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Basil: What Every Permaculturalist Should Know

October 16, 2016

BASIL: WHAT EVERY PERMACULTURALIST SHOULD KNOW

In a design system in which we are looking for each element to perform multiple functions, there are few plants that can show off quite the way basil does. As a rule of thumb, things are expected to warrant their placement within our designs with at least two useful attributes, but basil performs well all over the show. It dazzles in the kitchen, the garden, the herb spiral, the food forest, the medicine cabinet, the artisanal products, and the blender. This article is here to delve into that, the seedy world of basil. (Warning: Basil is not good for making puns, even for practiced writers.)

IN THE GARDEN

Basil is a great addition to permaculture gardens. Despite having plenty of perennial varieties, the big challenge can be that they are not particularly frost-hardy. They like a lot of sun, and in tropical climates, they can endure both wet and dry season without much bother. For places that dip below freezing, basil might work better as a potted plant that lives inside for the winter, and there it will still need plenty of light, six to eight hours of sun or ten-plus of artificial light. Hey, it’s a big world, to each place its own, but if basil is in your wheelhouse, it is worth it. It works overtime in the garden.

Sweet Basil (Courtesy of Khairil Yusof)
Sweet Basil (Courtesy of Khairil Yusof)

• As with any member of the mint clan, it does well to confuse many garden insects, so it works as a pest deterrent on behalf of the other plants within its system.
• On the other hand, bees absolutely love a flowering basil plant, so it will invite those pollinators in to do their work.
• Basil is very aromatic and simply walking by it, or brushing up against it, fills the area with something lovely to breathe.

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