By Jane Friedmann
It all began with a 10-cent package of no-name basil seeds from the dollar store.
10 cents? What a great deal, I thought. After all, basil is basil, right?
Wrong.
My first clue that this was not your garden variety basil was when I started the seeds in my basement this April: The seedlings were wider than they were tall. I thought they'd make up for lost time when they get out in the hot sun. But for weeks after I planted them, I had to water carefully to avoid drowning the squat little things.
Eventually, they nudged their way upward, but they still were vertically challenged. It wasn't until I went to harvest the leaves for pesto that I realized I'd been growing MONSTER BASIL. Most of the leaves were bigger than my hand. And the biggest ones measured a full 7.5 inches!
With that massive size, making pesto was a breeze. I had fewer leaves to harvest, wash and dry to get the same amount. Sure, the leaves are slightly less fragrant than their more normal cousins, but I have to plant this supersized variety again. But what variety is it?
I found the seed packet. All it said was: "Sweet Basil, HERB." I did a little searching on the internet and found a variety called lettuce leaf basil, but its leaves topped out at 3 to 4 inches. My basil dwarfs lettuce leaf basil, so what kind of mutant basil do I have growing in my innocent garden? Did anyone else end up with giants in their gardens?
