Here is the Basil thread.

i use only basil but i try to get the large leaf kind. last time i used something called lettuce leaves because they were so big.

Genovese is also another wonderful variety for cooking and making pesto. Nice large leaves, and a sweet flavor.

Mmmm... I love tomatoes and basil.

Karen

when we make our own mozzarella it's great with sliced tomato and onion.

I plant basil all around the garden. Usually the smaller leaved varieties where I am just using them for ornamental purposes. I try to plant them at the ends of all the rows, and other places where people will be walking. Nothing smells better than brushing up against that basil while working in the garden.

Really enjoying this Red Rubin this year. Great scent and ornamental enough to plant everywhere.

ooohhhh I like that!!!

I planted Red Rubin in one of my mixed containers. I love the nice dark color for contrast, although I think Purple Ruffles is still my favorite for looks. Red Rubin has performed well for me, though, and I had much better germination than with Purple Ruffles.

love the dark leaves!!

I have a boquet mix pistou an Italian I think Valentino and African blue that KEEPS trying to flower on me! Lol I know they will all flower in time and I do plan on getting seeds from them

One of the plants in the bouquet mix is a super pretty Thai like (shape/feel of the leaves is much like saim queen) it has a purple/gtreen leaf pattern that looks SOO pretty!

My questions
1 will these cross? (they are all in the same windowbox and the bugs are encouraged to polo ate them) or will they generally stay true like tomatoes?
2 will I get seeds from all of them? (I've tryied with the African blue before with little luck)
3 how/when do you think is the best time/method to get the seeds?
Ok lol how do you tell lemon from lime basil? Or cinnamon from Thai? The purple are easy enough to tell apart from the green lol

(I love coulinary and medicinal herbs)

Basil can cross pollinate. I am not sure the % of cross pollination you can have, I would guess that it might have to do with how many pollinators you have around at the time they are blooming.

I think that African Blue is a hybrid that doesn't produce seed.

I would collect the seeds after the flower stalks start to dry and turn brown, I would cut the stalks and put them on a paper plate or in a paper bag until they are dry. Basil blooms from the bottom up so it will mature that way too. I try to keep mine pinched so that it doesn't bloom until later in the season, but you can collect the seeds whenever you want after you have a mature flower stalk.

The only way that I would be able to tell the difference in the Basil's that are similar in looks and taste would be to grow them separately with plant markers :

Lol the boquet mix has lemon cinnamon alime and Thai with reg and purple I think lol (I know makes it so fun huh? Lol

Will they loose many seeds if you wait? Or do they tend to wait for you? --I think I'm ok on paper bags ATM

I do have seeds from a trade called African basil --is that then different from African blue? (not attempted to grow)

I love basil and have grown it several years but have never captured seed before. How do I tell when is the best time to catch the seed? and what is the best way to go about catching the seed?

Thanks

Last year I picked the flowers as the seeds were black dryed them then mashed in the mortar and pedestal that created a LOT of chaff! (most of my packets were 6/7 chaff!) so I'm looking for a better method and ATM it sounds like hanging with a paper bag will be that method --just have to figure 1 where and 2 what types are what from my mix --some I know what they are a few I don't

There's also this super pretty purple/green Thai looking one that I MUST get good seeds from I wanna grow them and get the best looking ones (good mottling) and eventually have my own line? --I had a plant that was purple with green flecks at uncles that I wanted seeds from I nipped the flowers too many times tho it was SOO pretty! Makes me want to let this one go right to seed when it wants to

Bloody iPhone! Loosing what I was typing!

Wondering when I should be expecting seeds and if this forum uses BBC or HTMl

http://i1200.photobucket.com/a... from 2 days ago (im gonna be posting each link as a new post because the iPhone is pissing me off if a mod would like to combine the posts thanks

Yay can edit! --and the iPhone refreshes the page AGAIN just from switching from the photobucket app to safari! Ugh!

http://i1200.photobucket.com/a... (I'm wanting to try to get seeds from that one!)

http://i1200.photobucket.com/a... another I want seeds from

The Valentino is starting to flower and the pistu has 1 flower blooming --these pictures are from 2 days ago should be about accurate to what's out there now tho

I stopped pinching basil blooms at the beginning of August, and I think I'm seeing seed stalks that are nearly ready now.

I've got enough italian basil in the freezer for several batches of spaghetti sauce -- and we make it 16 quarts at a time now, in the turkey roaster! -- so I just need a couple of plants to pinch for bruschetta.

Most of my other basils only get used fresh, or are just enjoyed for their scent!

Wow! Well I'm still waiting on flowers from some of my container bound basils that have the starts of flower heads --I've trimmed the African blue basil some am trying to see if I can't get some seeds from it perhaps stupidly