Bangin' Basil

This healthy herb is part of the mint (Lamiaceae) family, which includes other fragrant plants like rosemary, sage, minty and hyssop. Basil has long been used by many different cultures to attract beneficial insects, improve flavour profiles and to deter pests. We'll be looking at the uses for this plant to help you in your growing space.

Flavour profiles

Basil has long been used by people in southeast Asia and the Americas to increase the flavour of lettuces with a slight basil undertone or adding a meatier taste to tomatoes. As basil can protect these plants they will experience less stress and when a plant is stressed they release chemicals which can cause some bitterness.

Attracting beneficial insects

Basil flowers attracts bees, beetles and hover flies. Hover fly larvae eat a range of soft shelled pests including aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs and thrips. By having these types of plants mixed with your vulnerable veggies, it improves the chances of a better harvest.

Detering pests

People in south east Asia, europe, west Africa and the Americas have used basil to ward off pests by inter planting it with other crops. There are well over 50 different basil varieties with different perfume and taste profiles. Many basil plants will contain a mixture of chemicals such as 1,8 cineole (a minty/cool scent), citrol and linalool (lemony scent), estragole (anise scent), Eugenol (a woody clove smell) and methyl cinnamate (cinnamon/strawberry profile). Most plants contain more than one of these profiles, which deter aphids, asparagus beetles, carrot flies, horn worms and whiteflies. Basil also repels mosquitoes so stick some in any outdoor dining areas you may have.

Aphids

Basil will not give your growing space immediate full protection but the plant will mask the scents of many crops from root crops, to edible nightshades, to brassicas. This means that the pest insects find it harder to locate their favourite plants. There are also other plants that pair well but we are just focusing on basil.

The crops we've found that basil supports are asparagus, beetroot, brassicas (cabbage, kale, sprouts etc), carrots, edible nightshades (aubergine/eggplant in (US), chilli, peppers and tomatoes), lettuces, radishes and some flowers such as marigolds and nasturtiums (brassica flower).

Thank you for reading and if you find any other plants you've grown benefited from basil, feel free to let our community know!