Sweet Basil:   Height 18" Strong scent.   Green leaves, white flowers.   aka… Genovese.   Very good in pasta sauces and salads, especially with tomato.

Cinnamon Basil:   Height 18" Olive green leaves with a hint of purple.   Highly cinnamon-scented when rubbed.   Spicy flavor.   Pale pink flowers.

Lemon Basil:   Height is about 12" Light, bright, yellowish green leaves. Pale, whitish flowers.   Flowers and leaves have a lemon scent and flavor.

Spicy Globe:   Height 12" Small green leaves, half the size of sweet basil.   White small flowers.   Excellent for pot growing on a windowsill.   Delicious added whole to salads.

Purple Basil:   Height 12" Strongly scented purple leaves.   Pink flowers.   Very attractive with a perfumed scent.   Especially good in rice dishes.   Perfect for dried arrangements also.

Cultivation:   Annual - Plant in a warm sunny spot, well drained and moist, and protect from strong winds.   If planting from seed, don't over water seedlings as they are prone to "damping off."   Thin to 8", avoid transplanting, they don't like to be moved.

Propagation:   Sow thinly in heated location.   After danger of frost has passed, sow in pots or in position in the garden.   Can be sown indoors early, but try to use a biodegradable pot so you don't have to disturb the roots.

Harvest:   Pick leaves when young.   The more you pinch, the more it will produce for you and give a larger almost shrub form.   Gather tops as flowers open. Before first frost, harvest the whole plant as frost will wilt the leaves.

Storage:   Freeze leaves (first paint both sides with olive oil to seal flavor and prevent sticking), or dry them on screen or hang in bunches of three branches.   Store whole leaves in olive oil with salt or dry-pack them with salt.   Infuse leaves in oil or vinegar.   NOTE: Herbal oils should be used up within two weeks and stored in your refrigerator.

Culinary:   Pound with oil or tear with fingers rather than chop.   Add at last minute to cooked dishes.   Use with salads and sliced tomatoes.   The rich pungent flavor compliments garlic.   Used in Pesto sauce and Mediterranean dishes, and flavored vinegars.   See recipes for tips on how to use basil.

Medicinal:   Leaves and essential oil - antidepressant, antiseptic, stimulating, soothing, prevents vomiting, carminative, clarity tonic.   A few drops of essential oil on a sleeve and inhale, it can allay mental fatigue.     WARNINGS: Avoid essential oil use during pregnancy.

Crafts:   If you allow basil to flower (I try to allow a few for next years seeds, if I liked that variety), the flower tops dry beautiful and hold there color well.   The purple and cinnamon basils work the best.   These look nice just hanging from the ceiling rafters or added to arrangements, wreaths, and braids too.

Cosmetic:   Add a fresh infusion for an invigorating bath.   Make a vinegar to use in your bath which also acts as an antiseptic.

Household:   Place pots on window sills or hang dried bunches near doorways (in or out), to deter flies.   The juice of the leaf rubbed on the skin is said to help deter mosquitoes too.