Basil

ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum Open-pollinated. Vigorous mulberry-tinted basil with anise fragrance makes a highly decorative tall bushy plant. Slow to bolt. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (70 days) Open-pollinated. Impressive yields from shapely plants well suited to pots or the field. Classic sweet Genovese flavor and a marvelously potent aroma. Resists powdery mildew. read more
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Ocimum basilicum (55 days) Open-pollinated. Bright, lemony and fragrant. Upright, mounded plants doesn’t get leggy. Delightful in salads, teas, desserts, marinades, lemonade and more. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (60 days) Open-pollinated. Purple stems and flowers of standard Thai, but displayed upon a strong bushy umbrella form with wide and beautifully ample flowers. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (70 days) Open-pollinated. The choice of many connoisseurs for making pesto. Leaves are slightly smaller and finer than Sweet Basil with more aroma and potency. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (70 days) Open-pollinated. The choice of many connoisseurs for making pesto. Leaves are slightly smaller and finer than Sweet Basil with more aroma and potency. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum tenuiflorum (100 days) Open-pollinated. A superior strain of Tulsi or Sacred basil, with a more compact growth habit and more pungent sweet flavor. read more
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Ocimum basilicum Open-pollinated. Lettuce-leaf type has very large ruffled leaves suitable for rolling or stuffing. Flavor similar to sweet basil. read more
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Ocimum basilicum (64 days) Open-pollinated. Heirloom. Chosen for its intense lemony fragrance. Medium-sized bright green leaves. read more
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Ocimum basilicum (65 days) F-1 hybrid. Purple ruffled leaf basil with swooning aroma of allspice, nutmeg and light musk. 12-14" stature and well-branched uniform habit. read more
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Ocimum basilicum minimum (70 days) Open-pollinated. 8" and maintains a compact mound of light green leaves and white flowers. Its leaves are small, thin and strongly scented. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (70 days) Open-pollinated. The heaviest-yielding variety, recommended for drying, all-around great eating, and large-scale pesto production. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (70 days) Open-pollinated. The heaviest-yielding variety, recommended for drying, all-around great eating, and large-scale pesto production. read more
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ships year-round
Ocimum basilicum (60 days) Open-pollinated. An attractive 12-18" fine-leaved plant with purple stems, seed heads and flowers. Lends its distinctly strong licorice-anise basil flavor to Thai food. read more
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Basil

About 600 seeds/g. Indispensable culinary herb, in cultivation for more than 3,000 years. By far our most popular herb.

Culture: Direct seed when soil warms in late spring or transplant after danger of frost in well-drained moderately rich soil. Young seedlings will damp off if heavily watered during cool cloudy weather. Water sparingly at first. Use row covers to enhance early season vigor and speed maturity. Thin to 8–12", top mature plants to induce branching and increase total yield. Harvest before plants blossom. Annual, absolutely intolerant of frost, damaged by temperatures in the mid-30s.

Diseases: Where so indicated our varieties have been sampled and found to be fusarium-free. While not a guarantee that the entire lot is fusarium-free, a negative test improves the odds. No samples were taken for varieties not so indicated.

Herbs

See Herb Chart for uses and cultural information.

About medicinal herbs: Archeological evidence dates the medicinal use of herbs back 60,000 years to the Neanderthals. 85% of the world’s population employ herbs as medicines, and 40% of pharmaceuticals in the U.S. contain plant-derived materials. Fewer than 10% of higher plant species have been investigated for their medicinal components. Interest in traditional herbal remedies continues to grow.

Statements about medicinal use of plants have not been evaluated by the FDA, and should not be used for the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any ailment. Before using or ingesting any medicinal plant, consult a healthcare practitioner familiar with botanical medicine.

Takinagawa Burdock and Resina Calendula, as well as oats, mammoth red clover and alfalfa in the Farm Seed section, also have medicinal uses. Medicinal herbs such as black cohosh, licorice, and many more are available as plants, and shipped in the spring with orders from our perennial plants warehouse.

Culture: Some herbs are customarily grown from divisions because they cannot come true from seed, such as scented thymes and flavored mints. Some require fall sowing of fresh seed, such as sweet cicely and angelica.

Using herbs: Drying herbs at home is not difficult. Whole leaves retain their flavor at least a year. To substitute fresh herbs for dried in cooking, use triple the dried quantity called for in a recipe.