Lettuce Leaf Genovese Basil Herbs Seeds - West Coast Seeds

PRODUCT DETAILS

Lettuce Leaf basil seeds produce very large, bright, puckered green leaves with a glorious aroma. Provide high soil fertility and a light, well-dug soil to get the largest leaves. We recommend using potting soil with two tablespoons of Gaia All Purpose 4-4-4 per liter of soil. Try this mix in containers in your patio herb garden. Tear the big leaves into salad mixes or use whole leaves to wrap savory morsels like brochettes or salad rolls. Lettuce Leaf Basil is a sweet basil, with milder flavour than the Genovese types. It's perfect for the home gardener, but it also makes an eye catching and unique bundle for the market table.

• Very large, puckered leaves
• Glorious aroma
• Use in salads or to wrap savory morsels
• Provide fertile soil
• Needs light soil for the largest leaves

All About Lettuce Leaf Basil

Latin

Ocimum basilicum, Holy basil is O. tenuiflora.

Family: Lamiaceae

Difficulty

Easy

We Recommend

Certified Organic Genovese Basil (HR1019). This is the standard by which to compare all of the other fine basil varieties. Traditional, heirloom, Italian basil is the best choice for pesto. For Urban Gardeners: Certified Organic Dolly Basil (HR1025) has all the aroma of Genovese, but with slightly larger leaves, faster growth, and a better tolerance of the cool nighttime temperatures that can occur on balconies and rooftop gardens. It’s also slightly better suited for container growing.

Season

Warm season Exposure: Full sun

Timing

Basil grows well in containers indoors at any time of year provided you can supply enough light. For outdoor growing, sow basil seeds throughout late spring for transplanting to the garden after the summer solstice. Or direct sow in early summer, once the soil has warmed up. Basil requires warm soil and full sun. Optimal temperature for germination: 21°C (70°F). Seeds should sprout in 5-10 days.

Starting

Sow seeds 1cm (½”) deep in sterilized seed starting mix. Basil is prone to damping off, so once seeds sprout, make sure they are adequately ventilated, and kept under very bright light. Thin to 20-25cm (8-10″) apart. Using bottom heat speeds germination.

Growing

Use any rich, loose, well drained soil. Once plants are 15cm (6″) tall, pinch out the growing tips to encourage really bushy growth prior to harvest. Watch for signs of flower buds forming in mid-summer, and pinch these off to promote more foliage.

Harvest

Frequent harvesting will prolong the life of the plant. Basil leaves have the best flavour just before the plant flowers, and if you plan to preserve some of your basil or make a big batch of pesto, this is the best time to harvest. Flowering can be delayed by pinching or clipping off new flower buds.