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ButterflyGarden
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Location: Beitar Illit, Israel

Saving Seeds from Basil?

I have several lovely mammoth basil plants that I am growing this year. My mother got the seeds from a specialty website in America and I don't know if I'll have anyone who can bring me more before next season. Is is possible to save seeds from basil? How would I go about this?

(I'm doing early research as the plants are nowhere near ready to go to seed)

Also, I have a few left over seeds from the package. Will they last until next year?

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hendi_alex
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As you know, basil seeds are fairly large, so collecting them should be pretty easy. Just keep in mind that allowing your plant to make seeds will tire the plant and maybe cause leaves to get much stronger tasting and maybe even bitter. When saving seeds on most herbs, I generally let one plant go to seed but keep the flowers trimmed from the plants that are still being harvested for cooking and salads. I store my left over basil seeds in the freezer and they last for several years.
Last edited by hendi_alex on Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ButterflyGarden
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Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:13 pm
Location: Beitar Illit, Israel

I was going to wait until the end of the season and then let them go to seed. Is there any advantage to doing it earlier? I have most of them in pots that hang over the balcony and one in a separate pot that I want to try to bring in at the end of the season (which falls out sometime in Nov/Dec here) to see if I can keep it over winter.

Also, should I put a bag over the blossoms to catch the seeds? I always cut the plants before they can form flowers to preserve the taste so I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to get.

Do you have any experience with basil indoors in the winter? I've heard mixed things from people who have tried it and it seems to be a toss up.

Susan W
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You could let at least one go to seed for new ones. I would suggest doing that mid summer. Get a few new starts going, and do more seed starting every few weeks. It is my experience that basil plants put lots of energy into growing, and get ragged after a few months. This will give you some fresh young plants in the fall, and for bringing in.



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