95 days from sowing.
Now you can grow a trio of basil varieties from a single multiseed pellet! Try Basil is part of the SimplyHerbsâ„?series of super-easy pelleted seed. Each pellet contains seeds of all three varieties included in this mix: a large-leafed, Genovese-type Italian basil; a serrated green leaf variety; and a burgundy leafed! Each has a distinctive flavor, and together they are fragrant and beautiful!
Designed for pots (4-inch or larger) but also suitable for the herb garden or vegetable patch, Try Basil eliminates the steps of double-sowing and thinning. You get a full, bushy pot of plants from a single pellet, and no basil has ever been easier to grow.
Fragrant, flavorful, and very productive, basil is a mainstay of any herb garden and well-stocked kitchen. You can cut the leaves as you need them, all season long -- they regrow quickly, giving you an extra-large harvest. And each of these varieties has its own distinctive flavor profile, so you can use them for anything from Italian cuisine to soups, stews, sauces, and dried seasoning!
Basils are loaded with volatile oils, responsible for the heady aroma and strong flavor so essential to cooking. In the garden, basil works to repel aphids, mites, and hornworms, so consider planting some Try Basil around your veggies or even your flowering plants as a guard!
Expect these plants to reach 12 to 24 inches high. As summer progresses, the plants may begin to bud. Once the flowers bloom, the flavor of the leaves suffers, so if you are harvesting these basils for their foliage, pinch off the flower buds as soon as you see them. This will extend your season of harvest by several weeks!
Begin the seeds either indoors in late winter or direct-sow in spring after all danger of frost. Sow the seeds directly into the pot in which they are to grow (without transplanting), using one multiseed pellet per 4- to 6-inch pot or 3 per 12-inch pot. Begin about 6 to 8 weeks before last scheduled frost; the seeds will germinate in 5 to 10 days. If sowing directly into the garden, wait until the soil has warmed in spring, and then space the multiseed pellets about 15 inches apart.
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 sets of 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. You can count on a big harvest every time! Packet is 20 multiseed pellets.
