Did you know that there are over 100 different varieties of Basils? I didn’t until I fell in love with them and started to collect all kinds of Basils! I now have over 60 different varieties so far and am always on the lookout for new Basils to bring home.
I love to grow basil, cook with basil, write about basil, and husband David is building me a new greenhouse just for my basil collection. My basils have already outgrown the new greenhouse, so there are plans for a new, larger one in the works for this winter. My contractors, (David and our friend, Richard) work for food. These West Texas guys have never eaten so many different dishes using Basil. I think they are enjoying my recipes because it’s already taken 3 months for this greenhouse to be built! lol
I have always loved to garden, but when I started my basil collection, I knew that this was the plant that I wanted to share with everyone. I create recipes with basil from Salsa to Ice Cream and will share these recipes with you. Some of these recipes can be found at my companion site: Cooking Vietnamese Food. Go there to get some mouthwatering Asian recipes and tips. And it’s not just Asian, it is specifically Vietnamese food and it’s different. Give it a try!
When I decided to blog about Basil, I needed a direction to go. From all my teachers including Ed Dale, Yaro Starak, and several others, I have learned that you need to make sure that you offer your readers what they want to know. That is what I intend to do. If you haven’t subscribed yet, just enter your email address in the side bar and I’ll send you an email whenever I post a new article.
I want to share with you:
- A listing of all the different varieties of Basils, with pictures and interesting information about them. Click here to read a great eBook all about basil.
- Recipes for each of the different varieties of Basils.
- A membership community where you will grow and cook with the different varieties of Basils.
- Seeds for the different varieties of Basils. Yes, I want to share the seeds so you can grow your own basil.
- A forum where we can all talk about our Basils, sharing ideas and solving problems.
- We’ll put together a Basil Cookbook using all the different varieties of Basils. You can also learn more about the foods of Vietnam with an eBook on the history of Vietnamese food. It;’s healthy and delicious and they use lots of basil. Pretty interesting stuff there!
- Products to help you with your Basils.
- Adoptable Frogs, with the cutest personalities to add to your Basil Garden.
- Will feature Basil Gardens from our blog community, that means YOUR Basil Garden!
We have a big adventure ahead…we have to find the mysterious Chocolate Basil! I just know it exists, even the NY Times wrote about it. I want to add Chocolate Basil to my collection and write about it. If you have any clue where to find one, I will treasure it forever. I will also share with you my lifetime journey from Saigon to Texas. I’ve had an exciting lifetime journey, and now I want to continue my quest to find the Chocolate Basil.
I collect Basils wherever I go. David laughs at me and said I really need to carry a list with me, because I stand in front of a Basil I want to bring home, and start going through all the Basils I know I have.
I hope you will enjoy the time you spend in my Basil Garden, and in my kitchen. I hope you will “Love Your Basil“.
I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Ramona Werstramonawerst@gmail.com
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Ramona,
I have not meet anyone as passionate as you about Basil. I look forward to learning more about Basil and you on your marvellous green Basil Blog.
Take a look at the Basil listing! 104 different varieties! Let me know if I have missed any please.;)
GREAT JOB! – so looking forward to more information, tips and recipes. I grow a couple variaties, but never know what to do with all of it!
would love recipe for Basil lemonaide and others, if you don’t mind sharing
Here is the recipe. You can click on the hyperlink and print out the recipe. http://ramonasbasilgarden.com/basil-recipes/old-fashioned-lemon-basil-lemonade/
This is the coolest site ever. Thanks Ramona for your basil recipe’s and cooking with basil……(from your husband david, but don’t tell anyone).
Your bribery worked! What do you want me to cook! lol
Hi Ramona!
Just happened to find your website when I was looking for a way to get rid of pests that like to stick to my basil plants. I started planting basil last year and am on my second mini garden (we live in a townhouse in CA without a yard – everything is in pots on our balcony!) My 1st basil garden died out during last year’s winter and had so many tiny white bugs (aphids?) that I just decided to uproot everything and start again in spring.
When I started new plants, everything was going well for the first couple months, but then the bugs came again. I almost want to say that we don’t harvest the leaves enough b/c when we’re eating a lot of caprese salads and making pesto, the bugs don’t seem to be as prevalent. We’ve seen some random ladybugs hanging out, but not enough to rid us of the unwanted little buggers.
What’s weird is that the aphids don’t seem to bother any of our other plants (except for the mint – the aphids seem to like mint also). We currently have tomatoes, bell peppers, shiso, young grapefruit/blood orange/tangerine trees, pineapple, plumeria, stephanotis, and ginger flower plants. (The tomato plants and shiso have their own problems though – some kind of dry, powdery white mold & green caterpillars) Any suggestions? Sorry if this message has gotten too long! Please email if you have time! Thanks! Love your website!
If you have your basil plants next to your tomato plants, you are saving your tomato plants from the little pests. Basil are excellent companion plants. I have had several pest almost destroy all my basil plants in my greenhouse this year, until I found the secret weapon. Take a look at this site and see if this helps you: http://BasilGardenPests.com
Love Your Basil,
Ramona