of your garden beds and letting the sun do the work for you.  This process will create a nice warm area for your basil.

Expect your basil seeds to germinate in as little as 5 days, although 10 days is more likely.  

One of the beauties of basil is that you do not need to harvest the entire plant.  You can simply snip off basil leaves with a pair of scissors and use it when you need it, leaving the basil in the ground to continually grow.

The real hard part is finding recipes for all that home grown basil you are about to grow.

Growing Herbs from Seeds for Good Health and Great Tasting Food

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I love growing herbs from seed. With a window sill and some sun, you can grow pretty much any type of herb year round, almost anywhere in the world. My favorite to grow for its wonderful aroma, is basil, but I love the taste of fresh rosemary on chicken. Herbs are easy to grow and maintain and the best part, many are healthy for you. Growing herbs at home is like growing medicine that makes your food taste better. Something that cough syrup won’t do.

I wanted to get an expert’s input on this topic so I turned to Nourishing NYC education director Scott Keatley. At Nourishing NYC, Scott and his team teach low income families how to grow their herbs and use them in healthy dishes. A process Scott claims that their clients love.

When I asked Scott what three herbs he would recommend to someone to grow in their gardens and as to why, he said there are a slew to choose from but he could easily narrow it down to his favorites. He said that basil, rosemary and thyme are three he highly recommends because they will make bland foods that are good for you taste better, increasing one’s likeliness to eat healthier.

What Scott also has found is that herbs give taste to foods that your palate craves which helps deter many from reaching for those sugary snacks. He likes to use basil in his pasta dishes as well as other Italian foods, and like me, Scott loves rosemary on chicken.

Head nutritionist at the Cederquist Medical Wellness Center, Christy Shatlock takes herbs a step further. “While most people know that herbs and spices can be used to enhance the flavor of foods, they don’t realize that these same herbs and spices can also be used to improve their health,” claims Christy. “Many herbs and spices have antimicrobial, antioxidant and even antiviral effects.”

A spice many don’t think of that is very valuable, according to Christy, is cinnamon. While it tastes great, it also has antimicrobial affects that helps improve insulin resistance for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Along with the many health and taste benefits that herbs provide, they do not add virtually any extra calories to a dish. This allows you to flavor up your foods without the fear of packing on unwanted calories.

Someone suggested to me that I grow basil next to my tomato plants and I will be amazed with the flavor of my tomatoes. While I have not tried that yet, (I plan to though), I have heard this tip from a few people now, and it makes me want to do more research on herbs, and find out ways that they can help enhance my garden. This is one of the reasons why we add one pack of herb seeds to each monthly shipment in our Seeds of the Month Club for our members.

If you are looking to spice up your food with better taste and add something healthy to your dish in the process, then clear off that window sill and make room on the back patio. You can grow your favorite herbs from seed with very limited space.

About the Author

Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club:

Italian Herb Garden - How To Establish Your Own One

If you enjoy Italian cooking, you will know that the Italians are not shy with their herbs. This is one of the best known secrets of Italian cuisine. It is not surprising either, since we can trace most of the herbs that we use today to the early gardens of Italy that were established centuries ago. But what if want to establish your own Italian herb garden?

It is not just the herbs that we identify with Italy. It is also the way that these herbs were grown in traditional gardens that is so appealing. Italian garden design, with its firm lines and symmetry, its use of water and use of sculptured foliage and statuary, has also made its mark.

So if you want to grow popular Italian herbs in a traditional-style herb garden, you will need to firstly design your garden in a formal and symmetrical way, and then plant those herbs that are commonly used for Italian cuisine. If you look at photographs of famous Italian herb gardens, you will see that there are often hedged parterres, which are ornamental beds that look just as good as the herbs that grow in them. Clipped hedges were planted to create geometric patterns, and then low-lying herbs were planted in between.

If this approach does not appeal to you, do not worry too much. There are many Italians today who favor a more casual and informal approach.

Whichever type of Italian garden you decide to plant, you do need to be sure you prepare your soil correctly and pay attention to the needs of all the herbs you are going to grow. Here are some hints that will help you to succeed.

Rosemary, which can be successfully clipped to form hedges, or grown into a bush, is a perennial, half-hardy evergreen shrub that is easy to plant from cuttings. In the right conditions, you can break off a twig, stick it in the ground and it will quickly grow into a pretty shrub. It does like well-drained soil, and it should be protected from frost.

Oregano is another perennial herb, and one that also grows in well-drained soil, in a sunny position. There are various types, all of which grow close to the ground and seem to creep. Origanum majorana (often called marjoram) is sweeter than ordinary oregano, and a popular variety for Italian food.

Sweet basil, a delicious annual herb, is a must in Italian cuisine. It is not difficult to grow and will thrive alongside rosemary and oregano. To promote new growth you will need to pinch out the little flowers before the plants mature. There are also various perennial basil plants, but they are not quite as flavorsome or soft-leafed as the annual type.

Parsley comes in a variety of guises, some of which are easier to grow than others. Flat-leafed parsley is common in Italian cuisine, but curled leaf and other types may also be used. Parsley is a biennial species that grows best in a sunny position. It should be harvested before the plant begins to flower.

Sage is yet another perennial herb, and it also likes a sunny position in well-drained soil. It is not always that prolific as the other herbs, and it should be harvested before the pretty purple flowers appear.

The perennial fennel is often grown primarily for the use of its seeds in Italian cooking. It is not a difficult herb to grow, but should not be grown near dill, because they can cross-pollinate. The fennel seeds should be gathered when they are hard and a grey-green color, and they should be left to dry indoors before you use them for cooking.

Garlic is part of the onion family and is grown from a bulb. Once you get the plant going, it will continue to produce new heads for quite some time.

Once you have established your Italian herb garden, why not learn a bit more about Italian cooking so that you can reap the full benefits from your labors?

By: Henry Thomas

Henry Thomas is an herb gardening enthusiast who has grown herbs for over 15 years and enjoys helping others get started in this amazing activity. For great information on "Italian herb garden" go to herbgardening-ultimatesecrets.com/italian-herb-garden/, or visit herbgardening-ultimatesecrets.com/. His newest book, "Herb Gardening - Ultimate Secrets", teaches beginners herb gardeners everything they need to know about.

How to Make a Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Dish with Ingredients from Your Garden

There are many benefits to growing your own garden, but to me the greatest benefits are great tasting meals that are ready in minutes and can literally go from your backyard to your dinner table all in the same day.

This tomato, basil, mozzarella dish is as easy and simple as it gets to turn the tomatoes and basil from your garden, into a healthy appetizer for the entire family or friends at a dinner party.

Here is how you make a simple tomato, basil and mozarella dish with ingredients coming from your garden.


http://www.ehow.com/how_5289314_make-mozzarella-dish-ingredients-garden.html