Basil 'Sweet' Seeds
Fresh and aromatic culinary herbs all year round!
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Just £3.99
Key Features
Plant In Sunshine
Edible
Easy To Grow
Width: 30cm
Height: 30cm
Height: 30cm
- A half-hardy annual, great for outdoor containers, herb gardens, or even inside the home, where it can take pride of place on a windowsill
- The classic large-leaved, beautifully aromatic variety favoured in many cuisines
- Delicious for pesto, or in salads and cooked dishes for an authentic Mediterranean flavour
- Grow vigorous plants for year-round fresh leaves – far superior to supermarket herb pots
- Supplied as a single packet with approximately 450 seeds, ready to sow indoors or outdoors
Plant Calendar
Planting Time
Fruiting Time
Sowing Time
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Description
This ‘Sweet’ Basil is the classic, large-leaved variety that is most popularly used in cuisines all over the world. Native to tropical regions of central Africa and Southeast Asia, it is a tender, half-hardy annual when grown outdoors in Britain for summer cropping. Or it can be grown successfully indoors on your windowsill all through the year to ensure a continuous supply of fresh leaves for culinary use.
A favourite herb particularly of Italian cooking, its sweet, aromatic leaves are a characteristic ingredient for many dishes from salads and garnishes to soups, casseroles, ragu, pizza, and pasta dishes – and superb for making fresh pesto. The flavour comes from the intense essential oils in the glossy green leaves that are at their best when eaten raw or added to hot dishes at the last minute.
Growing your own ‘Sweet’ Basil from seed, whether indoors or outdoors, will reward you with neat, bushy and vigorous plants that can be cut just when you need a fresh bunch for your cooking – a much better solution than those frustrating supermarket pot herbs that barely last 2-3 weeks and are reluctant to grow back when cut.
Sow all year round indoors into pots for your windowsill or for transplanting outdoors from May to July. Or sow outdoors from May to June; they will do best in pots or containers, but can be sown directly into a well-prepared bed or border. All they require is a sunny but sheltered position, in fertile, moist but well-drained soil or compost, then regular cutting to encourage new growth.
Supplied as a packet of 450 (approx.) seeds ready to plant indoors or outdoors in their growing position. Mature plants can reach 30cm height and spread. Harvest indoors all year round or throughout the summer when grown outdoors.
Top Tips
- Protect outdoor-grown seedlings from slugs.
- Cut leaves regularly to encourage new growth and remove flowers to prolong picking.
- Plant plenty so you have enough to make fresh pesto – once tasted, you will never go back!
- For maximum flavour, leaves should be added to cooked dishes at the last minute.
Care Information
How to grow Basil
- Sow indoors all year round for indoor crops and March to May for outdoor crops. Sow 0.5cm (Ľin) deep, in small pots of compost. Water well and place in a warm position. A temperature of 15-20°C (60-68°F) is ideal. Seedlings usually appear in 7-14 days. Grow on in cooler, but not cold conditions. For outdoor crops, accustom plants to outside conditions (avoid frosts), before planting out 20cm (8in) apart. Alternatively, plants can be grown on a light windowsill.
- Or sow outdoors, where they are to crop, 0.5cm (Ľin) deep, directly into finely prepared soil that has already been watered. Thin seedlings to 20cm (8in) apart. For a continuous supply, make sowings every 2-3 weeks.
- Harvesting: Leaves are best picked immediately before use. (Outdoor crops from June).
Aftercare
- Protect outdoor seedlings from slugs.
- Keep the compost moist, allowing to almost dry out between watering. Do not over-water or allow pots to stand in excess water.
- Pick regularly to encourage new, young leaves to grow.
- Remove flowerheads as soon as they appear to prevent the plant from bolting.
- Feed regularly with a general-purpose liquid fertiliser to encourage new growth.
Delivery Information
Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. Pre-ordered items will be sent as soon as possible after the date quoted and we'll generally ship your entire order with your pre-ordered items. When your order is dispatched, we'll send you another email with details of how to track it.
Most orders are sent on a fully-tracked courier service with Yodel. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, no signature is required, and our courier is asked to leave your order in a safe place on your property.
We'll send a tracking link when we dispatch your order, so you know when its due to arrive. Please note, once delivered we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your property. If you have any specific delivery instructions, please let us know - there's an option to enter a short message for the courier at the checkout.
Smaller, lighter, single-item orders may be sent through the post with Royal Mail - in which case no tracking is available.
Our experienced nursery team will always send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive when you plant them, so although most plants are very tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme frosts or heatwaves, we avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme weather is forecast, or over Bank Holiday weekends.
Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.
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