Buy basil 'Sweet' or Ocimum basilicum 'Pesto Genovese' Ocimum basilicum 'Pesto Genovese': Delivery by Waitrose Garden

basil 'Sweet'

basil 'Sweet' or Ocimum basilicum 'Pesto Genovese'

Eventual height & spread

basil 'Sweet'

basil 'Sweet' or Ocimum basilicum 'Pesto Genovese'

approx 750 seeds
£2.39
In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

3 × packets of seeds
£6.50 £2.17 each
In stock (shipped within 2-3 working days)

Delivery options

Seed Packets (only) £2.99
Named Day £10.99

Position: full sun, sheltered and warm or a sunny windowsill
Soil: fertile, moist but well drained
Rate of growth: average
Hardiness: tender (will need winter protection)

This sweet basil can be used to make Pesto Genovese. No Italian cooking is complete without the aromatic flavour of basil, a tender leafy herb with fat, glossy green leaves.

Grow in a container in a sunny spot on the patio or indoors on a bright windowsill and keep well-watered for a plentiful supply. Chop finely over tomatoes or blend with olive oil for the best pesto ever.

Garden care:

Pick plants over regularly and remove any developing flowerheads immediately to prevent bolting (running to seed) and to encourage lots of fresh young leaves.

Sowing instructions:

Sow seeds into pots of free-draining seed compost on a warm, sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse from late spring. Protect seedlings from slugs and cold and keep well-watered as they grow. Plant out into the herb garden or into roomy pots or troughs from early summer, after all threat of frost has passed, allowing 15-20cm between plants.

Sow: April to June

Harvest: July onwards

Approximate quantity: 750 seeds