Category Archives: Edibles

There’s More to Basil Than Pesto

Pesto Perpetuo basil

I cannot imagine a garden without basil plants. Basil is the essence of summer. I don’t limit myself to just one — I grow lemon, lime, sweet, Thai, holy, and cinnamon, just to name a few. It seems that most people only know sweet basil and only one use for it: pesto.  Granted sweet basil has become the poster child, but there are many different types of basil plants to explore. The genus Ocimum has more than 30 species. Within the Ocimum basilicum species, there are more than 40 cultivars.  All of these can be used in a variety of ways both in the garden and home.

Basil plants are herbaceous annuals that need warmth, full sun, and well-drained soil. If I think of basil as an annual flowering plant, I can imagine how to use the different varieties. Also, classifying basil into five basic categories makes it easier to select a particular type for a particular function.

  • sweet green foliage (the green plant we always associate with pesto such as Genovese or Italian large leaf)
  • small leaves and dwarf size (spicy globe basil, dwarf Greek basil, Minette, or Pluto)
  • colored foliage (purple leaved Purple Ruffles or Dark Opal or light green/cream variegated Pesto Perpetuo)
  • colorful flower heads (Thai Siam Queen has purple stems and fragrant purple flowers), African blue (many prominent purple flowers), or cardinal (purple stems, purple/red flower heads)
  • fragrant leaves (holy, lemon, or lime).

Some basils fall in two or more groups. For example, cinnamon basil has fragrant leaves, purple stems and veins, and deep pink flowers. This plant provides scent, flavor, and color.

cinnamon basil

The following are suggestions for using basil. The exact species or cultivar depends on your personal preference and availability in your area.

Container Plant

All types of basil can be used as container plants for green, variegated, or purple foliage, or colorful flower heads. Basil comes in different sizes from 8 inches to 4 feet so make sure the maximum height is in proportion to the container. Companion plants must also like well-drained soil and the container should have drainage holes. I had a few extra holy basil plants that I stuck in the same container as my bush beans and both are thriving.

basil flowering in container with ornamental pepper

Annual in the Garden

All types can be used as an annual in the garden bed, either for green, variegated, or purple foliage or for colorful flower heads or simply to fill in a gap. If you think of basil as a flowering annual like a marigold, you could plant them in the same type of location. My Thai, lemon, and lime basil have filled the gap left by my bleeding heart plant, which goes dormant in the beginning of the summer. In particular, the dwarf basils are best for creating a tight edging effect. They have small leaves, similar to boxwood, and are great for delineating a garden bed in the summer. Spicy globe basil is often used to outline a garden bed.

purple basil

Cut Flower for a Vase

The basils that are grown for colorful flower heads or dark foliage are beautiful in flower arrangements. For example, Thai and African blue provide purple flowers and Purple Ruffles provide purple leaves.

African blue basil

Potpourri and Dried Flower Arrangements

Basil produces a tall, sturdy flower stalk that dries well and can be used in dried flower arrangements. The leaves or flowers can be used in potpourris, especially the more fragrant leaves such as cinnamon basil. When I cut Thai basil and fresh flowers such as dahlias for a vase, I can throw away the dahlias after they have past their prime and put the Thai basil flower spikes in another vase with purple gomphrena as a dried flower arrangement. A basil flower has a rigid calyx, like a socket, that holds the small delicate flower like a lightbulb. Once the flower is past its prime, it drops out and the rigid calyx remains.

Thai basil

Pollinator Magnet and Bird Food

Basil’s small flowers are attractive to beneficial insects and bees. Birds, such as goldfinches, love the seed heads. I grow lemon basil in a container on the deck to attract the finches so I can see the birds up close through my kitchen window.

Botanical Flavor

Usually a sweet basil such as Genovese is used in pasta, eggs, pesto, soups, salad, and vegetables, but you can try any type of basil.  I use lemon basil with fish and Thai basil with stir fried chicken and vegetables. Thai basil is often used in Asian cuisine because it keeps its flavor at high temperatures.  Holy basil often is used in Indian cuisine and the sweet basil is often used in the Italian cuisine. There are so many cuisines that employ basil and so many recipes it is best to obtain an herbal cookbook.

sweet basil

The purple basils work well in vinegar or oil for color and scented basils such as cinnamon can be used for flavor in either a vinegar, oil, or marinade. I use the cinnamon which has a purple tinge in homemade vinegar and give it as a gift to my family.

Sweet basil is good for butter and the spicy types are good for honey and jellies. I swirl small pieces of sweet basil into a stick of soft butter for use on breads and rolls. (This also makes a good hostess gift).

Lemonade, cocktails, tea, and fruit juice pair well with basil. Try adding the spicy, cinnamon, lemon or lime flavored basils to these drinks for flavor or just make a cup of tea with basil leaves.

Basil flavors cookies, pound cakes, and breads (rolls, muffins, flatbreads). I use the sweet basil for flatbreads and dinner rolls and the lemon, lime, or cinnamon for pound cakes. For a real conversation piece, sometimes I decorate a cake with basil flowers, which are edible. The actual flower is small and within the calyx so I have to pull the flower out from the calyx with tweezers. This takes time but is good for a special occasion when you want to “wow” folks.

Basil can be used in sugar syrups for fruit salads, desserts, and drinks. This is especially good with cinnamon, lemon, or lime basil. Make a sugar syrup by bringing to boil one cup of water and one cup of sugar with one cup of leaves and then simmer for 15 minutes. Drain through a colander to remove the leaves and let the syrup cool before using. Keep the syrup in a jar in the refrigerator to have on hand (throw out after a week or two).

glass jar of basil sugar syrup

Another way to “wow” family and friends is to sprinkle strips or ribbons of lemon, lime, or cinnamon basil leaves on fruit salads and/or add the small flowers to the fruit salads (again pull the actual flower out with tweezers).  As mentioned before, coat fruit salads with the sugar syrups or intersperse a leaf with chunks of fruit on a kebab.

Try growing several basil plants in your garden, which are easy to grow from seed but small transplants are commonly found at the local nurseries in the beginning of the growing season.

Native Paw Paw Trees

Paw paw flowers in the spring

Paw paw season is around the corner! Paw paws (Asimina triloba) are native trees that bear fruit in August, September, and October. Fruit of cultivated trees look very similar to mangos—green, kidney-shaped, and about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. They have a variety of common names such as Indiana banana, poor man’s banana, and bandango.

When cut in half, the interior of a paw paw fruit reveals a yellow, custard-like pulp with two rows of large seeds. Paw paws can weigh from ½ to 1 pound. Technically a berry, they are the largest North American edible fruit. Paw paws taste like a cross between a banana and a mango with a splash of pineapple. They can be eaten raw or used in ice cream, pudding, smoothies, butter (such as apple butter), baked goods like cookies and pies, and even beer, brandy, and wine!

From Florida to Texas, north to New York, and west to Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, paw paws are native to 26 states and grow as understory trees in hardwood forests near streams and rivers. In the wild, the trees grow to 15 to 30 feet and sucker, creating colonies. Reminiscent of cucumber magnolias, they have foot-long, dark green leaves. Unlike other fruit trees, paw paw trees are not subject to a high level of pests and diseases.

Paw Paws in American History and Folklore

Paw paw trees are part of American history and folklore. Jamestown colonists wrote about them in the 1600s. John Lawson, an Englishman, described them in his travels in the Carolinas in the 1700s. Danielle Boone enjoyed eating them. Members of the Lewis and Clark expedition ate paw paws for pleasure as well as sustenance. George Washington grew paw paw trees at Mount Vernon and ate the fruit as dessert. Thomas Jefferson grew them and sent seeds to his colleagues in Europe.  William Bartram, a naturalist, described the trees in Bartram’s Travels. His father, John Bartram, a botanist, sent seeds to Europe. During the Civil War, soldiers as well as African American slaves collected the fruit in the wild to supplement their meager diets. There is even a popular folk song called “Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch” about collecting ripe paws paws from the ground and putting them in a basket.

Paw paw fruit develop in clusters

Finding Paw Paw Trees and Fruit

Currently, Washington DC residents can see paw paw trees in the wild along the C&O Canal and Potomac River and as native plant representatives in public gardens. There are paw paw trees at the Smithsonian Pollinator Garden, next to the National Museum of Natural History, and at the U.S. Botanic Garden’s Bartholdi Park and their National Garden’s Regional Garden of Mid-Atlantic Native Plants. 

Although paw paws are part of American heritage, you may not find them in grocery stores. When the fruit is ripe enough to eat, it drops to the ground and is highly perishable. The thin skin bruises easily, discoloring to black. Paw paws are best eaten immediately or preserved by removing and freezing the pulp. You may find them at local farmers markets in peak season and you will definitely find them at paw paw events across the country in the fall.

Growing Paw Paws in the Home Landscape

Paw paw fruits can be eaten raw

“There is a paw paw renaissance now,” said Michael Judd, owner of Ecologia, an edible and ecological landscaping service in Frederick, MD. Author of Edible Landscape with a Permaculture Twist and For the Love of Paw Paws, Michael hosts an annual paw paw festival in September  as well as other paw paw related events (see his website). “I call the paw paw an edible landscape all-stars because the tree is very attractive, low maintenance, and very fruitful.”

As native, hardy trees, paw paws can be grown in typical suburban plots. “Paw paws grow easily here,” said Michael. “This is paw paw country.” Although they are not self-fertile, that is, there must be two trees to cross pollinate to produce fruit, one can trim the trees to fit in residential properties. Michael recommends growing the trees in full sun, 10 to 12 feet apart, and cutting the central leader back to keep the trees at 8 feet. This shorten stature also makes them easier to harvest the fruit. Therefore, homeowners could have two 8-foot trees in the yard producing 50 pounds of fruit each year. If full sun is not possible, they can grow in part shade but will produce less fruit.

Paw paw trees have a pyramidal shape

Michael recommends purchasing either a grafted tree, a select seedling, or a specific cultivar. Starting from seed takes years to produce fruit. Also starting from a wild paw paw seed will result in less than desirable fruit. The taste of wild paw paws varies plus the fruit is small with a poor pulp to seed ratio.  Breeders spend years selecting desirable characteristics such as large fruit, a high pulp to seed ratio (more pulp, less seed), and good flavor.

You can’t go wrong planting paw paws. They are native, deer resistant trees that provide fruit and pretty yellow fall color. “Paw paw trees are very ornamental, they have a beautiful pyramidal shape,” explained Michael. “The leaves turn to a beautiful yellow golden color in the fall and when the leaves drop they reveal a tree with nice architecture in the winter.”

All photos taken by Michael Judd.

Sweet Potato Twists

Sweet potato

Sweet potatoes are botanically different from white potatoes. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are in the morning glory family while white potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are in the nightshade family. Both produce tubers but sweet potatoes are planted in the summer and harvested in the fall, while white potatoes are planted in the early spring and harvested in the summer. Sweet potatoes need a long growing season, at least 4 months, and thrive in our hot and humid summers here in the DC metro area.

While white potato plants are started with chunks of the tuber, sweet potatoes are grown from rooted sprouts called slips. Slips may look like limp, short stems with no roots. If you order slips, plant them when the soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees and nighttime temperatures are above 60 degrees. If it is too cold, pot them up and hold them inside near a sunny window.

Plant slips about a foot part, covering with soil up until the first pair of leaves. These plants are usually grown in the ground, in loose, well-drained soil. These plants are vines that grow several feet long so give them plenty of space. The green, heart-shaped leaves are edible (deer like them too). The plants will grow up until frost and the tubers should be harvested before the first heavy frost.

Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Red ornamental sweet potato

Ornamental sweet potato plants are grown for beautiful foliage in a wide range of colors. Ornamental sweet potato plants can have chartreuse, dark purple, bronze-red, mahogany red, or variegated cream, green, and red colored leaves. These are used frequently in containers in public spaces and gardens because the vines are ideal “trailers,” draping over containers. Since they are tropical plants, they tolerate our hot summers and add quite a lot of color. These are easy to find at local garden centers and are sold as small annuals in cell packs.

There is a relatively new line of sweet potato plants that have beautiful ornamental foliage (still edible) and produce tubers for harvest. Treasure Island Sweet Potatoes have been bred by Louisiana State University AgCenter from an original concept development and collaboration work by their partner FitzGerald Nurseries in Ireland. These plants can be grown in a container in the summer for colorful leaves and the tubers can be harvested in the fall. The plants in the Treasure Island series are named after different Polynesian Islands because each plant “hides” a treasure underneath the soil.

There are five plants:
Tahiti, green leaves and purple tubers
Tatakoto, dark green purple leaves and orange tubers
Makatea, golden green foliage and white tubers
Kaukura, purple foliage and orange tubers
Manihi, dark purple foliage and orange tubers.

These new plants would make an ideal children’s gardening project and vegetable container plant for those with limited space.

Either way you slice it, sweet potatoes are great additions for the garden. Try growing some this year!

Tatsoi: A Mild Mustard to Grow in the Garden

A great green to have in your fall and winter garden is tatsoi. A member of the brassica or cabbage family, tatsoi is a low growing plant with dark green, spoon-shaped leaves. It has a beautiful rosette shape that can span a foot across. Continue reading

Pineapple Sage for You and the Hummingbirds

Currently, my pineapple sage plants (Salvia elegans) are blooming in my garden, their bright scarlet flowers are attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. Members of the salvia or sage family, pineapple sage plants are herbaceous, tender perennial herbs. I have two pineapple sage plants, which I bought last year as tiny babies, and I often use their leaves and flowers in the kitchen. Continue reading

Start Easy-to-Grow Lettuce Now in the Garden or in Containers

Now is the best time to grow lettuce. Lettuce prefers cool temperatures and can tolerate a frosty evening. This green is easy to start from seed or you can purchase small plants at the nursery. In the spring, lettuce should be given as much light as possible. Growing lettuce can be done in containers or in garden beds. Look for places that are full sun, especially where trees have not leafed out yet. Containers do not have to be large or deep. You can grow lettuce in containers with a depth as shallow as 6 to 8 inches. Continue reading

Growing Microgreens for Flavor and Nutrition

mustard microgreens

Now that winter is coming, you can still grow your greens, just indoors. Growing microgreens is a fun, cheap way to grow nutritious vegetable seedlings for sandwiches, wraps, soup, and salads. Microgreens are the shoots of edible plants, requiring very little space and minimal cost. Microgreens differ from sprouts. Microgreen seeds germinate in a growing medium and after one or two weeks, the “micro” stems and leaves are cut to the soil level and eaten. Sprouts are seeds grown in a moist container—no soil. After a few days, the root and seed are harvested and eaten. Continue reading

Fall Is the Time to Plant Garlic

garlic in bowl

Chesknok Red, a purple-striped hardneck garlic

As fall approaches, thoughts turn to garlic. Growing your own garlic is easy and the cloves are tastier than what you purchase in a grocery store. Typically, garlic is planted in October in the Washington DC metro area but I have planted as late as Thanksgiving Day.  You may find “seed” stock (the garlic you buy to plant, not the garlic you buy in a grocery store to eat) at independent garden centers, farmers markets, online seed companies or specialty garlic companies. If garlic at your favorite seed company is sold out, try a company that specializes in garlic because they have more inventory. Continue reading

Growing Cucamelons in Virginia

cucamelonAlthough I have heard a lot about cucamelons, I have not grown them until this summer. Earlier this year, Burpee sent two small plants in containers, which they labeled “Mexican sour gherkin cucumber.” In fact, this type of cucumber has a variety of common names: cucamelons, Mexican sour gherkins, mouse melons, pepquinos, sandita, and Mexican miniature watermelons. The Latin name is Melathria scabra and they truly are in the cucumber family. Continue reading

Walking Onions: Perennial Onion Plants for the Garden

walking onionWalking onions, also called Egyptian walking onions, tree onions, winter onions, and perennial onions, are very easy to grow.  Unlike an ordinary onion plant, Allium proliferum will produce little bulbs at the top of the plant in the summer. The weight of these marble-sized bulbils will pull the stem down, enabling the bulbils to root and produce a new plant. Although walking onions seem to walk by producing new plants a few inches away, they are not invasive. Continue reading