Preserve Your Basil Harvest

Trim back the plants early in the day before the sun heats them up. Cooler temperature retains the oils for better flavor. Keep at least one third of the plant for continued growth.

There are several ways to preserve Basil:

• Gently tear or trim the leaves from the stems and lay them on newspaper or paper towels. When dry enough to be crumbled, store the dried Basil in baggies or jars in a cool, dark place.
• Put the stems of freshly trimmed Basil in a container of cool water and change the water every day.
• Chop the Basil and put it in ice cube trays. Fill with water and place in freezer. After it has frozen, transfer the Basil cubes to freezer bags and store in the freezer. Keeps for up to seven or eight months.

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Grow Healthy Tomato Plants

Tomato and Basil

Companion Plants for Tomatoes

Tomatoes grow well with Basil, Parsley, Sunflower, Calendula, Mint, Garlic, Onion, Lettuces and Nasturtium.

Keep Corn and Potatoes a good distance from Tomatoes. Calendula (Marigold) works as a pest deterrent as well as Nasturtium, Mint, Garlic and Onion.

If you prefer that the mint does not gradually take up more space, it can be grown in medium to large pots and containers.


To keep tomato plants off the ground:

Plant your tomato plants fairly deep, they have a very long root system. Hammer a stake 4" (inches) to the side to gently tie the plant to as it grows. An old pair of nylons cut in 6" lengths works well as ties.
Sow a sunflower seed of the giant variety on the other side of the plant. When the plant grows taller than the stake, secure it to the sunflower stalk.

Water to keep the soil moist and fertilize the soil around the plants once every week.

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