How Do You Grow Basil From Seed?
• Choose the kind of basil you wish to grow. Do not overlook this opportunity to choose one of the many astounding varieties which might be most fun or useful for you. Cinnamon basil really does smell like the sweet spice, it also has unusually beautiful and fragrant flowers. Lemon basil actually contains citral, an aromatic compound found in citrus fruit, and smells very lemony. Purple basil is often grown for decoration, as well as its scent and flowers. There are perennial basils which come back year after year, like African Blue Basil (which has pretty blue veins on its leaves) and Thai Basil, while most other varieties are annuals, which you’ll have to plant year after year. Globe and Greek basil are much more difficult to grow, but form pretty little bushes which stay well-contained. • Start seed indoors four to six weeks before last frost. Fill flats with equal parts perlite, vermiculite, and peat. Press soil slightly to eliminate air pockets. Dampen soil. Drop one to two seeds
