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Welcome to this post that will talk about the very interesting subject of smoking basil. There have of course been people using basil to smoke but the success varies depending on the purpose and goal. Basil has actually interestingly enough shown that it can reduce smoking if you have it in your tea. It is a very beneficial herb that makes your throat sore if you smoke after having a basil tea. Let’s reveal the answers you have been waiting for, can basil make you high? It absolutely can, but not to the same extent as more commonly used substances.

Are you having issues growing your basil in the garden? Is it perhaps starting to develop small white spots on the leaves? We have written an article that outlines what causes this and how to prevent it. Find it here, White Spots On Basil Plant.

Can You Smoke Basil

Like we outlined in the beginning of this article. Smoking basil is something you can do but it wont show the same effect as other substances that are available. Smoking basil has proven to be a mood enhancer and improves visual effects. But if it’s not activated properly then it shows more of a calming effect, similar to marujana. For the psychedelic part of smoking basil, it’s existent. A fun fact is that basil does share some similarities with LSD when used for these purposes.

Are you wondering if it’s even safe to smoke these herbs? Unfortunately they show similar toxic contents that are found in tobacco. These are tar and carbon monoxide for example. Long term these are very harmful to you, something that science has shown time and time again. But a lot of these herbs that are staple ingredients in cooking are of course safe to cook and eat, as we have done for many centuries. But the problem occurs when we light them and other compounds in the herbs get activated.

I figured I would include some more information about the contents of basil and its harmful long term effect it can have. It has been shown for example that basil can cause hypoglycemia. If you are using basil oil for medicinal purposes for a long time then it can be very harmful. It has been shown to introduce a greater risk for liver cancer.

Is It Good To Smoke Basil

Let’s reiterate again on what we have been talking about here in this article. Smoking basil will most likely be a disappointment for you. It does not show the same psychedelic effects as the more traditional substances. But it has shown to reduces stress and generally be a mood enhancer. Note that smoking any herb really is just as harmful as tobacco as many of the same compounds can be found. They get activated once you light the herb. Some of those include tar and carbon monoxide.

Have you stashed up on a bunch of dried basil after the season? Dried basil has a lot of uses in the kitchen, either in stews or sauces. But it can also be used for making some very tasty pesto. In this article we discuss exactly how you can go about doing that. Find it here, Can I Make Pesto With Dried Basil?

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So can you really make a pesto that tastes good with dried basil? Well of course you can! It all depends on the quality of ingredients you have. Hopefully you have picked your own basil and dried it. The quality of these ingredients is basically what will make or break the pesto. We always recommend drying herbs on low heat to retain all the flavors and aromatics they contain. This is the best way we believe. The biggest difference in making pesto from fresh leaves instead is the color you will get. Obviously there will be a lot more chlorophyll in the fresh one aiding the color.

Has the thought of smoking basil ever crossed your mind? Perhaps not, but wouldn’t it be interesting knowing if it’s actually possible.In this article we find out for ourselves, Can You Smoke Basil.

Can I Make Pesto With Dried Basil

When you are making pesto with a dried basil instead you still apply the same method as a normal one. You mix the leaves with the parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic and freshly pressed lemon juice. The best thing about making basil is that you can essentially add whichever ingredient you want a little bit more of. If you want it thicker then you add more parmesan. More liquid than some lemon juice will do the trick.

If you follow your tip of drying the leaves on very low heat then you should have a semi green color to this pesto. Too high of a temperature when drying is what causes it to look the way it does. The dried store bought basil is a no no. That has been dried at way too high of a temperature and will make for a pretty dull pesto.

If you have made pesto before then you know that you don’t need to mix it for that long. Too long and it will look more like a smooth pure. We still want the texture to be a bit rough. This is for us the charm of a pesto. So mixing all the ingredients in a food processor shouldn’t take more than a minute or two at most. 

Making pesto is one of the best ways of keeping it for longer. Since the leaves are already dried this one will last a lot longer actually. Paired with the lemon juice that lowers the overall pH of it this one can last for at least 1 – 2 months without any issue. This lower pH environment is what makes it an unfavorable environment for hostile bacteria.

Curios about the recipe that we used? We use a pretty standard one for this. The following was, ¼ cup of pine nuts, ¼ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese, 1 clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of the dried basil. Mixa all these ingredients and then add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. In the food processor you can also add 6 tablespoons of olive oil. But adding any salt should be done after you have taken out the pesto. It’s just easier getting it right if it’s not in there.

Can I Substitute Dried Basil For Fresh Basil In Pesto

Let’s reiterate again on what we have been talking about here. Basil is a herb that fits very well for making pesto, even if it’s dried. The main thing you want to be aware of is the quality of the dried basil. It should still be fragrant and flavorful.

Have you recently had a really hot day where the sun was just blasting your basil plants in the garden. They are most likely very tired now and need water, check out this article that talks about that topic. Find it here, How To Rehydrate Basil.

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Welcome to this post about how you can rehydrate basil. Sometimes basil might need to pull so much moisture from the ground that it goes faster than you can check on it. When this happens it’s important to be ready and give it some water. It mostly happens on summer days when the sun is just schiring hot and the ground is very dry. This is when probably all your plants will need a shower of water. But basil is a herb that manages fine when the weather is very hot. So don’t fear if it has started to wilt slightly after those days, it’s perfectly normal.

Have you managed to save up a bunch of basil at home and need a good way to make some use of it. In this article we talk about making pesto with dried basil. You can find it here, Can I Make Pesto With Dried Basil.

How To Rehydrate Basil

It’s usually never too late to rehydrate your basil and have it back on track growing again. The only cases when it has gone too far is when the plant is clearly wilted and starting to go either gray or even black. Then the probability of it coming back for round two is very slim..

But if you see that it is wilted and a bit matt from the burning sun then you need to water it. Most likely the plant is very exhausted at this point and just needs some help. We often recommend people growing the basil in a pot to have the ability to move it around. Outside basil only really needs between 6 – 8 hours. Of course it can handle a few more but after a while it will be exhausted from the heat. Then it can be nice to let it rest a little bit in the shade instead.

But when it comes to the watering part or rehydrating the plant again you can’t do it all at once. That will probably drown the plant because it’s hard to wing it. The best approach is doing it in small bursts or amounts instead. Let it then sit for maybe 30 minutes and then water again. Keep doing this until it shows some signs of life. You can look at the soil too, it should be moist or damp at this point. If the plant is not showing any strength but you have watered enough for the soil, then you should wait. It’s not worth overwatering and causing unnecessary stress from that.

How Do You Make Dried Basil Taste Fresh

Can you rehydrate dried basil leaves? This is a pretty common question that we get a lot. For most cases it’s not really worth dehydrating it. Because we have dried it changes the uses we can have for it. Instead of having it on a salad it’s better used in sauce where it can rehydrate from the liquid there. Most likely the texture will be very unappealing if you simply rehydrate the dried basil leaves with water.

Let’s summarize a bit again on what we have been talking about here. Basil is a herb that really likes moist and damp soil and on some hot summer days this can be a challenge keeping up with. Fortunately is fairly easy to just rehydrate the soil in small amounts at a time. A good tip or practice to take advantage of is putting the basil in the shade for a couple of hours during the warmest part of the day. This will let it rest for a bit and won’t stress the plant as much.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between basil and parsley is. Maybe it’s obvious in terms of look but in this article we look closer at the way they grow and taste. Check it out here, Difference Between Basil And Parsley.

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Welcome to this post that will talk about the difference that can be found between both basil and parsley. Just from the look they are quite distinctive, but what sets them apart. In this article we will discuss the smell of them, the flavors and the different environments they like to grow in. These are both two pretty easy to grow herbs that should be in most people’s gardens. It’s a wonderful herb that will provide plenty of flavors and harvest throughout the season. But now let’s get started discussing some of the differences between them.

Do you have a bunch of dried out basil at home that is on the verge of wilting or dying out? There is still time to save and in this article we discuss exactly that. You can find it here, How To Rehydrate Basil.

Difference Between Basil And Parsley

Apart from the obvious visual difference between basil and parsley, basil has a pretty plump and smooth leaf while parsley has a more jagged and sometimes either curly or flat leaf. There are vast other differences between them. We will focus more on the growing conditions of them, how they grow and the flavor of them.

The biggest growing difference between them in growing conditions is that basil is an annual herb while parsley is a perennial. This means that your parsley will live on while you need to plant new basil for the next year. Although parsley technically only lives for two years, it still counts as a perennial. If you have any experience growing basil then you need to know how much it likes to grow in a sunny spot with a healthy soil that is kept well watered during the season. Parsley is a little bit different. Since it can live for two years it feels a bit more sturdy growing in the garden. It doesn’t require the same amount of water as basil does. It will actually taste better with slightly less water as it intensifies the flavor.

Basil will grow as a semi tall bush if left to be. Being that it likes growing in the sun, it will form a bushier appearance. Pruning can be pretty extensive and harsh as it can handle it. Parsley on the other hand won’t grow in the same bushy appearance. It will be more flat with longer stems growing upwards. It can handle pruning too but new growth won’t develop as quickly as it can on basil plants. But it does really like growing in the sun and getting a lot of it. The similarity between them is that they both will enjoy getting around 6 – 8 hours of sunlight every day.

Can You Substitute Basil With Parsley

The flavors differ a bit as well as might be aware. Basil will have a more aromatic flavor going to the sweeter side. A distinct flavor that can easily take over completely sometimes. Parsley on the other hand has a more mature flavor to it. A lot more aromatic herb flavors. It can also go from slightly sweet all the way to pretty grassy.

Let’s summarize a bit between these herbs and what we have been talking about. Basil likes a wetter soil while parsley likes a drier, but they both really like being in the sun a lot. Basil grows a bit bushier while parsley grows with longer stems. Basil is a bit sweeter and parsley can be more grassy in the flavor.

Have you run into an issue with your basil smelling weird or even bad. We have written an article that talks about why that might be and what you can do about it. Check it out here, My Basil Plant Smells Bad.

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Welcome to this article about why your basil plant might smell bad. One of the biggest reasons for your basil smelling the way it does is often from external forces. Often it’s the compounds that make up the air around the plant and where it is growing. There has been a lot of research on these topics and they have come forth to show that basil can also easily cross breed and produce new varieties very easily. These all will have different compounds making up the smell you are experiencing. In this article we will discuss some of the topics further and help you understand what this is all about.

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between basil and parsley? You are in luck then, we have just written an article going in depth on this topic. Find it here, Difference Between Basil And Parsley.

My Basil Plant Smells Bad

Just like we said in the beginning of this article. The most probable reason for your basil smelling the way it does is the compounds that can be found in the air. These affect the plant in different ways and make it smell the way it does. It can also be because you basil managed to cross breed and is smelling like either cinnamon or even licorice because of that.

There are over 150 different varieties of basil in the world. The fact that there are so many makes it possible for it to target very specific smells and tastes. This has been achieved by people cross breeding for specific results. You can sort of compare it to breeding dogs. Sometimes you want a specific quality in one breed that you don’t have in another. Then you cross breed and hopefully get the result you are after.

Some people can experience the smell of cat urine from their basal plant. It’s not a very pleasant smell that is made up from the compound mercaptan. This compound is getting broken down by the enzymes in the plant and that is what is producing this distinctive smell. Another reason could simply be that a neighboring cat has been around and decided your basil plant would be a good place to relieve itself.

The only real way of getting rid of these smells is by sowing new basil plants. It’s very likely that these aspects of the plant are genetic and it will continue happening if your basil starts spreading seeds around. So the best counter is to take it away and then decide what basil variety you want to grow for the next season.

Why Does My Basil Plant Smell Weird

Let’s summarize what we have been talking about here. Basil can smell differently from what you would expect because of different compounds in the air or environment it’s growing in. For the example of cat urine, this smell is caused by mercaptan. This specific compound interacts with the enzymes in the plant and the result is this smell right there. This is a genetic issue so you will need to plant new basil for the next year unfortunately.

Do you have a bunch of basil leaves stashed up that are starting to look a bit brown? Are they still any good? Find out in this article here, Is Basil Bad When It Turns Brown?

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Welcome to this post about whether basil is bad once it has turned brown. Unfortunately it is bad at this stage. Now it can either be after you have picked it and the leaves have been sitting for too long and started wilting. Or it can be because some insects have gotten to your plant and they are now harassing it. Fortunately there are some things you can do to prevent this from happening. Both in keeping the harvested leaves longer and fresh. But also about preventing future insect attacks.

Is your basil plant smelling weird or even bad? That can be caused by a number of different reasons. In this article here we will discuss some of the causes and how to fix it. Find it here, My Basil Plant Smells Bad.

Is Basil Bad When It Turns Brown

Once basil has gotten to the point where it’s brown, either after being picked or when still growing you should eat it. It can be caused by a number of different things. Below we will lay out some of the common ones and how you can fix them and prevent them from happening.

If your basil has turned brown after being picked it’s most likely due to bad storage. Basil kept in the right way will stay good for about 2 weeks. It will admittedly be pretty dull in the flavor and nowhere near as exchanging and punchy as a fresh leaf. The way we recommend people storing harvested basil is in a container that has a lid to it. Then you will want to have paper in there. This can suck up all the excess moisture in the air. Moisture is the biggest enemy to keeping basil or any herb for that matter for a long time. It makes for a perfect environment for bacteria to grow in.

Basil can also be turning brown on the plant as well. This is often caused by insect attacks. They will start eating away on the leaves, in tiny tiny amounts at a time. If this is left to go on then the leaves will get a brown look to them. We recommend picking off the affected leaves and then hoping that the plant won’t suffer any more attacks. The best way of preventing them is by having a healthy environment for it to grow in. This includes a healthy soil that regularly, about 3 – 4 times a year gets fertilized with beneficial bacterias. But also watered properly.

I also want to say that basil can become brown in color because it’s simply getting too old. The leaves might start being very large and then they will eventually want to fall off and with time turn into soil. Same goes for picked leaves. They will also dry out and go brown once some time has passed.

What To Do With Basil That Is Turning Brown

Let’s summarize a bit again on what we have been talking about in this article here. Basil is a plant that can easily get affected by insect attacks and have the leaves turned brown. But if you keep it in the right condition then it shouldn’t happen. Storing the picked basil is also very important. This includes keeping it in a sealed box with some paper in it. Exposing it to too much moisture in the air will shorten the lifespan of it pretty drastically.

Is your basil flowering like crazy in your garden or are you perhaps just starting to see the first ones pop out. In this article we discuss some of the measures you can take. Find it here, My Basil Is Flowering, What Should I Do?

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Welcome to this post that will talk about what you can do when your basil is flowering. You should not take this as a bad sign. It’s wonderful that it’s blooming. This means that it’s enjoying the environment it’s growing in and you are doing very well keeping it healthy. But once it starts blooming it will develop less new shoots for you to harvest. So picking the flowers might be a very good idea. There are essentially two things you can do once it’s flowering. Either pick them or let them be. Both have some pros and cons that we will discuss below.

Have you picked a bunch of basil and it’s starting to turn brown now. Perhaps you are wondering if it’s still any good. We have written an article here that will answer that for you. Find the article right here, Is Basil Bad When It Turns Brown.

My Basil Is Flowering What Should I Do

There are essentially two different routes you can take when your basil plant is starting to flower. Just like we said in the beginning paragraph, either you pick them or you leave them. Both choices carry some pros and cons with them.

If you choose to pick them then you need to continue doing this throughout the whole season. Just because you picked early will not mean that they won’t continue developing later on. But what are the pros of picking the flowers then? Well the biggest one is that the plant will now again focus more energy on producing new stems and leaves. Just like it did then you first planted it. As the plant is flowering more energy and focus goes towards that. This is because it prioritizes spreading its basil seeds eventually after the blooming is over and it has been pollinated.

The other choice you can do is nothing. You can just leave the plant as it is and let it bloom. This is a good choice because your friendly bees in your garden will now have more nectar to collect and bring to the beehive. Basil is actually a fantastic herb for this reason since it contains a lot of it.

What To Do With Basil When It Flowers

If you choose to let it bloom then continue like normal and water the plant properly, never letting the soil dry out. Always keeping it damp and moist for the best results. But like we said in the paragraphs above talking about picking the flowers. Not doing that will of course produce less leaves and the overall flavor will also be less. It will dull out eventually and even turn butter at the very end of the season. But at this point you are more or less growing the basil plant to collect the seeds from it one day.

Let’s summarize a bit on what we have been talking about. If you pick the flowers you will get more harvest during the season. It will continue focusing on developing new stems and leaves. But if you don’t pick them, the taste will dull and less leaves will come forth. But on the other hand, you will help the bees living in the garden as they have now more nectar to collect.

Basil is one of the most vulnerable herbs once it has been harvested from. So we want to keep the leaves as fresh as possible and as long as possible. In this article we discuss precisely that, How To Keep Fresh Basil From Turning Black.

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Welcome to this post that will talk about some of the best ways you can keep your basil from turning black. As with all plants and herbs, as soon as you pick it you start a deadline that counts down to when it’s no longer good. Basil is unfortunately a herb that can go really quick for it to go bad. But you can also prolong this process and be able to enjoy your harvest a lot more. Some of these steps are pretty simple, like keeping them in a dry container with paper and no exposure to moisture.

Is all of your basil flowering at home and you are wondering what to do with them? Then we have written the perfect article for you. It gives some tips of things you can do, find it here, My Basil Is Flowering What Should I Do.

How To Keep Fresh Basil From Turning Black

Just like we said in the beginning of this article, one of the best and proven ways of keeping freshly harvested herbs longer is good storage. This includes keeping it in a container that does not expose it to an unnecessary amount of moisture. Mouisture is the real enemy and what causes herbs and vegetables to root and go bad. We find that keeping a lid on the container and then some paper in there as well minimizes this by a lot.

Keeping the herbs cold is also important. Harmful bacterias will grow a lot faster in warmer temperatures so minimizing this is also key for prolonged storage of herbs. Keeping the basil leaves in a container like we said and then in a fridge will surely make them good even after 2 weeks or so. They might be a bit fatigued and dried up but should be perfectly usable. But of course, most herbs are always their best selves when they are still very fresh.

Another factor that is important in keeping herbs and especially basil is not cutting them and then storing. That will turn them black very quickly. It’s the surface area that gets exposed to oxygen that turns black. This is a very fruitful environment for bacteria to grow in also. So when you need the basil then you can cut it. As to not have unnecessary waste you should never prepare more basil then you need.

What Is The Best Way To Preserve Fresh Basil

If you want to prolong the period you can use basil, the preservation might be a very good route to go down. This includes both drying the leaves or even fermenting them. These methods will ensure you can still have a basil flavor in your kitchen long after you harvest it.

Let’s reiterate again on what we have been talking about in this article. Basil is a type of herb that easily can go bad if not kept in the right conditions. For the best chance of success we recommend using a dry container with a lid and some paper inside. This will keep moisture out which is the number one enemy for keeping basil fresh after harvest

A lot of people are having troubles with their basil plant developing a woody stem. Fortunately we have written an article that talks about what you can do about this and prevent it from happening. You can find that article right here, Saving A Woody Basil Stem.

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Welcome to this post about how you can save a woody basil stem. We want to warn beforehand that this is a risky procedure as more often than not it’s the main stem that gets woody. Cutting a woody stem is the only way to fix it so new tender stems come forth. As you might guess, cutting the main stem is therefore risky because it’s the backbone in a way for the entire plant. Nonetheless we will discuss how you can do it and what precautions you might need to take.

If you are interested in how you can keep your basil fresh the longest after harvest then you can read one of our articles right here, How To Keep Fresh Basil From Turning Black.

Saving A Woody Basil Stem

It’s not necessarily something wrong with your basil turning into a more woody plant. This is mostly because the season has likely gone on for so long it has had the time to develop this. We usually don’t recommend taking any of the woody stems off as this often indicates a healthy plant in our eyes. It tells us that it can manage a bit more rougher pruning or cutting.

But let’s say that you don’t like the appearance of it and want it to be more of the signater green. Then you simply will have to cut the stem of where you want new growth to come out. Note that since we are growing basil, it most likely will shoot out two new stems from the cutting surface. We suggest you cut the stem at a very wide angle as that will let new growth go upwards immediately. If you cut it plain and simple across then the new stems will first grow diagonally before going upwards. In our opinion it looks better having it grow upwards immediately.

But it’s important having a healthy soil before doing any of these steps. if the soil is not good then the basil plant won’t have anything to lean back on and support it once it starts growing again.

Having a healthy soil includes fertilizing it about 3 – 4 times a year. We don’t recommend doing any more as that will start to have a negative effect on the plant. It essentially gets too much of the good stuff. If you have the chance to use manure then we recommend that. It’s like steroids for the plant, there is so much good bacteria in this that the new stems will just shoot straight out.

What To Do With Woody Basil Stems

Watering is also important as basil likes a soil that is kept very damp throughout the season. But since you have kept your basil in a good condition before this for it to develop a woody stem you shouldn’t have any problem continuing this.

Let’s reiterate again on what we have been talking about here. Basil is a herb that benefits from pruning a lot, but not always the woody stem. It can slow down growth a lot. But if you choose to do it then you want the soil conditions to be kept very well beforehand.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between the most common basil variety sweet basil and holy basil is. We have written a dedicated article that discusses the differences between them. Find it here, What Is The Difference Between Basil And Holy Basil.

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Welcome to this post that talks about the difference between both regular common basil and the holy basil. Regular sweet basil being the most commonly grown and used basil differs slightly from the holy basil. They do share however the same genus but can differ in the uses that can be applied to them. The taste and the uniqueness of them also changes a bit. Not drastically maybe but enough that you will want to know the difference. In this article we will lay out some of the aspects that make holy basil special and compare it to regular basil.

Are you having issues with your basil getting a woody stem? We have written an article that is meant to answer some of the common questions you might have concerning this. Find it here, Saving A Woody Basil Stem.

What Is The Difference Between Basil And Holy Basil

One of the biggest differences between these two different basil varieties is the uses they have. Holy basil is a variety that has its origins in southeast Asia. Here it wasn’t used widely as a culinary herb. It was instead seen as a medicinal herb that could help with either insect bites or even infections. The success it had when applied can be debated but it does contain several essential oils that have been proving to cure certain things. It can however certainly help in boosting your immune system if used in cooking. It has even been proven to help people with ADD concentrate better.

Compare this to the regular basil and we seem to have a clear winner. On top of being a very good herb to benefit from nutritionally, it also tastes very good. It might not have the same punch in flavor as the sweet basil does. But what it lacks in that department it makes up for in nutrients. Sweet basil has seen a lot more culinary use compared to holt basil. This is probably because it was introduced to the western world a lot earlier and therefore became the staple. Holy basil also does not grow as fast as regular sweet basil. Another factor why it’s not as popular.

As for a visual comparison of the two varieties they look very similar. The biggest difference and the best way to tell them apart is looking at the stem. Teh holy basil will have a hairy stem that easily sets it apart from the sweet basil. The regular variety has instead a very slender and almost slender appearance to it. The leaves differ slightly too. The leaves on the holy basil have a more jagged appearance to them while the sweet basil has the signature plump and blown up shape.

Which Is Better Basil Or Holy Basil

Let’s reiterate again on what we have been talking about in this article here. The biggest difference between the two is the use of them. Sweet basil sees more use in the cooking world while holy basil as more use in the medicinal world. They both hold a lot of beneficial nutrients but holy basil actually wins on that regard. Flavors wise however the sweet basil is probably the best one by some margin.

Are you having trouble growing basil at home in your garden and you just can’t figure out why they are wilting and looking sad. You can read one of our articles that answers these questions in depth. Find them here, How To Bring A Basil Plant Back To Life.

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