Spring is inching towards us here in Oregon. The cottonwood buds are glistening with fragrant resin, the willows are unfurling their glorious catkins and the first daffodils are opening up, faces pointed towards the sun. Just like the plants, the people and creatures of the farm are stretching, growing and waking up with the longer days and warmer weather.

Spring marks my favorite time of year in Oregon. And my favorite time of year as a grower of plants. Starting seeds and garden planning are intoxicating activities for most of us. Probably you feel the same way if you are reading this. I just started getting excited and making plans for what I want to grow this year. One of those plants is basil. Basil is a mainstay in my garden and an important crop for most farms as well. I do not know many folks who dislike basil. Fragrant, productive and delicious, if you have not grown it before it is time to start!

Plant Information

The Latin name for the common culinary basil is Ocimum basilicum. Ocimum comes from the Greek word okimon for scent and basilicum from the Greek word for king. So King of Scents, which seems right to me! There are other significant species of basil including Ocimum tenufolium (previously Ocimum sanctum) which is also known as holy basil or tulsi. Tulsi is an important Ayurvedic herb.

Basil is a member of the Lamiaceae family. Which is an amazing plant family, it includes basil, rosemary, skullcap, mint, oregano, hyssop, marjoram, sage… the list goes on. So many of our culinary and medicinal herb favorites and for a good reason. Similar to a lot of these plants basil has a squarish stem or a round-quadrangle stem for the nerds out there. The leaves are oval and the flowers grow from a central inflorescence. Which is basically a fancy word to describe the arrangement of the flowers on a plant in relation to the rest of the plant body. The flowers are really cute and range from white to purple depending on the species and variety.

Basil is native to India and naturalized in Africa but is grown throughout the world. History can be a little inconclusive but it is roughly believed to have been brought to ancient Greece  in around 250 BCE, to England in the 1500’s and to the United States with settler colonists in the 1600’s or so. Pretty much, people have been using this plant for a long time and for a very good reason.

Uses

Basil has many uses not just for food! It is used in soaps and perfumes due to its lovely scent and antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties. It is eaten raw and dry. It can be ingested as a tea, infused into oil, or mashed up into pesto. People around the world have been using basil millennia for various medicinal purposes. It is used topically to treat things like ring worm and acne. There are studies supporting the use of it as a scent as a positive stimulus to increase mental alertness. It has also been studied as a topical application for plaque reduction in dental health. It is widely believed there are many important health benefits to basil, but is generally understudied as are most medicinal plants. If the medicinal properties of basil are interesting to you, as always I suggest doing more research and reading about the purported efficacy of basil.

Growing Basil

Basil is a fairly accessible plant to add into your garden. In most temperate areas it can be ground outdoors. Commercial production is sometimes done in greenhouses or in aquaponic systems. Basil loves full sun and well drained soil. But it is considered an adaptable and resilient plant. It thrives in conditions between 77-84 degrees Fahrenheit This is the sweet spot for yields and disease resistance. In Oregon, we start our basil seedlings in greenhouses and generally on heat mats. This increases germination and also helps deal with certain diseases like Fusarium and damping off. These diseases thrive in cool moist conditions, so the heat mat and good airflow where you start your seeds are very helpful in the success of your basil seedlings.

Start seedlings in trays of potting soil. Germination occurs best between 75-85 degrees and will take about 10-14 days. Once your seedlings are a month old they can either be potted up into 4 inch pots if you are waiting until it is warm enough to plant. Seedlings are susceptible to frost so wait until night time temperatures have reached over 50 degrees and you are sure that your last spring frost has passed. You can plant your seedlings in the ground in a hoop house sooner than outdoors if you have that as a resource. 

Space seedlings about 9-12” apart in rows that are a similar distance apart. Basil is a good companion plant for tomatoes, peppers and carrots. So consider interplanting with these crops.

I like to do two successions of basil. Starting the next round of seeds about 6 weeks after the first.

Harvesting Basil

The best way to harvest basil is by snipping the stem right about one of the growth nodes. You can harvest leaf by leaf. However, snipping down the stem near a growth node will allow you to harvest more at a time and it will also help your plant regenerate and grow more lateral and bushy.   You can start cutting your basil once it has about 4 sets of leaves. Snip the top of the plant off, about 2 sets of leaves right above one of the growth nodes. This will create a bushier plant.

Towards the end of the season I will do large cuttings and hang these to dry. It takes about 5 days of around 100 degree temperatures for basil to dry down for storage. Basil is really nice to save and store for use in the winter. If you like, you can let some of your plants go to flower. Basil flowers are beautiful filler in bouquets and also attract beneficial pollinators to your garden.

Fun Varieties

Genovese basil is the most popular basil grown in Italy for culinary use and commercial production.It is fairly vigorous and uniform. A very classic basil that makes excellent pesto. grows to about 1 ½ feet  wide to 2 feet tall and takes around 95 days to flower. It has green leaves and white flowers.

Red Rubin basil is a fast growing purple variety that was bred in Denmark in the 1800’s. It is high in anthocyanins which are the antioxidants found in berries and purple vegetables. It has about half as much as red grape skin and about twice as much as red cabbage. It is really beautiful and a great crossover as an ornamental and edible plant. It has purple leaves and pink flowers.

Lettuce Leaf basil has huge gorgeous  large crinkled leaves. It makes really nice bunches. It was bred in Japan. The leaves are sweet and it is generally considered to be more adaptable to adverse conditions than other varieties. It flowers in about 105 days and is vigorous with mid-range uniformity,

I hope you enjoy growing basil as much as I do. It is truly a lovely plant to have in your kitchen and your garden.

Happy Planting!

Taryn Hunter

References

Azizah, N. S., Irawan, B., Kusmoro, J., Safriansyah, W., Farabi, K., Oktavia, D., ... & Miranti, M. (2023). Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)―A review of its botany, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and biotechnological development. Plants, 12(24), 4148.

Carvalho Filho, J. L. S., Blank, A. F., Alves, P. B., Ehlert, P. A., Melo, A. S., Cavalcanti, S. C., ... & Silva-Mann, R. (2006). Influence of the harvesting time, temperature and drying period on basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) essential oil. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia, 16, 24-30.

Garibaldi, A., Gullino, M. L., & Minuto, G. (1997). Diseases of basil and their management. Plant Disease, 81(2), 124-132.

Juliani, H. R., & Simon, J. E. (2002). Antioxidant activity of basil. Trends in new crops and new uses, 575(9).

Sharafzadeh, S., & Alizadeh, O. (2011). Nutrient supply and fertilization of basil. Advances in Environmental Biology, 5(5), 956-960.

Singletary, K. W. (2018). Basil: A brief summary of potential health benefits. Nutrition today, 53(2), 92-97.

Simon, J. E., Morales, M. R., Phippen, W. B., Vieira, R. F., & Hao, Z. (1999). Basil: A source of aroma compounds and a popular culinary and ornamental herb. Perspectives on new crops and new uses, 16, 499-505.

Walters, K. J., & Currey, C. J. (2019). Growth and development of basil species in response to temperature. HortScience, 54(11), 1915-1920.