Basil: Sweet

Description

Well, this is promising, right? Basil with large leaves? So more flavour and more pesto! Basil provides the scent of summer in a veggie garden – and delectable freshness to salads, pesto, pizza and pasta. Bonus is that large-leaf basil is apparently sweeter than the regular Genovese sweet basil that most of us are used to planting. Worth a try! 

The seed is very small so sow carefully in trays or, if you’re feeling brave, in situ. Let the sun do its thing and bring those fragrant leaves to life. Pinch out the new leaves to make the plant bushy.

Eventually the plants will produce pretty white flowers that the bees love – but at the same time the leaves may become less flavourful. To slow the inevitable, remove the flower heads and give your plants a light pruning to encourage the plant to produce new growth for you to enjoy. As the season comes to an end, the flowers will take over, and this is an opportunity for you to let the plants go to seed. Collect seed for next year and take some cuttings for a pot on a sunny sill to keep the basil flavour going through winter.

Did you know? Although we associate basil with Mediterranean cuisine the plant actually originated in India and was taken to Italy via the spice routes many centuries ago.