Salad Leaf Basil

I’ve had powdery mildew on tomatoes, pepper maggots on my peppers, squash vine borers on my zucchini and flea beetles all over the cabbage and kale. You’d think I would be pretty miserable.

Actually, I’m not. And that’s because I’ve had great success with my herbs this summer. I’ve dedicated one area of the garden as my herb garden. Because several of the herbs are perennials, that one section is and always will be the herb garden as the other sections of the garden rotate.

The herb garden is also the only part of the garden that is wall-to-wall plants. Not a patch of ground is visible thanks to the lush growth. And thanks to the perennial herbs such as sage, oregano and thyme, and my behemoth rhubarb plant.

Salad Leaf Basil

What I want to talk about today is basil. I’ve always ever grown the no-name regular ol’ basil that you pick up at the garden center as small plants. You know the one—regular leaves, somewhat concave, dark green leaves—pretty much the same basil as you’d buy at the supermarket. And if you bought seeds of it, it’s generically labeled “Basil.”

This year I sowed seeds of variety called Salad Leaf Basil, offered through Renee’s Garden Seeds. What’s different about it is a crinkly leaf. It’s almost like a seersucker-type texture. The leaves are also a bit more chartreuse in color. It’s quite pretty, actually. As for flavor, it’s a bit on the mellow side, but still basily. And the germination I got from the seed packet was great, creating a big bushy row of the stuff. With its color and texture, Salad Leaf became an ornamental element in the herb garden—a nice bonus.

And I think I discovered why it’s called Salad Leaf. I made two batches of pesto yesterday—one from Salad Leaf and one from the generic basil variety. Compared to the regular pesto with its vibrant green color, the Salad Leaf pesto was, quite frankly, a hideous Army-green color. The taste was good, but the color was a turn-off.

My conclusion? Salad Leaf basil is better for salad applications such as caprese salads and such. Amazing how a name can be so revealing.