70 days from sowing.
If you've ever strolled through a big patch of Basil on a summer afternoon, you know that mouth-watering, delectable aroma. Well, you can get that every day -- and from just one plant! -- of Marseille. This French variety is the unquestioned queen of fragrance, with foliage so aromatic you'll find yourself making excuses to go out to the garden or patio and brush past it!
A dwarf plant, Marseille apparently concentrates all its energy on producing big, showy, wonderfully scented foliage. The leaves are larger than most other varieties, and the plant is nicely branched, so you get a big harvest in very little space. Expect Marseille to reach 10 inches high and about 8 inches wide at maturity, bursting with delectable spice in every inch!
Marseille is a fine variety for growing in containers, and if you scatter a few among your unscented annual flowering plants, you'll find that bees and butterflies are suddenly visiting! And of course Basil is indispensable to Tomatoes, so be sure to include it among the Tomatoes, Eggplants, and other members of your "lasagne garden"!
The perfect size for a low hedge, Marseille makes an aromatic edging for the driveway or footpaths. Talk about an edible ornamental -- you can grab a few leaves in passing as you enter the house and get a delectable head start on dinner!
Sow the seeds either indoors in late winter or direct-sow in spring. To start indoors, sow about 6 to 8 weeks before last scheduled frost. The seeds will germinate in 5 to 10 days. Transplant when they have 2 sets of true leaves, spacing the plants 12 to 15 inches apart in the garden, or in your best containers. To sow outdoors, wait until the soil has thoroughly warmed up in spring. Then cover the seeds with about ¼-inch of soil, and thin the young plants to 12 to 15 inches apart when they are about 2 inches tall.
As your basil plants grow, pinch off the central stem when they are about 6 weeks old, and prune back each stem when it has more than 8 leaves. (Cut it back to the first or second set of leaves, harvesting the rest.) If you keep your plants well pinched and pruned, you should be able to harvest half a cup of fresh leaves every week during the growing season!
Basil loves hot weather and plenty of sunshine, but it needs consistently moist, rich soil. Mulch the plants to retain moisture, and water heavily during dry spells. Harvest the plant before the cold weather sets in, as this will affect the leaves' texture and flavor. Freeze entire stems, with the leaves still attached, for best flavor retention, or dry the leaves for seasoning. Pkt is 100 seeds.
