Needing basil tips!

[ChanellG]

I need to plant some more basil also. I have the one lemon basil plant coming up right now and I would like to have more as well as some Italian basil. I may plant Thai as well, though that one can take over.

What do you make with your basil?

 

[ACSAPA]

I need to plant some more basil also. I have the one lemon basil plant coming up right now and I would like to have more as well as some Italian basil. I may plant Thai as well, though that one can take over.

What do you make with your basil?

I'm not that imaginative. I make the obvious pesto. Or I put basil leaves on top or a pizza before I put it in the oven. Sometimes I even put basil leaves in a tomato sandwich. I've seen recipes on Pinterest for basil tea and basil lemon ice cream so I might branch out and try some new things.

 

[ChanellG]

Last year and the year before, I had quite a lot of basil growing. I would get fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and make caprese almost daily. I would also add it to vegetable sautees for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner depending on what I was making. Garlic, tomatoes, and basil sauteed in olive oil and tossed with pasta makes a quick and easy dinner.

 

[ACSAPA]

Last year and the year before, I had quite a lot of basil growing. I would get fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and make caprese almost daily. I would also add it to vegetable sautees for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner depending on what I was making. Garlic, tomatoes, and basil sauteed in olive oil and tossed with pasta makes a quick and easy dinner.

That pasta sounds great. This basil lemon ice cream looks kind of good.
It's an unusual combination, but it could work.

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cup packed basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 pinch of salt
• 5 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar

 

[ChanellG]

That pasta sounds great. This basil lemon ice cream looks kind of good.
It's an unusual combination, but it could work.

It is a little unusual for an ice cream, though in other parts of the world people eat flavors of ice cream that would seem strange to those of us in the states. I was never big on anything but chocolate when I was younger, and now I prefer sorbet. I think a lemon basil sorbet could be good..I actually have a recipe pinned for it already: http://pinterest.com/pin/321796335844606885/

 

[Rzashida]

I recently started a basil plant from a cutting, which was pretty simple. Just take a small snippet off of a plant or even a sprig you may find in a grocery store. Remove all of the lower leaves and place in a small glass of water until it roots. Don't add too much water, just enough to cover what would be the root area. ( Do not allow it to dry out) It should root in about two weeks. Plant in potting soil when it has a healthy root system. I would always advise planting outside because they need a lot of son.

 

[ChanellG]

I recently started a basil plant from a cutting...

I don't know why, but I have never been able to do this! I always start mine from seed. If I cut some and put it in water indoors it only lasts about a week. Which reminds me - I need to get more seeds going! I have a lemon going now and a small Thai, but I want some regular Italian.

Does anyone ever use the seeds for cooking?

 

[ACSAPA]

I found a big-ass worm clinging to my basil plant today. How revolting. The thing was like 4 inches long, fat and brown. It was clinging to the branch by 2 mouth pincers, and two pincers on its tail end. I just chopped off the entire branch with the worm on it and threw it away. Then I trimmed the heck out of that plant.
In a perfect world, pests would attack weeds instead of herbs and vegetables. First I had aphids, now this worm. I almost feel like giving up and just buying dried herbs from now on.

 

[Rzashida]

Whoa you said "big ass worm" ! I know the feeling though, I hate to find caterpillars on my passion flowers and tomatoes. Its unfortunate that we have to deal with so many nasty bugs. I once had a infestation of some weird bug that ate my whole plant. They can drive you crazy.

 

[ChanellG]

I found a big-ass worm clinging to my basil plant today... I just chopped off the entire branch with the worm on it and threw it away. Then I trimmed the heck out of that plant.

Honey, why didn't you just find a little stick and knock it off? It's not as if the basil was contaminated. Bugs are a part of having a garden, you just have to figure out how to coexist with them; it's worth it in the long run when you can enjoy your fresh herbs for tea and cooking.

 

[ACSAPA]

Honey, why didn't you just find a little stick and knock it off? It's not as if the basil was contaminated. Bugs are a part of having a garden, you just have to figure out how to coexist with them; it's worth it in the long run when you can enjoy your fresh herbs for tea and cooking.

The basil was chewed, so it was contaminated because I'm not going to eat the chewed leftovers of a fat worm the size of a Jones breakfast sausage.
I get that herbs attract bugs, but I can't eat basil that has holes chewed in it. All the stuff I saw at the garden center for bugs would make the basil toxic, so I'm going to try the suggestion someone posted of spraying soapy water. I just want basil leaves without holes chewed in them.

 

[ChanellG]

The basil was chewed, so it was contaminated because I'm not going to eat the chewed leftovers of a fat worm the size of a Jones breakfast sausage.
I get that herbs attract bugs, but I can't eat basil that has holes chewed in it. All the stuff I saw at the garden center for bugs would make the basil toxic, so I'm going to try the suggestion someone posted of spraying soapy water. I just want basil leaves without holes chewed in them.

That was one fat worm! Instead of spraying your basil with soapy water, which can be harmful if you overdo it, I would suggest in the future putting the worm in a jar or other container of soapy water. It's easy to knock them off, but you will want to check your plants daily to be sure there aren't any worms hiding under the leaves. If you get them while they are small you get to enjoy your herbs.

I had one on my Thai basil recently. I didn't spray it or dunk it in water; I just removed it and it never went back, and now the plant is thriving. Some of those worms actually become butterflies which are helpful in pollinating.

 

[maddie]

I do find worms on my basil from time to time. I keep misting my basil plants every morning. There are times I use the soap spray. I don't like my basil leaves to be chewed up too. I eat my basil leaves fresh off the plants after a quick wash under the tap. Worms are a part of gardening.. the lows of it

 

[ChanellG]

I just found cutworms in the evening! They like the basil, chamomile, AND the mint! If it's not one thing... At least I was able to get a few leaves off the Thai basil to go into my eggplant this evening.

One of the stems of my milkweed is covered in these tiny little yellow bugs up around the flower that I can only assume are some kind of aphid. I don't want to spray the plant because it has a lot of monarch caterpillars on it. I tried to spray just that part with the bugs this morning with the aspirin spray, but it didn't seem to phase them.

Just now I tried a little of the mild soap spray (it also has a teeny bit of salt), but there is this tiny little bug crawling near them that looks like it could be a baby ladybird beetle. If it is one, I wish it would call over the rest of it's family and friends! It's too tiny for me to tell for sure, and I doubt it could eat all those little yellow bugs on its own...

I'd really like for my milkweed to to put out some seeds so I can get more plants.

 

[ACSAPA]

I just found cutworms in the evening! They like the basil, chamomile, AND the mint! If it's not one thing... At least I was able to get a few leaves off the Thai basil to go into my eggplant this evening.

One of the stems of my milkweed is covered in these tiny little yellow bugs up around the flower that I can only assume are some kind of aphid. I don't want to spray the plant because it has a lot of monarch caterpillars on it. I tried to spray just that part with the bugs this morning with the aspirin spray, but it didn't seem to phase them.

Just now I tried a little of the mild soap spray (it also has a teeny bit of salt), but there is this tiny little bug crawling near them that looks like it could be a baby ladybird beetle. If it is one, I wish it would call over the rest of it's family and friends! It's too tiny for me to tell for sure, and I doubt it could eat all those little yellow bugs on its own...

I'd really like for my milkweed to to put out some seeds so I can get more plants.

Sometimes, it seems like we plant herbs to feed the bugs instead of ourselves. You seem to have a lot of insect drama going on but at least you get to look forward to butterflies.
I'm trying to figure out what new pest has found my basil now. Now I have small black dots on the basil and around each black dot, the leaf is transparent, as though something delicately ate the green layer.