Tag Archives: Genovese Basil

Big Basil Leaves for your Pesto and Tomato Slices

Leave a comment

Genovese basil was the number one type of basil requested of the several types of basil I offered last year. This herb plant is a typical deep green color and it grows medium-to-large sized leaves. You may directly sow basil seeds into your gardens or you may start them in seedling flats, small pots, or whatever type of container you prefer, and then move them outdoors when it is warm enough, usually late May or early June. The time to start the Genovese basil seeds indoors in my area of Connecticut is 2-4 weeks before our last frost date, then you may transplant them after the frost period and this is usually done when outdoor temperatures are about the same as when you would plant your warm season tomato starter plants.

Basils do not tolerate frost or cold temps

Basil plants like to grow in hot weather and will not tolerate light frosts. So do not tempt growing them too early and putting them outdoors until it is hot outdoors. All you really need is a sunny area outdoors, or a sunny window indoors that stays warm, and it will be okay. It prefers areas that are full sun or full sun with some light shade at different parts of the day. I usually have two or three pots outdoors with my seed grown basil plants on my deck in a south-east location. I could not endure not having some of the freshly picked Genovese basil leaves because the leaves are full of flavor. And you may harvest the leaves all season long by cutting stems just above new leaf growth or cutting leaves individually off the plant. You may also sow basil seeds repeatedly in the summer in intervals all the way till before our temperatures start to cool down. Once it is cool outdoors, the plants do not perform well.

It is the perfect pesto basil

However, the great news is Genovese basil is the perfect type to make pesto. The pesto may be frozen to be used all winter long. The rewards are great. And as mentioned, laying a few of the big leaves on slices of fresh tomatoes is heaven in the summer months. Especially if you have some fresh mozzarella to lay on top for making a fresh, juicy, delicious, and favorable basil topped sandwich. I also enjoy chopping up the leaves to toss fresh with cut up tomatoes and garlic, olive oil and pasta. This is why I got more basil seed packets this year to sow my own and sow some as transplants for my friends, clients, and whomever is interested.

Scatter the seeds

When you buy a packet of basil seeds, there are plenty of tiny seeds in the packet. Sometimes up to 250 seeds. Usually I scatter some of the seeds from the packet onto seedling or potting mix in medium to smaller sized pots or into my cell seedling tray flats of 2-3″ pots. I am always sure to not get anxious to start basil seeds too early because, again, they like the heat. If you start too early and it is not warm enough, they will just fail. Basil is very sensitive to cold. If you have a sunny warm spot in the home, they may do fine but just remember, they don’t like the cold, so don’t get too anxious to start them. Usually a month before our enjoyable outdoor temperatures is a good time to start them. And if grown indoors, they will need light. If none is available in your home, a grow light is recommended.

Above are Genovese basils just starting to grow from seed. You can see the cotyledons in this photo below the true leaves.

I always grow basil in pots and not in the ground. As you may or may not know, I do all my gardening in containers, and thus that is why this site is called Container Crazy CT. And basil is a perfect candidate for container gardening. The plants will grow well all season long and I rarely have any issues from bugs or diseases when I grow basil in patio pots outdoors in the summer. In fact, I grew some basil from seed to put in container gardens on a high-rise balcony last season for a client. I was extremely pleased with the outcome. The plants loved the heat, sun, and thrived at a roof top level garden. I was super proud of how well the Genovese basil grew in this scenario.

Basil planter on a roof top

A High Rise Herb Kitchen Garden by Container Crazy CT – See the two Genovese basil plants in each corner.

In fact, by the end of the summer season, just before I was ready to install their fall gardens, the basil plants were absolutely gorgeous, full, tall, and still very much usable. I harvested all the stems of the basil plants and put them in vases for my clients to continue to use as long as possible. Here is a photo of how they looked later in the season below. My eyes bugged out of my head when I saw how wonderfully they had grown. Due to the heat, sun, and good breezes as well as consistent watering by my clients, these plants were just stunning and large – and healthy. As you can imagine, it is very warm on a roof top thus, a testament to how much the basil plants thrived in a hot location.

A mixed herb garden on a roof top balcony – with Genovese basils in the corners

But you don’t need a high rise roof top style area to enjoy growing basils in containers or patio pots! You only need warmth, sun, and nice starter plants from seed if desired. Usually I plant my Genovese basil at my home in various pots of various sizes. Some are as big as 22-25″ diameter round pots, or I’ve grown them in long styled window boxes, and square terracotta containers of about 8-10″ square. They do well in any pot with sufficient drainage holes, good quality potting mix that is well draining, and if you water appropriately. In the garden, slugs may find your basil plants, but that doesn’t happen in my patio pots and containers because they are elevated from the ground usually. I find basil is an easy care container plant.

From small 2-3″ pots to larger outdoor pots
Probably a 15″ diameter plastic pot size and there is one Thai basil mixed in with the Genovese in this photo above.

Keep the soil fairly moist

You must keep the soil fairly moist when you grow basil in containers, and bear in mind that soil will dry out faster usually in container gardens versus in the ground. And you should use potting mix (not dirt from the ground) in containers and patio pots. But nothing beats having the plants handy when you want to make up a quick dinner. As I mentioned, it is so super easy to toss cut up Genovese basil leaves with pasta. In the photo above is the point when the basil was probably getting ready to flower before the end of summer. You should harvest the leaves before this stage, or be sure to continuously cut stems and leaves in summer, otherwise the plant will produce flowers and go to seed.

Wine Opener shows the size of the Genovese basil leaves

One time I was carrying a tray of basil plants I grew from seed with a tray of succulent plants, Aeoniums, and I noticed how the green colors looked pretty again the dark colored succulent rosettes, so I snapped a spontaneous picture. Of course, these two plants don’t “go together” but I thought it was rather neat for the eyes.

Basil next to Aeonium black rose succulents
Genovese Basil Plants in a Container Up-close

In summary, if you want to grow your own Genovese basil plants, I have seed packets available and provide step by step instructions, sowing calendars, and tips along the way. I can’t imagine not having these amazing herb plants every summer to harvest from, as I love them so much. I will be growing them this season again. It is a must have in any kitchen garden. I would say it is an essential herb if you want to enjoy a true summer of fresh! Remember the basics: warmth, sunny spot, and harvest regularly. Let me know if you are interested in my seeds or seed sowing kits.

Thank you for visiting and be sure to check me out on www.WORKSHOPSCT.com too!

Cathy Testa
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com
http://www.WorkshopsCT.com
www.ContainerGardensCT.com
http://www.ContainerCrazyCT.com
Posted published: Feb 16, 2021

The Rewards are Coming In

2 Comments

Summer Sunrise dwarf tomato is a new plant I grew from seed this year. I have been anticipating the ripening of its fruit, and one fruit finally changed to its golden yellow color with a pink blush on the bottom. It is also one of my first dwarf plants I’ve grown. The anticipation was greater than usual because I wanted to see how these taste, but this comes later in the day today. I wait to share the first taste with my hubby, Steve.

dwf tomatoes by C Testa Copywrite_0001

It is funny how a person will get so excited to try new fruits from plants one grows themselves, especially this year, because I had some plants (not the dwarfs though) that experienced problems like blossom-end rot (as noted in a prior blog post). However, my first two dwarf plants are doing fine and the fruits are ripening now. I have another dwarf variety which I will blog about later as well. The other is called Mandurang.

dwf tomatoes by C Testa Copywrite_0002

Good things come to those who wait – and I did wait to see my first Summer Sunrise dwarf tomato fruit ripen. I expected the fruits on the plant to be a bit larger but so far they are small to medium sized. That is fine, the flavor will be just as good I am sure. I am saving this one for a taste test tonight with my tomato-lovin’ husband, Steve, as noted above. It is a fun ritual. He loves tomatoes.

dwf tomatoes by C Testa Copywrite_0003

Also, last night, I made my first batch of fresh pesto. It is ironic. I have eaten fresh pesto before, after all, I married an Italian and they have made it at dinners many times in the summer, so I know how good it tastes, yet, I had never taken the time to make it myself – which is just silly, because it takes so little time. It is easy. And I usually have fresh basil to make it with in the summer months.

Genovese Basil

 

I grew Genovese Basil from seed this year (again, as I did the last couple years), and it is a keeper. I gathered up a bunch from my planter, and used a small batch recipe primarily because I have a small chopper device that only holds about 1.5 cups of ingredients. It worked fine and was just enough pesto for two people.

The Pesto Recipe

The recipe called for the following:

1 cup fresh basil leaves
3 gloves garlic, peeled (I used 4 gloves, and it was very garlic strong, but we love garlic)
3 tablespoons pine nuts (which I picked up at Whole Foods the day before, but friends have since told me they use walnuts as a substitute)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (a must have to put in the chopper but also some to top off your pasta)
Salt (I used sea salt) and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Your choice of pasta if you plan to mix it with pasta

Freshly Picked

When I picked the fresh Genovese Basil from my deck planters, I just guessed at the amount and then I removed the leaves from the stems and kind of pushed it into my measuring cup to the 1 cup mark. I’m not sure if you are supposed to push the leaves down into the cup but I just figured, the more basil, the better.

dwf tomatoes by C Testa Copywrite_0004

I was sure to follow the 1/3 cup of the “extra virgin olive oil” measurement, as to not over do it with oil, and I drizzled it in thru the opening in the top cover of the chopper as I pulsed the mixture together in the mini chopper.

dwf tomatoes by C Testa Copywrite_0006

The Genovese Basil is a perfect pesto basil, that is for sure. The leaves are a deep green and leaves are medium sized to large. I started the seeds in my greenhouse early in the year (about 2-4 weeks before frost) and then transplanted them into medium sized terracotta pots. I water them at least once a day if the soil is dry, which it usually is in this heat. I also sold a lot of Genovese Basil seed packets this year to people as well as starter plants I had grown, which I plan to do next season again.

The basil plants grew huge and are healthy. I have topped them off – meaning snipped off the tops, constantly as I harvest for meals for at least a month now, and never let it go to flower. It is still growing strong and staying green. You may sow basil seeds at monthly intervals too, before we get a fall frost, but so far, my two plants are plentiful.

As noted above, I have a mini chopper and not a large food processor, but did you know you can make pesto with a mortar and pestle? I read in the seed packet that the word “pesto” comes from pestle. Interesting.

After mixing it up in the food chopper, it is just a matter of tossing the pesto into warm drained cooked pasta and voila. Of course, topping it with more Parmesan cheese is needed. And the better quality the Parmesan, the better it all tastes.

Pesto by C Testa Copywrite_0001

As they say, we learn something new every day, and I’m glad I learned how to make fresh pesto, as well as try new tomato varieties. Both the Summer Sunrise dwarf tomato plants and the Genovese Basil plants make excellent candidates for kitchen gardens in patio pots and container gardens due to their sizes and uses. In this case, big leaves for pesto from the basil, and controlled plant height of the dwarf tomato plant for snacking tomatoes. The dwarf plant stays to about 4 feet max and is perfect for a big pot. Both are keepers on my list.

Cathy Testa
860-977-9473
containercathy@gmail.com