Is there anything more delicious than homemade pesto straight from your garden? No herb or vegetable garden is complete without a Basil Plant. It smells divine and can be used in so many ways, the leaves make delicious tea that can be sipped for enjoyment, or use for stomach upsets. Enjoy leaves fresh in a salad or make a marinade for seafood and poultry. You can also use finely chopped basil leaves as a garnish for pasta dishes and to add flavor to your favorite egg dishes.

Basil is very easy to grow from seeds or cuttings. Just plant it in full sun when the weather is warm and the nights don't get colder than 55F. Water it well, use a lot of compost and just watch it grow. The more you harvest the more it will grow. Harvest when the leaves are young and tender for a sweet gentle flavor. For a spicier flavor harvest the large leaves when the plant is just beginning to flower. You want to delay your bsil setting flowers as long as you can, so remove flower spikes as soon as you see them to prolong your havest. If you have space and plants to psare, consider allowing some basil to go to seeds as it attracts all sorts of beneficial insects, especially bees. More bees, more vegetables to harvest in your garden.