BASIL SWEET GENOVESE (O. basilicum) is my favorite basil. It is the classic heirloom culinary basil prized for its spicy flavor and wonderful aroma. Fragrant plants grow 18-24" and if kept pinched back (i.e., don't let flowers form as shown) it will give you a very long season of production. I preserve by chopping and freezing in ice cube trays filled with good olive oil. Then removing the cubes and putting in freezer bags. When I need a touch of summer in my cooking, I pop one or two of them into whatever dish I'm cooking and its just as if I came in from the garden! Also makes a wonderful after-dinner tea. Annual. 25 seeds. CERTIFIED ORGANIC
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES: There is good reason that basil is combined in a lot of hefty Italian dishes! It aids digestion and also is a mild sedative. Basil contains six different compounds that reduce blood pressure and ease the symptoms of emphysema and bronchitis. It is also an effective bug repellant. I like to grow pots on my deck as well as all over my garden!
GROWING TIPS: Basils like warm weather, so don't set your starts out too early, and be sure to harden them off well before transplanting. OR, wait until weather is quite established and direct sow. Set aside a corner of your garden for your perennial herb bed. But annuals like basil are also wonderful planted on the ends of your rows of tomatoes and eggplant. Don't plant too close as basil needs air and light. When your plants are 6" high, pinch out the central stem. It will begin the branching process that you will need to repeat with every branch as it develops. In this way you will keep the plant from going to seed and also produce a large bushy healthy specimen. Be sure to start some in pots toward the end of summer to bring in and put under grow lights for your winter kitchen!
CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM GARDEN SEEDS & PLANTS offer hundreds of heirloom and vintage open-pollinated varieties! Most have histories dating back centuries and are tried and true producers. Some are rare, or threatened with extinction. When you grow a plant from heirloom seed and save that seed, you are participating in a practice that goes back for generations. Our grandparents and their grandparents grew these varieties. Often the seeds were prized possessions carried to the New World when they emigrated.
Ever notice how most seed catalogs require you to buy (and pay for) much more seed than you could ever possibly use in a season? If you have a budget for garden seeds, this limits your choices! Although seeds can be viable for longer than one growing season, it requires that they be stored at a consistent temperature and humidity. Few of us do this. CherryGal sizes its seed packets for the home gardener, because we know you may want to grow 5 different lettuces, or three different corns, and don’t want to have to take out a second mortgage to do so! CHERRYGAL SEEDS ARE A TREMENDOUS BARGAIN!
All seeds offered are FRESH stock, with high germination rates. Varieties are specially selected for home gardeners. If you want the flavor you remember from grandma's kitchen garden or the beauty of her cottage flowers, choose CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS.
ABOUT OPEN-POLLINATED SEEDS . . . All CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are heirlooms (dating at least 100 years) or vintage (mid-20th Century or older) OPEN-POLLINATED varieties. This means saved seed will be true to the parent. Don't be dazzled by the never-ending array of hybrid seeds promoted by gardening suppliers. First, seeds from that produce will not grow true to the parent -- you have to keep buying hybrid seed. Second, most hybrids are developed for market – not home -- growers with an emphasis on extended shelf life, storage and shipping qualities -- NOT flavor, texture and all those other elements that home growers seek.
All CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS come from reputable growers (most of them small farms) and wherever possible ORGANIC suppliers (so noted). By buying CHERRYGAL SEEDS you are supporting the growing worldwide movement of SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE and with a little practice you will be able to save even more money in the future by growing open-pollinated varieties and saving seed for next year. All my seeds are DOUBLE GERMINATION TESTED: First by my growers and then by me. Please Note: CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are guaranteed to be fresh stock, but are not guaranteed as to results (sorry - we wish we could, but there are too many variables in gardening) so please do not ask to return. However, we think you will be pleased and would like to hear about your gardening success!
SHIPPING: I endeavor to ship my seeds as quickly as possible - usually within 24 - 48 hours. If there is a need for more time, you will be advised at time of purchase and shipped as soon as possible. In the event an item becomes unavailable or temporarily out of stock I will offer you a chance to substitute another selection or refund you immediately. I package my seeds for shipping in a manner appropriate to the amount and type of seed - larger orders and larger seeds require more packaging. I also combine multiple orders of the same seed variety, where practical, in one envelope unless you request otherwise. This is an ecological measure, not a cost-saving one. Whether you choose first class mail or priority shipping, your seeds will ship using a delivery confirmation number which will be supplied to you.
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