Wow - I have never had such a quick germination!!!! three days and it looks like a mini lawn.
Does it have a name, this woody stemmed small leaved basil?
Anyway I like it very much so far. I don't thrive without basil in my life.
Dimitri's Basil
I found it !!! (the thread I mean). I really don't know what this basil is called, but I will have a look at the plantfiles to see what it could be.
Dimitri
I know you would find it - it wasn't very far from home....I know it's a small thing but it is nice to know what happens to
your seeds when they are blown across the oceans.
I did find a fine leaved variety which is called Greek Basil sometimes but you know how it is with common names - they can lead you off track! Anyway here is one link
http://www.espseeds.com/organicseed/herbs.htm
Still waiting for the lovely South African bulb seeds to come up. Perhaps they need a chill first. I will let you know how I get on with them.
Well, it looks pretty much like the greek basil in the plantfiles, but as basils of all kinds are very popular plants in Greece, it is quite possible to have many crossbreeds.
I can tell you a way to produce a very eye-catching bush from this plant:
1) When the plant is 20cm tall, pinch out the top 2 baby leaves from every branch; it will make the plant grow more branches. Repeat every 10 days. In the end you will have a bushy plant with about 20 - 30 branches (stems). Now cut off about 5 - 6 stems about 15 cm long, use all leaves for your salads/ sauces, but leave the top 4 - 5 leaves on every stem. Put all the stems together in a glass of water, with only the tops out of the water. Leave on a window sill or other place with ample light but no direct sunlight. Keep adding water as it evaporates, but do not change the initial water. You will see roots forming. In a few days the roots will be 5 - 6 cm long. Take all rooted stems together and plant them in one pot. They will continue growing and now you will have a "plant" (actually many plants together) with 6 stems to start with. Chop off the two baby leaves from every branch, and so on. There is one I finally transferred on the ground, now in full glory. I will photograph it tomorrow and let you see what I mean.
Best of luck
Dimitri
edited for typing errors
This message was edited Aug 21, 2006 5:38 PM
That sounds like a great idea...I love trying new techniques. Look forward to seeing your photo. Thanks
Lizzy
Well, here is the one... It is about 1 meter tall and very water-demanding... the shoot inside it is a helianthus, and on the right is a young oleander. Moira, the dog, is always dying to be in the center of attention.
Please excuse my appearance - I took the photo about 9:00 pm, immediately after we came back from the evening swim with my son...
That does look beautiful and healthy. That exactly makes the difference between the cuttings technique you explained and growing a pot of seedlings potted on until maturity?
Dimitri, I have to say how sad I am to hear about the serious fires Greece is having and hope that they put them out very soon. Parts of Spain and Portugal have been seriously damaged by fire this year. I think of all the habitats (human and animal) that get lost in mere hours - it makes you cry to think of it.
That is a splendid basil plant Dimitri, and what a good idea to root cuttings to get a fresh plant, probably when the first one is getting past its best.
No need to apologise for your appearance, you look smartly casual. I wouldn't dare show a photo of some of my gardening clothes, although I sometimes think I have more clothes relegated to gardening than I have good ones to go out in.
Wow! I didn't know it could grow so big! That is amazing! I've only seen the small potted ones they sell at the supermarket! I'd like to try that pinching and cutting technique and see if I can grow some in my kitchen window this winter. Looking nice and warm there...
Hi Pat and rannveig, thank you for your comments. It amazes me to how a commonplace procedure in one part of the world seems unknown to another. Well, basil plays an important role in our everyday lives here, and this technique is known ot most people. Give it a try, I think it will reward you.
Dimitri
Thank you very much Dimitri for your tip about taking Basil cuttings. I've got lots of lovely fresh new plants now just as the original plants are on their last legs. They rooted amazingly fast - less than a week.
Hi Pat, nice to hear from you.
I will try some cuttings myself this week and photograph them for this thread - I am sorry it is called Dimitri's basil here - it is everybody else's before me, I didn't do anything special about it, I just repeated for you what is common practice here in Greece. What I can't find for the time being, is a large glass tankard that I used for this purpose in the past - they say that basil roots in the water much faster if it is in a transparent container and the roots get light - it sounds funny to me, as the roots do not show any chlorophyl activity at all, but in this case it will help to show the root growth. What IS important though, is that you don't change the water, you just top it up.
Best wishes
Dimitri
Not tried the basil Dimitri,should have done as my family love basil, and we always emd up buying pots of the stuff from the supermarkets, which seem to wither and die in no time!!... but I can say that the Wisteria seeds that I got from the RR (which i believe were yours?) are germinating already.
I've paid good money for these seeds before from seed suppliers, and never had any germinate at all...so I'm really chuffed.
Sue
Wow Dimitri your basil looks great, bet the smell was lovely!! I grew mammoth basil this year (from www.real seeds) the leaves were huge as the name suggests!! I'm waiting for the flowers to dry so I can save the seeds, they may be some up for grabs when I've harvested the seeds.
Hi Sue, i am waiting to see some 7 plants of basil make seed and upto now nothing. I have some seed from last year, if you want some you are very welcome - send me a d-mail; otherwise wait for the fresh ones, but they don't seem to be in a hurry - the big one (in the photo above) doesn't even have flowers yet and it is getting cold now. Remember that basil seeds germinate only in high temperatures (above 21Celcius) - I had quite some laugh with this, as I planted them out early, they didn't come out for a month, I thought they were dead seeds, then potted tomatoes in the same pots and ended suddenly with tomato&basil plants one next to the other...
Thank you, biscombe, it is still glorious, although now it is gradually being affected by the cold, and it has provided for many salads and sauces. Your link seems to be not working - perhaps some misspelling ?
Best wishes to all
Dimitri
Hi the seed company is http://www.realseeds.co.uk/herbs.html wher I got the basil seeds. Its a great family run seeds company run by very enthusiastic/helpful people