Dark Opal, Sweet Basil Seeds – organically Grown HERBS ! Caribbeangardenseed

Basil Seeds,a beautiful addition to the garden and landscape.Purple basil provides height, color, and flavor in a patio-side garden bed

• High Quality, Untreated, Open pollinated Garden Seeds.
• Great in containers,can Grow as ornamental
• Good choice as microgreens packed with lots of flavor.
• Use as garnish, drinks, salad, pesto, salad, almost everything.
• Pinching out the leaves keeps growth more compact and pinching the flowers heads also helps extend the harvesting period.
• Produces delicate purple flowers
• Excellent in teas, said to be a digestive aid and to repel flying insects
• Seeds per Ounce: 21,000

Excellent choice for microgreens. The mature leaves are deep red-purple color with sometimes mottled green color. Strong basil flavor.
Warm season annual

For the fullest flavor, add fresh basil to dishes within the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time. Use fresh basil in tomato dishes, soups, salads, sauces, and pasta. Its flavor blends well with parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and sage.
Maturity: Approx. 16-25 days to maturity for microgreens, 70-80 days to mature
Planting season: Late spring to early summer Ancient legends give basil a strong religious connection, stating that it possesses healing powers.
In many cultures basil is a symbol of love, and given as a token of affection or engagement; other meanings include protection and truth.
Basil fresh from the garden is a sensory delight—one of life’s simple pleasures. This staple herb of Thai, Vietnamese, Italian and Indian cuisine is quickly finding its way onto more and more dinner tables , particularly in pastas and salads.

In Greek and Roman cultures, however, basil represented hate and misfortune; because of this, gardeners would often shout abuses at their plants to help them grow.
Sowing: Since basil thrives in warm weather, it grows best when the soil has warmed and there is no chance of frost. Gardeners with short growing seasons may want to start their seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost date,

sowing them thinly in flats and providing heat to speed germination. Transplant 15-18″ apart. To direct sow, plant the seeds 1/4″ deep in rich soil and full sun, thinning to 15-18″ apart when the seedlings develop. Basil also grows well indoors or as a container plant.

Herb Planting:
Sow seeds indoors before last frost, or direct sow seeds outside after last frost. Plant seeds just under soil surface, and water.
Herb Seed Saving:
Allow seed heads to dry on plants; then remove heads, break them open, and collect seeds. Clean and dry the seeds before storage in cool dry conditions.
Harvest And Storage
Harvest basil leaves by pinching them from the stems anytime after the young plants have reached a height of 6 to 8 inches. Pinch the leaves from the tips of the stems to encourage the plant to branch and make more leaves. Try to keep the stems pinched even if you don’t use the leaves; otherwise, the plant will begin to flower and make seeds, and will stop producing leaves. At the first prediction of even the lightest frost, go ahead and harvest all your basil because it will quickly turn black in cold weather.

Make easy work of this by cutting the entire plants off at ground level, then pick off the best leaves. You can dry basil leaves, but freezing it or using it in vinegar best preserves the herbs flavor. You can also use it to flavor oils and pesto, which should be kept refrigerated or frozen. (Don’t keep fresh leaves in the refrigerator, though, as they will turn brown.)
You can also keep cut stems fresh for a few days by putting the cut ends in water just like a cut flower. They will add a fresh basil fragrance to the air.