[Market-farming] Basil

Leigh Mae Friedline darlinghillcommunityfarm at myfairpoint.net
Tue Jul 21 10:09:22 EDT 2009


I pinch stem ends (2-3 short nodes) when I harvest basil.  I always  
harvest when the plant is completely dry and pick directly into a  
large plastic bag to conserve humidity.  I prepare a sink of tepid  
(think dissolving bread yeast), never cool or cold, water and wash  
the basil thoroughly and quickly in this water.  I don't let the  
basil soak too long.  I then dry the basil in a spinner and bag in  
amounts no larger than 0.5lbs., always keeping the bags closed and  
storing them at room temp. out of direct sunlight.  Larger weight  
bags have less of a shelf life than low weight bags.  If the humidity  
is high, spinning will not completely dry the leaves to the degree  
that I want so sometimes I put a piece of a paper towel on the inside  
of the bag so it is not seen from its presentation side.

I am able to have saleable basil for 7-10 days after harvest.  This  
method also makes a product that pesto makers do not have to de-stem,  
because the stem length is usually under 0.5" and is very tender:  
ready to process.

Leigh Mae
Darling Hill Community Farm
Southern NH, Zone 6

(please note that the sender's address is now  
darlinghillcommunityfarm at myfairpoint.net)

On Jul 21, 2009, at 9:10 AM, Andy Fellenz wrote:

> Hi,
>
> We have never had any luck storing it for any length of time,  
> instead we
> would just cut what we could sell in a day or two.  For farmers  
> markets
> and on our roadside stand after cutting it we would place the stems in
> water.  Doing this it usually looked OK for a day or two.
>
> I also did this for someone who was reselling to restaurants.  I would
> make up herb buckets for him with several varieties of basil,  
> marjoram,
> parsley and other longer stemmed herbs and he would sell the bucket  
> to a
> higher end restaurant.
>
> Andy
>
> Tom at Limerock wrote:
>> Hi.
>>
>> We are growing basil for our on-farm market and having trouble  
>> with it
>> holding up.
>>
>> How do y'all store and package basil without it getting dark green/ 
>> brown
>> (from too cold of temps I think) and how do you package it to keep  
>> it form
>> wilting and/or getting slimy?
>>
>> I have tried it in loose in large bags, and loose in peck boxes,  
>> kept in the
>> walk-in and it gets dark green/brown.
>>
>> On the counter, it is tightly packed in zip bags which are left  
>> partially
>> open to breathe and it creates moisture.
>>
>> Any and all thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Tom
>> Limerock Orchards and Roadside Market
>> Near Lake Erie
>> (needing rain badly)
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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