Herbs - Sweet Basil
If you like a little sweet basil mixed in with your scrambled eggs in the morning or sprinkled on your sliced tomatoes at lunch or dinner, then sweet basil is an herb you will want to plant in your herb garden.
Sweet basil originated in India and was thought to help protect against evil. The Hindu people even place a basil leaf on the breast of loved ones before burying them.
You can start sweet basil in your garden from seed after all danger of frost has passed, or you can purchase young plants to transplant, which is what I do. If you want to sow sweet basil seeds, I suggest that you start these indoors and then move outside when they are three to four inches high or have two pairs of leaves. Seeds should be planted in the soil to a depth of twice their size and spaced three-eighths to one-half inch apart.
Sweet basil is an annually plant that likes well-drained soil in a sunny position. It can grow up to two and one-half feet tall and is about the same in diameter. The plant will develop into a small bush shape if the growing tips and flower heads are pinched back. Sweet basil has been successfully grown in pots indoors during winter months.
Although it can be dried, its flavor is best when it is fresh. Harvest sweet basil in mid-morning after the dew has dried. After picking you can keep the leaves for a few days in air tight plastic bags in the refrigerator. The whole leaf can also be frozen in ice cube trays with a little water. I have done this and then removed the ice cubes and stored them in freezer bags to help save space. Another way to preserve sweet basil is to make herbal vinaigrettes with red wine vinegar.
Besides cooking sweet basil has been used as an ingredient in cosmetics and as a medicinal tea to help treat of stress, colds, upset stomach, and constipation, just to name a few. The essential oil is used in aroma therapy to for tension headaches and migraines.
Sweet basil makes and excellent companion plant as it acts as a repellant for white and fruit flies and aphids. It is also reported to help tomatoes grow larger, but I have not noticed this in my garden.