Hi everyone, do you grow Basil?

[Paper Roses]

I have an above garden and everything is gone now except the Basil. I tried years ago to do the ice cube method of saving fresh leaves. So-so results. I dry the leaves all summer for further use.

I now have a great crop of Genovese Basil...the real Italian stuff. The plants look great but I wonder how long to keep them before I dry a big batch. I'm in MA. We're in the 50's (PM) and 60',s (AM now). Time to pick and dry? I'd save some in a jar in the sunlight but the crop needs to be tended to. Is it time to pull the crop and dry the leaves or should I wait a little longer?

I'll miss my wonderful tomato, cuke, onion salads with every meal. Not the same with dry.
I can however, add some oil to a Pyrex cup with a couple of teaspoons of dry leaves and zap the mixture in the microwave for a few seconds and let cool.. Not the same but better than the stuff you buy in a jar.

[Atticus]

1. Mrs. A dices a lot of ours and makes pesto ( olive oil, Romano---pine nuts if you have them ) and

freezes it into portion-size cubes and then bags them for storage in freezer.

Come January, boil some spaghetti, plate a serving, plop a pesto cube on top of the hot pasta mound and stir a little as it "melts in". Add parmesan as desired.

Hard to beat.

[yellowdogintexas]

2. definitely make some pesto and freeze it in an ice cube tray.

So handy to just drop into a pot of sauce

[PortTack]

3. My basil this year was "funny" stressed I guess despite the really good growing season

It was great early to mid late summer, then all of a sudden overnight, it thru all it’s beautiful full leaves on the ground.

We’ve been doing some grow lights in our basement to save geraniums and a few other things and they did beautifully. I’m thinking of restarting my basil under the grow lights.

Just love the stuff, and yes most dried, tubed or other processed stuff isn’t the same.

Sorry I don’t have an answer for you as to when to pick..but thought I would share my plan with a fellow “basil fiend.”

[Pobeka]

4. We make pesto from it, but only basil and olive oil

Then freeze it in a freezer bag, making a thin layer from the bottom to the top of the bag. Break off a piece when you want some for whatever dish you are making.

Tastes very fresh right out of the freezer., and the thinness of the bag makes it easy to store and use.

Add garlic, pine nuts and parmisian if you want real pesto.

[Kali]

5. for use in cooking

I just freeze it intact - whole stems. it crumbles perfectly when I get it out to use. turns black as it thaws though so won't work for salads or other presentation like fresh. freezing pesto works fine.