Basil ... Herb of 2003
Mmmmm. Basil. Can't you just smell it? With its numerous uses for culinary and ornamental purposes, it can be called America's favorite herb. And, it's high time the International Herb Association designated basil as Herb of the Year.
Rosemary Divock, author of Growing & Using Herbs in the Midwest shares that basil is a tender annual and should be planted outside only when nighttime temperatures are above 50. In our zone, that generally means after Memorial Day.
Basil loves sun. Be sure your basil gets at least six hours of sun per day. Basil and tomatoes are good companion plants with the herb helping its friend to overcome insects and disease. Growing them together improves the growth and flavor of both.
Feed basil with a nitrogen-rich plant food every two or three weeks for optimum production and flavor. If re-growth slows down, fish emulsion or compost should do the trick. Be sure to use your basil, that is, keep it pruned and cut off flower spikes before they bloom.
Depending upon who's doing the listing, there are somewhere between 65 species or 150 different varieties of basil. These include: Sweet basil, the most familiar and widely grown, and most often used in pesto; Bush basils, shrub-like with a small leaf, good for pots and containers; Lettuce leaf basil, large leaves with less pronounced flavor, used for wrapping food or as "lettuce" on sandwiches; Purple basil, deep purple color, good for vinegars and pesto; Scented basils, Cinnamon, licorice, anise, lemon and others for fruit salads, custards and sauces, as well as ornamentation.
According to food writer and culinary educator, Susan Belsinger, basil is multi-cultural with the genus indigenous to Africa, Asia, South America, Caribbean, India and the Middle East. In Italy, Basil is considered an emblem of love; In India, Holy basil is revered and used to honor the god Vishnu in religious ceremonies; In France, it is known as l'herbe royal and was fed to royal princes; Australians burn basil in the barby to deter mosquitoes. And, basil contains vitamins A and C, and antioxidants that help prevent cell damage. What more could we ask of the Herb of the Year?
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