Pesto Party Basil

Light Needs

Full Shade

(Less Than 2 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

18 - 24 Inches

Mature Spread

12 - 18 Inches

One of the best basils to grow to make pesto, a creamy pungent, flavorful food sauce that is widely used in Italian recipes to create umami flavor without tons of salt, Pesto Party Basil will be your go-to basil this spring. The bright green medium to large leaves alternate up the plant, creating a veritable smorgasbord of flavor. There is nothing like plucking a leaf from your garden, crushing it lightly in your fingers and smelling the fresh crisp scent that only basil can create, then popping it in your mouth for a tingling explosion of flavor! Unlike most basils, this later season basil will be slow to bolt and practically skip the exposure to the downy mildew infestation that can happen.

Basil can be picked, dried and stored in a dark cool area in your kitchen for use throughout the winter, or it can be picked fresh and processed in your favorite pesto recipe and frozen for use throughout the season. Always pick basil in the early morning when the dew has dried but before it gets hot for best oil retention. These oils are what makes your recipes taste so good. Harvest whole stems if you are going to dry them. Hang them in a dark dry area until crisp. You can start harvesting leaves from your basil as soon as there are at least six sets of leaves on the stem. Harvest leaves throughout the season by plucking the leaves for kitchen use. Whole leaves also freeze well. Rinse and pat dry, and place in a ziploc bag, or freeze them chopped up and added to water in an ice cube tray.

Pesto Party Basil Plant Care

Pinch the top ⅓ of the plant just above a set of leaves. This will give the plant the opportunity to branch off and create more leaves, and slow the going to seed process that occurs inevitably if you do not pinch prune the tips. Pinch off any flower heads that appear as this will usher in the seed production and the gorgeous leaves will no longer be provided for your use shortly after this. Take care not to harvest leaves too often to avoid weakening the plant.

Growing Pesto Party Basil Plants

Whether directly sown in your garden soil when soil temperatures are at least 60 degrees F, or started indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost date and grown indoors and planted out when temperatures are consistently 60 degrees and above, growing Pesto Party Basil from seed is going to give you great results. These seeds are guaranteed to be from Non-GMO plants. If you directly sow the seeds into the ground, you will want to thin out the plants, selecting the strongest ones and leaving about 12 inches of space in between plants. This promotes good air circulation and gives the plant room to spread out. This variety will grow to about 24 inches tall and spread out about18 inches wide at maturity. It takes about 50 days to reach full size from the time of planting. Plant in full sun for best results.

Basil looks great when grown in containers on your full sun patio or porch/deck. If your garden area is away from your home a little further than you want to walk to harvest fresh herbs, plant them in containers with drainage holes and keep them close to your front door for frequent use. They are easy to maintain, beautiful to look at with their bright green leaves, smell wonderful and taste great. Can you see some pesto in your future this summer?

Watering Pesto Party Basil

Provide about 1 inch of water per week. Basil needs consistently moist soil to be at its best. Water from the soil level if possible. Soaker hoses work good for this and keeps the excess water off the foliage and stems, reducing chances of plant disease occurring.

Feeding Pesto Party Basil Plants

Cover with 1 to 2 inches of a good quality mulch around the base of the plants, being careful not to cover the stem and foster stem rot. Add a well rotted compost material and work it into the soil to give it the nutrients it needs.

SKU:

BASPPP