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Basil Basil Basil ...You just can't have too much!

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Patty S:
I don't cook with Basil (Actually, I try my best not to cook at all!) ...but I've grown an abundance of it every year, for as long as I can remember. Before moving to Oregon, I lived in a northern region with a very short growing season, so I only grew vegetables. I focused a lot on companion planting, always planting basil along side my tomatoes, to keep the bugs away.

The Basil was always so pretty, that it didn't take long before I was just in love with it and started planting it every where! (That was before I moved to a place that actually has enough "summer" to raise flowers.) Now I plant them here and there among my flowers, and they're great for borders and behind low-growing ornamentals. 

Some plants don't do well in "hot" soil, but Basil certainly is NOT one of them! Getting them started can be touchy, and my observation has been that warm soil and lots of water are the keys to growing Basil from the seed stage and beyond, throughout the growing season. 

A couple years ago, an old rusty backhoe bucket sat in the blistering heat, in the field adjacent to our property. I got tired of looking at it, so I filled it with dirt and threw some seeds in. (I chose Basil and Cosmo seeds cuz that's what I had most of!) I was absolutely thrilled a few weeks later...
I've never seen Basil get so huge... SO FAST!

   

   

(In the process of transplanting those plants into my gardens, I noticed that the soil was almost uncomfortably warm in that big metal container.)

After starting Basil seeds indoors a few times last year, my seedlings always bit the dust, about 3 weeks later! This is about as far as they ever got after I'd planted them indoors and kept them under grow lights.

   4/2/06
Two weeks after starting seeds indoors. (The following week they got leggy and died off!)
 
I wasted my time and had made 2 major mistakes... I planted them too early, and didn't provide adequate heat under the starter trays. Everything else I'd started indoors at the same time came out fine, but I think the little Basil sprouts had simply used up all their energy trying to thrive in what they thought was "cold" dirt!

When I remembered the backhoe bucket and how hot that soil was, I tried planting Basil seeds in copper pots. I set them out on our deck railing, where they would be in the sun during the day (and brought them indoors every night), in the middle of May. They took off like a shot! I was able to transplant them to the garden within just a few weeks.

     6/28/06
 Two weeks after starting seeds outdoors in copper pots!
(Excuse the Quail in my Basil pot... he likes to ham it up!)

I'm not sure which other plants respond this way when their seeds/roots are in real warm soil, other than Sun flowers & Zinnias.

Patty S:
Last year I had a whole garden section with many, many basil plants in it... I thought it was absolutely to die for! On really hot days, that basil would heat up, and if I was lucky enough to be in the yard when a gentle breeze came my way, the scent of that warm basil was like a sigh from heaven!

I had taken my basil obsession further than just working the plants into flower beds and borders, and decided to try creating a "Deer Barrier" along the outside of the chain-link fence that keeps the deer out of my veggie garden. (They can't get inside, but every year they've reached through with their nasty little tongues and pulled the tomato and melon vines though, so they could snack away!)  

I built a garden bed, about 2 feet wide, along the 20 foot length of the fence, and planted lots of purple, green & variegated Basil in it (along with Dill & Devil's Claw... because those are also plants that deer go out of their way to avoid).

   
 
It looked so cool when everything was in full flourish, and my "Deer Barrier" was a complete success! The critters turned away and gave that area a wide birth every time they passed through the field... My melons, cucumbers and tomatoes didn't suffer from one single nibble last year!

The long shot of the deer barrier didn't turn out very clear, so I'm throwing in a couple close-ups that did...
   
Green & purple Sweet Basil, with Dill & Devil's Claw.

   
Devil's Claw and Sweet Basil (...with a young Sun flower that the birds planted.)

I don't think I've bought Basil seeds for the past 10 years, because I harvest my own seeds every year. They seem to have an unlimited shelf life, as they remain viable for many years.

Dianna:
Thanks for some timely information, Patty! I was just digging my basil seeds out to get 'em started. I guess I will be waiting a while now and direct-sow.... ;)

I love that picture of the quail in your copper pots! Did he eat any of them?

I guess I will be looking for more basil seeds to start a barrier around our garden this year. I will, also, be adding Irish Spring soap and human hair in there. The dad-blame deer ate more peas than we did last year!

I am declaring war on deer this year!

MassMama:
 :o Holy smokes Patty I didn't know basil was so great for keeping critters away!!

I love to cook but never use fresh basil or the dried stuff.. But this year I am going to try my hand at my first veggie garden and this stuff sounds like it is just the thing to add..

Does it detour wood chucks too? ???

Patty S:
Sorry about your peas, Dianna, but it just shows to go ya that those deer aint stupid... I'd rather eat peas raw myself, (but I don't think I'd go so far as to eat the whole dad-blame plant!) HOW RUDE!

I've used hair from my hairbrush on the rose bushes, but there's never enough, cuz I have more rose bushes than I do hair! (It doesn't make for very impressive pics, anyway!) I'll be adding Anise to my deer barrier this year, cuz it's also a good deer repellent... & the purple should go really well with the different green tones of the Basil & the dill.


--- Quote ---
I love that picture of the quail in your copper pots!Did he eat any of them?
--- End quote ---
I really don't think so, but something was nibbling little holes in the basil, around the time the Quail were hanging around on our deck. Whatever was doing the snacking had stopped as abruptly as it started, but after she saw the pic Cindy got me to wondering if he was the culprit!

Rita, Good luck with your veggie garden this year! Apparently deer don't appreciate aroma therapy, so they steer clear of basil stands.(They would rather snack on more mild smelling things... like peas!) Dill, Devil's Claw, Marigolds & Anise are all in that same pungent, aromatic category.

**Basil keeps most of the "bad" bugs away (mosquitoes, tomato worms, aphids & flies), & also helps to prevent soilborne diseases & mold in veggie gardens.

**If you companion plant Basil with your tomatoes, they should be within 18" of each other. Be sure that the Basil is on the "sunny side" rather than in a spot where they'll be shaded by the tomato plant.

**The Basil flowers are pretty & they attract bees & butterflys, but don't let them go for very long before pinching them off. That will force energy back into the plant & make it last longer.


(Things I forgot to mention in my first posts!)

I let mine go ahead & flower toward the end of the growing season, so I can harvest the seeds... when the flower stalks start turning brown.

I potted up a couple of my best basil plants last fall & brought them in for the winter. Although they're reaching for more sun than we've been getting & are starting to get a bit leggy at this point, I plan to replant them in the garden as soon as our weather stops flip-flopping.



I'm hoping, since they've gotten a head start on their size, that they'll perk up & be basil bushes once they're back out in the warm air & sunshine!

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