Basil: How to Grow it and What to Do With it
I’ve tried growing basil in multiple different garden beds and finally, FINALLY found the secret spot it loves. In my quest to grow bowlfuls of Basil I’ve learned a few things that help it to thrive. This is what we do in our garden each summer for the best basil patch, plus I have a few amazing (and easy) recipes to share with you so you can make delicious use out of all your fresh basil!
We have a Video Series on our YouTube Channel all about these Basil tips plus you can find it on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok! Come join the fun on whichever platform you love hanging out on.
Let’s dive into the basil fun. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years of growing and harvesting:
Tips on Growing Basil:
Basil loves the hottest, sunniest spot you can give it
If your basil has the sunniest spot and is still puny and struggling, mix Blood Meal into the soil! Basil THRIVES with a big dose of nitrogen to boost the leafy green growth. **blood meal will slow the flower production of any plant so don’t use blood meal on your cutting garden!
Harvest with DEEP cuts, don’t just pinch off one or two leaves, cut the stalk down to the lowest leaf set. This will encourage the plant to bush out and produce even more basil for you!
What to do with SO MUCH Basil? Make Pesto!
Here’s our Pesto Cooking Class, I’ll show you how I use our food processor to make a batch in 5 minutes.
If you have one handful of basil, you’re ready to make pesto (or chimichurri sauce!)
I make batches of pesto whenever I can fill a bowl. We keep one jar in the fridge and the rest of the pesto goes into the freezer. You could can it, just like jam if you’d rather. We like using small jars for pesto storage so it stays as fresh as possible. It will keep that deep green color as long as it is sealed tightly.
We love using the pesto on scrambled eggs, frittatas, paninis made with our focaccia bread, pizza and pastas! It’s so quick and easy, no baking, simmering or stewing required.
Fresh Garden Pesto Recipe:
Here’s our Cooking Class, we can make it together!
3 cups packed fresh Basil Leaves and stalks if they’re soft.
1/4 cup nuts (pinenuts, hazelnuts, walnuts... or your fave!)
3 roasted garlic cloves (or fresh! your call)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon juiced
1/4 to 1/2 cup Olive Oil
Instructions
Add nuts of choice and garlic to your food processor and mix until crumbly. Then, add fresh basil leaves and chunks of parmesan (little cubes are ok!) with a squeeze of lemon juice and pulse. Scrape sides periodically until basil, parmesan and nut mixture is thoroughly mixed. Then, drizzle your olive oil into the mixture and mix one more time. Feel free to taste and adjust flavor as needed, all these measurements can be adjusted to your preference.
Store in airtight containers and enjoy immediately. Pesto will keep in your fridge for a month plus, or you can freeze! I explain more about the best ways to store in the cooking class video.
🍃 All of my favorite pesto making tools: https://a.co/d/0i850UfA
Delicious Sourdough Focaccia Recipe:
We love to enjoy our pesto on a slice of fresh focaccia bread. Come bake some with me on YouTube or check out the recipe in our other blog post!
🥖 New to sourdough? Check out our Getting Started with Sourdough playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfPIhWGHaEXFm0Cq85LyppQWEfJr0o3_p
If you love this recipe you’ll love our Cookbook, Dinner Changes Everything. Full of delicious recipes and seasonal dishes, our cookbook gives you unique menus and easy step by step dinner schedules so you can host your own amazing meals and create memorable gatherings around your own dinner table!
Our backyard table… Did you know that when you watch our videos you help fight human trafficking! It's true, years ago we decided to use our everyday life as a way to fight against slavery and trafficking. Since then we started hosting the Freedom Dinners and when our business started, we knew we wanted it to give back too. We donate 10% of all of our profits to AtlasFree to fight for those that cannot stand up for themselves.
