On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:17:06 -0600, "Janet Bostwick"
> wrote:

>
>"Omelet" > wrote in message
>news
>> In article > ,
>> "Janet Bostwick" > wrote:
>>
>>> It's what's for dinner tonight -- fresh from the garden. Also from the
>>> garden will be sides of sour cream cucumbers and herb roasted potatoes.
>>> http://janetbostwick349.fotopic.net
>>>
>>> Janet
>>
>> Oh I'm so jealous! :-)
>> I've grown Lettuce Leaf Basil in the past and adore the stuff.
>> Our local nursery has not carried it since. :-(
>>
>> I've had dismal luck in sprouting basil seeds. The bugs keep eating the
>> seedlings. <sigh>
>> --
>> Peace! Om
>>
>I've had the best luck with heavily scattering the seeds on the surface and
>sprinkling a smidge of soil over. This works best if I do it earlier than I
>should or especially much later. If I plant the plants or seeds at the
>proper time, the leaves are chewed to nothingness over night. It's too bad
>lettuce leaf seed isn't as cheap or available as other varieties. For
>regular basil, I buy up end of season seed -- I am not particular, only that
>it be cheap. In late spring, I pour a bunch into my hand and toss it out as
>though I were sanding an icy sidewalk. Bingo! Lots of basil by mid-July
>for eating. Lots and lots of basil by middle/end of August for sharing and
>putting away by freezing. Certainly the seed is planted too closely, but
>the small plants seem to protect each other from temperature extremes and
>shelter the soil from moisture loss. Don't know exactly, but it works for
>me.
>Janet
>


Lettuce leaf Basil is not listed as a hybrid so you should be able to
save some seeds for the next year. I have also found that the seed
last several years.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)