Basil – Lemon

A delightful basil with a lemon citrus fragrance and flavor. It adds it’s wonderful spicy-citrus fresh aroma in the home and garden. It is very good in vinegar, in salad dressings, sauces, marinades, and in oils. Also wonderful in pesto, and pasta dishes, and any basil recipe. It adds a fresh citrus flavor. Fragrant 2 inch medium green leaves grow on compact plants. Also can be used for flavoring vegetables, tomato dishes, soups, stews, spagetti, and many other dishes. This herb is wonderful either fresh or dried. Wonderful in flower arrangements, in sachets, potpourri, and soap. Grows well in the garden or in the kitchen in a container. It makes an attractive pot plant.
Sowing: Direct sow 1/4-1/2 inch deep in well-drained soil. Sow direct from early spring after danger of frost to mid-summer. Plant in full sun. Keep moderately moist while germinating. Heat tolerant. Can also be grown indoors.
Germination: 7 days Spacing: 6-12 inches Height: 18-24 inches
Moisture: Medium Days to Maturity: 55 days Light: Full Sun
Ocimum basilicum citriodorum
Annual
Care information: Can be succession planted every 3-4 weeks. Begin harvesting when 8-12 inches high. Make the final harvest before the first frost in the fall. For dry use: harvest leaves just before the plant produces flowers. Pinching back new growth will encourage bushy plants. Also, remove flower before seed matures. Harvesting best done in early morning. Cut stem just before flowers open, strip leaves and use fresh, or dry on a tray in a dark, airy place. Store dried leaves in an air tight container. Leaves may also be frozen.