Basil For Everything
By Judi Singleton, Fri Dec 9th

I planted three kinds of basil today. I love basil it is one ofthose herbs that just is is truly indispensible in the kitchen.Ocimum basilicum, Sweet Basil, is the most common. Two or threeplants will keep you in fresh Basil all summer, and give youplenty to dry for winter. The flavor is great, but deterioratessome after the plant flowers. Let a stalk or two go to seed fornext years crop. Purple basils: have dark purple serratedleaves, pink flowering; good for cooking. 'Purple ruffles' is anexample that is good for salad vinegars. East Indian: has aspicy clove-like aroma and flavor; good with tomatoes andcurries.Thai basil: is anise flavored and used in Indian andThai cooking. I also planted some seeds of a globe variety ofbasil Bush basils: are compact rounded plants, have tiny leaves,good flavor. Examples are 'spicy globe', 'bush' and 'tiny leafpurple'.Try different kinds There are many different kinds ofbasil that are fun to grow. I like to look for the ones withtiny leaves, and the purple-leafed kind, and also spicy basil.Basil is a polymorph, meaning it occurs in many different forms,varieties and closely related species. The different types areeasily hybridized, producing many different kinds of plants withdifferent essential oil constituents and compositions. There arecinnamon, lemon, clove and licorice scented basils; purple andgreen, curly and lettuce leafed varieties. Dwarf bush types withtiny leaves are grown as ornamental plants. Sweet Basil, Ocimumbasilicum is an herbaceous member of the mint family. It is thebasil most commonly grown. It is a delicate herb with a boldaroma and flavor, containing about 1% essential oil which has anintense, spicy-sweet, aroma and a slight anise-like undertone.Often associated with Italian cuisine, basil is native to theregion surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Popular as a seasoningand easy to grow, basil is cultivated and used throughout theworld. Basil will flourish in your garden or in a pot on a sunnywindowsill as long as it gets lots of warmth, water and sun.Pinch the flowers The minute you see flowers, get rid of them.The plant should keep flourishing with hearty leaves thereafter.Pinch your basil back to keep it small and tender even if youare not eating it as fast as it can grow. Last year mine was tootop heavy for its root base and tended to fall over on anythingunfortunate enough to be nearby. Snails and slugs absolutelylove basil, and will devour young tender sprouting basilvoraciously. I start my basil indoors so that it's not as muchof a problem. I put it in pots outdoors but I surround the potseach night with pans of beer. It has been so wet here thisSpring that I had about 40 slugs a night just around one basilplant.

Common basil pests are aphids, Japanese beetles and slugs. Knockoff aphids with a spray of water, hand pick off Japanese beetlesand drop into soapy water. For slugs, put out small containersof beer to attract them to their "fatal beer swim". Basils arealso susceptible to fungal leaf spot (caused by poor drainage,high humidity), fusarium wilt, and cucumber mosaic virus(transmitted by aphids). In the garden, basil is a fineornamental and has a long history as a companion plant; it'ssupposed to improve the growth and flavor of tomatoes and helprepel flying insects. Basil can be grown best in zones 4-10 andprefer warm soils and climate. Start seeds indoors six weeksbefore the last frost date in a moist medium at 80 degrees F. Orstart seeds outdoors after soil is warm. Plant in well-drainedsoil with a little compost tilled in or add a small amount ofbalanced organic fertilizer. Optimum soil ph is 5.5 - 7.5. Spaceplants 12-18 inches apart. You can snip fresh basil leaves intoa pasta dish or salad and have your aromatherapy and eat it too!

Basil Lore Cultivated since antiquity, basil originated inIndia, where it was regarded as a sacred herb. The name comesfrom the Greek basileus meaning 'king.' In India, Hindusbelieved that if a leaf of basil was buried with them, it wouldget them into heaven. Basil was also sacred to the Gods Krishna,and Vishnu and is still found growing around temples. In Italy,basil was used as a signal for love; a pot of basil placed onthe balcony meant that a woman was ready for her suitor toarrive. In England, basil was used to ward off insects and evilspirits. Basil is a part of religious traditions around theworld, from Christianity to Hindu. Although there is no mentionof basil in the Bible (21), the plant is said to have grown atthe site of Christ's crucifixion (21, 24) and is associated withSt. Basil, whose feast day is celebrated in Greece on January 1by having basil blessed at church (21, 45).

Holy basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum, is particularly sacred in Hindutradition. It is thought to be the manifestation of the goddess,Tulasi, and to have grown from her ashes. There are severalversions of the legend, but according to a widely known one,Tulasi was tricked into betraying her husband when she wasseduced by the god Vishnu in the guise of her husband. In hertorment, Tulasi killed herself, and Vishnu declared that shewould be "worshipped by women for her faithfulness" and wouldkeep women from becoming widows (37). Thus, holy basil, whichalso goes by the common name tulsi, an obvious reference to thegoddess, became a Hindu symbol of love, eternal life,purification and protection

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(21, 30, 37). In addition to basil'srole in the death of Tulasi in the Hindu legend, basil hasplayed a role in burial rituals and has been grown on graves invarious countries. Love and Courtship Basil's love symbolismisn't limited to India. It has been considered an aphrodisiac bysome, is associated with the pagan love goddess, Erzuli (20, 56in 75), and is used in love spells (20). In Italy, where sweetbasil is called "kiss me Nicholas," "bacia-nicola," it isthought to attract husbands to wives (21), and a pot of basil ona windowsill is meant to signal a lover (75). In Moldavianfolklore, if a man accepts a sprig of basil from a woman, hewill fall in love with her (21). As is typical for its folklore,while being linked to love and attraction, basil has alsoconversely been associated with chastity. In Sicilian folklore,basil is associated with both love and death when basil sproutsfrom the head of [L]isabetta of Messina's slain lover (21).

Protection and Luck Basil is considered a good luck charm insome folklore. It is reportedly used in exorcisms, forprotection and to attract wealth (20, 26, 75).

Language of Flowers Basil's symbolism in the Victorian languageof flowers also reflects its dual nature. It signifies bothhatred (for common basil) and best wishes (for sweet basil)(34). History & Folklore Basil has a long and interestinghistory steeped in legend. Probably originating in Asia andAfrica (73), it is thought to have been brought to ancientGreece by Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), to have made itsway to England from India in the mid 1500s and arrived in theU.S in the early 1600s (21). It was grown in medieval gardens(18, 40) and is mentioned in many classic herbals, includingthose of Culpeper, Gerard, Parkinson and Dioscorides (19, 33,64).

Basil's folklore is as complex as its flavor and aromas. Interms of its legend and symbolism, basil has been both loved andfeared. Its associations include such polar opposites as loveand hate, danger and protection, and life and death.

The generic name, Ocimum, derives from the ancient Greek word,okimon, meaning smell (21, 24, 79), which suggests theimpressive nature of basil's fragrance. The specific epithet,basilicum, is Latin for basilikon, which means kingly/royal inGreek (21, 24, 79). Henry Beston, in Herbs of the Earth,suggests that basil was so named for the regal "Tyrian" purplecolor [of its flowers] (11). According to Parkinson, basil'sscent was "fit for a king's house" (35). Many authors suggestthat basil's negative associations stem from the similarity ofits Latin specific epithet, basilicum, to the name of thebasilisk (or basilicus), the mythical serpent with the lethalgaze.

According to Helen Noyes Webster's 1936 Herbarist article, thefirst mention of basil was by Chrysippus (pre-206 B.C.E.):"Ocimum exists only to drive men insane" (78, 82). In hisseventeenth-century herbal, Parkinson claimed basil could beused "to procure a cheereful and merry heart" (66). Gerardpraised basil as a remedy for melancholy but also repeatedDioscorides' warning that too much basil "dulleth the sight…andis of a hard digestion" (33). Culpeper and Gerard claimed basilwould cure scorpion and bee stings, and Gerard mentioned thatbasil could spontaneously generate worms if chewed and left inthe sun (19, 33). Basil was also reputed to cause thespontaneous generation of scorpions and to cause scorpions togrow in the brain (19, 35). This connection with scorpionspersists to this day in basil's association with theastrological sign, Scorpio (69). Culpeper sums up thedisagreement among ancient writers by deeming basil "the Herbwhich all Authors are together by the Ears about, and rail atone another like Lawyers" (19).

Medically, basil has been used as a sedative, an expectorant,and a laxative but it is not used much in herbal preparationstoday. Still, adding basil leaves to food is an aid todigestion. The essential oil of basil is used to treat skinconditions such as acne. basil has a long history as a medicinalherb. The Greek physician Dioscorides prescribed basil forheadache. Pliny thought it was an aphrodisiac; hiscontemporaries fed it to horses during the breeding season. Inmodern aromatherapy, basil is used to cheer the heart and mind.The sweet, energizing aroma seems to help relieve sorrow andmelancholy. Growing Basil Folklore holds that you have to cursethe ground as you sow basil for it to grow well, but you canforego the cussing and still grow basil successfully. Its mainrequirements are sun and heat.

---History---The derivation of the name Basil is uncertain. Someauthorities say it comes from the Greek basileus, a king,because, as Parkinson says, 'the smell thereof is so excellentthat it is fit for a king's house,' or it may have been termedroyal, because it was used in some regal unguent or medicine.One rather unlikely theory is that it is shortened frombasilisk, a fabulous creature that could kill with a look. Thistheory may be based on a strange old superstition that connectedthe plant with scorpions. Parkinson tells us that 'being gentlyhandled it gave a pleasant smell but being hardly wrung andbruised would breed scorpions. It is also observed thatscorpions doe much rest and abide under these pots and vessellswherein Basil is planted.' It was generally believed that if asprig of Basil were left under a pot it would in time turn to ascorpion. Superstition went so far as to affirm that evensmelling the plant might bring a scorpion into the brain. Carryit in your pocket and it brings money to your business..Ahh,let's see..Plant basil on your property and it keeps goats awayand keeps you from becoming inebriated...It was also thougt tobe a soother of tempers...if that were true, parents ofteenagers should probably have a lot of it around... and witcheswere suppose to drink 1/2 cup of basil juice before they took tothe air. For anyone out there who is a witch, this is not tomake fun of your belief...It is just some things I read andthought were kind of cute ( for lack of a better word.) InRomania if a young lady offers a young man a sprig of basil, andhe accepts, they are officially engaged. In Haiti, basil isthought to belong to the goddess Erzulie the voodoo goddess oflove. In Italy, basil is thought of as a sign of love. At onetime young girls would place some on their windowsill toindicate they were looking for a suitor. In Tudor times, smallpots of this were given by farmers' wives to visitors as partinggifts. It is also reputed that any man will fall in love with awoman from whom he accepts some basil from as a gift. Culpeppersays: 'Being applied to the place bitten by venomous beasts, orstung by a wasp or hornet, it speedily draws the poison to it. -Every like draws its like. Mizaldus affirms, that being laid torot in horse-dung, it will breed venomous beasts. Hilarius, aFrench physician, affirms upon his own knowledge, that anacquaintance of his, by common smelling to it, had a scorpionbreed in his brain.' If you're looking for a lot of basilrecipes, I recommend picking up "The Basil Book" by MarilynHampstead (ISBN 0-671-50685-4). Marilyn runs an annual basilfestival at her herb farm. This is the largest collection ofpesto recipes that I've seen. References HarperCollins PracticalGardener: Kitchen Garden : What to Grow and How to Grow It byLucy Peel The Medicinal Garden: How to Grow and Use Your OwnMedicinal Herbs by Anne McIntyre What Herb Is That?: How to Growand Use the Culinary Herbs by John Hemphill, Rosemary HemphillFood Folklore : Tales and Truths About What We Eat (TheNutrition Now Series) by Roberta Larson Duyff (Paperback) TheMeaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore by Gretchen Scoble, AnnFiery Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn'sSourcebook Series) by Scott Cunningham (Paperback) Rodale'sIllustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs by Claire Kowalchik (Editor),William H. Hylton (Editor) (Paperback) Books: The Green Pharmacy: The Ultimate Compendium Of Natural Remedies From The World'sForemost Authority On Healing Herbs (Green Pharmacy) by James A.Duke

About the author:Judi Singleton publishes ten blogs a week if you like thisarticle please go to http://herbalharvest.blogspot.com/ and readother articles by her.

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