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Old August 3, 2015   #13
Gerardo
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: San Diego-Tijuana
Posts: 2,594
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A real simple way is to let it grow so that it gets "woody." I allowed a Genovese Basil plant to grow and it's been going for 3 years now, it's about 4-5 ft high, and it has over a dozen "arms." All woody for the most part. The only real green growth is at the end of the arms.
You take the flower stalk, secure with one hand at the base where those 3 clusters of leaves are, then pull with your other hand in the opposite direction and you can rip off about 15-20 flowers/seeds per stalk. Take 'em and throw 'em anywhere you'd like to see basil. I usually only get about 20-30% germ rate but who cares, when it's woody it's constantly putting out flower stalks.
And whenever you need any more seed just give it a boost of fertilizer and within a day or two you'll see dozens of those diamond patterns emerging.

As others mentioned, clipping a full flower stalk with the base leaves allows for a pleasant aromatherapy-car ride. And I second the Rosemary/Basil combo for vehicles, chips away at the road rage quite a bit.

Good luck!
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