All the Dirt on Gardening

Globe Basil seedlings Globe Basils are taking the place of traditional basil plants in our garden this year. We have a dozen Genovese type plants in the ground but the globe varieties will take center stage. The small globe basil varieties are just as easy to grow, pack a wallop of flavor and require considerably less effort to clean for large scale processing such as pesto making and drying. Why? because the leaves and stems can all go into the dryer, oven and food processor. The basils with woody stems require that each leaf be removed either before cleaning the entire stem or in a colander. With the little globe basil varieties, I cut off the top of the plant, rinse in the colander, dry it and use it. globe basil seedlings That difference will seem insignificant to most cooks, but I make several batches of basil pesto every year to can and freeze for gifts and use over the winter. Because of their size, they are wonderful container plants and as a mini-front-of-the-b...