Magical Michael Basil seed Ocimum ‘Magical Michael’

LATIN NAME: OCIMUM BASILICUM

COMMON NAME: Sweet Basil

The sweet basil spices the bushy, upright, aromatic herb with the broad, glossy, oval, bright-green leaves that carry the rich, spicy scent when brushed and the tall, loose spikes of the small, two-lipped, white flowers that open through the summer, the bees crowding the blooms, the small, dark seeds following. The plant grows quickly into the generous bush, and it likes the sun, and the rich, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The aromatic leaf oils of the sweet basil give it a long place in the research on the culinary herbs of the mint family, and the basilicum species appears in the studies of the leaf oil chemistry and the warm-season growth. The work looks at the spiced leaves for the sauces and the pestos, the traditional tonics, and the seed biology. The food scientists value the oil, and the growers of the aromatic culinary herbs keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the summer kitchen garden, the sweet basil spices the kitchen with the fresh leaves. The leaves serve the sauces, the salads and the pestos for the ages, the flowers feed the bees, and the herb grows in the pot and the border. It does well in the rich, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Essential, spicy and fast-growing.

To grow the Sweet Basil from seed, sow the seeds over the damp, fine mix of the tray, then press them in lightly, keep the tray in the warm, bright spot and mist lightly, and the seedlings spring up within a week or two.

Keep the tray warm and lightly misted, and pot the seedlings on as they grow. The spiced leaves come within the season. Plant the young herbs in the rich, sunny ground, and the spiced leaves will season through the summer.