FA R M E R ’ S M A R K E T
TUE. 11-3
SAT. 9-3
BY RACHEL FOSTER
Kate Penhallegon holds a
bowl of sweet basil.
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h
T
A Bunch of Basil
1/3# ground steak marinated in herbs & spices, grilled
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A timely herb for easy living.
W
ith sunny days, mild evenings and
the many distractions that make a
Eugene summer, I want less gar-
dening and lighter food. Simple Mediterranean
food, heavy on market produce and eaten at
room temperature, really hits the spot. In the
garden, gaps in borders no longer suggest seri-
ous revision but a simple fix: plugging in plants
that thrive on heat and grow fast when they get
it. At this time of year my mind turns to aro-
matic, herby things like lavender and sage.
And, speaking of Mediterranean food, to basil.
Basil originated in warm climates, and there
isn’t much point in planting it outdoors without
protection until June or July.
The basil that went into the pesto I just had
for dinner is sweet or lettuce leafed basil, catch-
all terms for basils with large, glossy bright
green leaves that may be slightly ruffled or con-
vex. It’s the type you strew, if you do, on toma-
toes and mozzarella. Varieties include Genoa
and Napoletano. Although sweet basil domi-
nates the market, some other types are readily
available, including anise-flavored Thai, cinna-
mon and purple basil, and bush basils with tiny
leaves, such as “Spicy Globe.” All of them are
decorative. I used to favor Purple Ruffles as an
ornamental, but now I prefer the melding of
muted green leaves with purple stems and bracts
that you find in Thai and cinnamon basils.
Looking around the Lane County Farmers
Market for starts, I encountered Kate
Penhallegon of Cottage Herbs Nursery (“Let us
Show You a Good Thyme”). When I asked
Penhallegon if she would talk to me about basil,
she said sure; then she added, “I have a great
book about basil, too.”
I caught up with Penhallegon at the Rosses’
one-acre farm in Springfield. Less than a
minute from Main Street, it felt like another
world. On the way to the door I encountered a
broody hen, sitting on her eggs in a warm,
shady window box, and there were pigs, a goat
and chickens out behind the greenhouse. She
welcomed me with linden tea, rosemary bis-
cuits and basil-lemon butter.
The book Penhallegon referred to (Basil, An
Herb Lover’s Guide, by Thomas DeBaggio and
Susan Belsinger) has the topic covered, from
mythology to propagation to recipes. A direc-
tory of varieties describes 44 basils, including
several species and many named varieties, win-
nowed from 100 different seed batches the au-
thors grew and tested in a single summer.
Although I enjoy herbal scents I am very
poor at recognizing their components, so I am
quoting An Herb Lovers Guide when I tell you
that basil’s varied gene pool creates “a plethora
of clear, gem-like scents that range through
lemon, camphor, cinnamon, clove and anise.”
The essential oils in sweet basils include a hefty
proportion of floral-scented linalool, in case
you are interested, while Thai basil derives its
anise scent and flavor from methyl chavicol.
Most culinary basils are annual, and all the
more familiar types can be grown from seed,
preferably with bottom heat. The biggest chal-
lenge in growing lots of basil is to keep it from
flowering or, as growers call it, bolting. Once
they have flowered, annual basils will not grow.
“I call them my type A personalities,” says
Penhallegon. “They want to go from seed to
seed as fast as possible.”
Although basil will happily grow in full sun,
she suggests planting a row of basil on the east
side of a row of tomatoes. Protection from af-
ternoon sun may slow the tendency to bolt. You
can also make successive sowings, two or three
weeks apart, to keep fresh basil coming.
Any basil can also be grown from cuttings,
too, and it’s the only way to propagate certain
varieties, including Holy basil and African
Blue. Shoot tips root easily in a glass of water.
DeBaggio and Belsinger provided some an-
swers to my lack of success growing husky
basil plants in a pot. The authors stress the need
to allow plenty of root space and to keep the
plants in active growth. They advocate growing
only one plant per pot, re-potting at least once
during the summer, and feeding mature plants
every third or fourth time you water. Water as
soon as the soil looks dry or the pot feels light in
your hands.
Penhallegon dries basil and includes it in the
herb mixes she sells at the Market. They in-
clude a popcorn mix, a no-salt mix, and blends
for making herbal butter and Italian salad dress-
ing. Relatively quick drying techniques suit
basil best, she says, and she uses an electric de-
hydrator that uses both light bulbs and a fan to
provide medium-fast drying.
Basil, An Herb Lover’s Guide is published
by Interweave Press and is available at the
Eugene Public Library.
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