Almost finished harvesting and extracting the basil seeds from the seed pods I've collected from my sweet Genovese Basil plant -- I saved them in a glass mason jar.
The seed pods looked exactly like how they are pictured here in this reference:
I had saved mine by cutting off the stems of flowers that grow at the top of the basil plant -- once the plant starts flowering like this, the Genovese basil plant leaves become bitter, and more narrow, and no longer so tasty for cooking, so I have designated it as the "mother" plant.
The stems of flowers I let outside to dry outside in the winter - they became sun-dried and brown, as pictured above.
I brought them inside to collect the basil seeds.
Since it was my first time extracting, I didn't know what basil seeds looked like, so I had to look them up, they look like this:
My technique was that I crushed the dried flower buds between my forefinger and thumb, which would reveal the black seeds (about 3-4 per bud) at the base of each bud. I extracted the seeds with my fingers and using some tweezers. It was a lovely practice, and the fragrant aroma of basil was still apparent, even though the pods were dried out, and made for such a wonderful experience.
I absolutely loved the practice! I have graduated from arranging flowers to learning how to grow them for my business, to give out for free as part of the museum to support farm-to-table techniques, organic growing, and healthy, sustainable lifestyles - there is something amazing about seeing how the plants/flowers/trees you've cultivated can thrive. I tried to treat each seed as valuable as 10 million worth in gold - I enjoyed imagining how each one can flourish with my Midas Touch.
My next step will be planting them -- it appears that many guides recommend growing them in tiny pots first, I will split the batch that I have and try out different techniques - inside, and outside.
I am also saving my cherry tomato seeds to plant them as companion plants - this helps to ward off pesky pests and basil and tomato grow extremely well together, which is super convenient as it can help provide ingredients for delicious pasta! Isn't it amazing how sometimes nature just gives us things that work so well together. 1:11 on the clock! I think it's a good sign. Breakfast is also ready.
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