This post brought to you by Gilmour. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Over the Big Moon.
One of my favorite parts of summer is cooking from my garden! I love to grow tomatoes, peppers, herbs, pumpkins, squash, melons, and so much more!
One of my favorite herbs is basil, I love it!
For the longest time I could not get basil to grow for me. With one small trick you can make your basil crop go crazy all summer long. Here it is: when you see flowers (like in the picture above) you have let it go to far. You do not want it to flower. You need to cut it back so that it can get nice and bushy. You want to cut it below the flowers right above new growth.
Even if you don’t use it, just cut it off and throw it away. Your basil will double in size. Keep cutting it back and it will continue to thrive.
I love to use my Gilmour Flexogen hose in my garden. The Flexogen’s lightweight build and layer of oxygen-infused foam make it super. That means it can follow you around and get to all the different parts of your garden and it effortlessly coils for storage – all while maintaining Flexogen’s signature durability. Gilmour’s Flexogen hose is proudly made in the USA and backed by a lifetime warranty – score! I also use the Gilmour Watering Stainless Steel Sprayer gives the perfect spray and it holds up well with weathering if left outside! I used the garden setting which is the perfect for pressure on delicate plants and herbs.
Now for the best part – Pesto!
Here is my recipe:
2 cups packed basil leaves, clean and dry
2 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2-3 Tbsp butter
Combine the basil, garlic, and nuts in food processor. Add the oil and pulse it until smooth, I have a son with a nut allergy so I actually leave the nuts out and just add them to the top of the pasta for those of us that can have them.
If you want to use it immediately add 2-3 Tbsp of butter in a small frying pan with a clove of minced garlic. Add pesto and saute for a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss pesto with pasta and cheese.
If you will be freezing the Pesto put it straight into airtight containers and freeze. I like to use the small 2 oz condiment containers.
When you are ready to make it, thaw it out and cook like above.
As an additional note I found the secret to growing cilantro is to plant it every three weeks. I feel it doesn’t thrive for me even when I cut it back. So I just plant a new row every three weeks so that I have continuous cilantro,
Happy Growing this summer!
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Kerri Atwood
How long will this keep in the freezer?
Pam Dana
About 6 months!
Pamela
So my basil has all bloomed and I keep picking the flowers off , I have used the flowers by packing in a quart size jar and filling the jar with olive oil then placing in a cool dark pantry closet for a couple of weeks … I end up with lightly infused basil oil for cooking after straining the flowers out of the oil. Thanks to Pinterest there are so many awesome hacks I’ve learned for making the most of my herbs and garden this year!
Marg
I e heard of putting it in ice cube trays flash freezing and then package for future use? Anyone tried that?
Loretta
I having been doing the ice cube tray way for the past 2yrs. It works really great.
Umo
Yes! That’s how I make mine!
Lorri
Yes I do this with parsley especially. I also grow basil oregano rosemary garlic chives,thyme. When I see it is growing good I snip bunches of the herbs and put them in food processor with a little water. I call them flavor bombs, Put them in ice cubes trays, when frozen, put them in containers. Use them in stews, soups,sauces, pastas .. if u want flavor, this is it. 😍
Cheryl
I have frozen pesto in ice cube trays and after they’re frozen, I put the pesto cubes in a freezer storage bag and it works great. I have also done the same thing with chicken or beef gravy so I have sone whenever needed.
Kathy
Yes, I pack with a little olive oil and basil in ice cube trays too. I also just freeze the clean leaves in freezer bags and use them as I need them. Frozen leaves crumble very nicely.
Lori
As an Italian we do not use pine nuts or any form of nuts. As a child I went out to my grandmothers yard pick basil chopped it by hand and could not wait for lunch it’s so good
Mina
I too am Italian we have always used pine nuts in our pesto. It may depend on the region you’re from in Italy.
Mae
my basil plants kept dying on me Attack by insects… Twice my healthy pot died on me .. Any idea how can I keep those insects away? I am leaving in a warm country
tessa hudson
Mae,you can grow Basil Easy indoors ! Just stick some stems in Water and you will have basil all year,Yeah!
Emily
How do you keep your Basil so green when cooking it? It seems once it’s cooked it turns a brownish color and I’m looking for that bright green!
Mari
Put coffee grounds around the basil to keep bugs away
Pam Dana
I’ve never heard of this!! Thanks for the tip!
Donna
I plant my basil between my tomato in my south facing yard.
Wendi
Insecticide soap
Meagan
This is amazing and I am so jealous! I really want to plant an herb garden once we get a house. I’m afraid it might be too much maintenance though. What are your thoughts? The meal you made looks fantastic! Love pesto and basil!
Lisa
No way! It is so easy. As long as you pay attention when the basil is 4-5 inch tall and cut it back then so it gets bushy you will be fine. Inevitably at the end of the summer I let mine go to flowers but that just means it reseeds itself for the next year. Herbs are so forgiving and come back each year. You will love it!
Lila
Herbs are the easiest plants in the world to grow!! I’ve grown them in pots on my back deck for 10 years and they thrive on my neglect! Basil is one of the easiest to grow & multiply as it will root in water & you can stick those right back in the pot. I have 2 huge pots full all from one plant purchased at the nursery this spring. I know they say don’t let it bloom, but I love the blooms and so do bees and hummingbirds!
Aliza Hale Biorn
I love fresh basil, but haven’t been successful with growing it in my garden….mostly because I let it go too long. Thanks for the great tips!
Lisa
I did the same thing for years! Now I don’t know what to do with all my basil 🙂
Lori's Culinary
I started an herb garden this year and planted lots of basil. It too is my favorite herb. I plan to freeze pesto and also freeze some fresh leaves in some olive oil for future use. Thanks for your post!
Miss Angie
I LOVE fresh Basil! Thanks for the post!
Sydney Andersen
I love pesto! Thanks for the tips an recipe 🙂