Genovese Basil
Item Details
This classic large-leaved Italian sweet basil, prized for its flavor and heady aroma, is a top pick for many cooks when making pesto. Fragrant plants grow 18-24" and produce densely branched plants when pinched back regularly. Can be chopped and frozen in olive oil for winter use.
- Organic
- Annual plants
- Best Seller
- Plants will grow to 18-24 inches
- Sweet, fragrant leaves
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
The flavor of basil is best when the leaves are fresh. Cooking or heating the leaves will change the flavor so add the leaves at the last minute to warm dishes.
Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto, along with olive oil and garlic. You can also steep the leaves of basil in milk or cream and create basil flavored confections like chocolates or ice cream.
Growing Instructions
Instructions - Sow seeds outdoors when soil is warm and temperature does not drop below 65°F. Can also be started indoors 4-6 weeks before planting out. Make successive sowings for continuous summer supplies. Pinch back flower stalks as they appear to keep plants from bolting. Prefers rich well-drained soil.
- Direct Seed: 1/8" Deep
- Germination: 5-30 Days
- Thin: 4-6" Apart
- Light: Full Sun
Ratings & Reviews
8 reviews
A Garden Staple
by BEN
This did well in our New England garden. We love this basil it was easy to grow! The leaves are huge and tasty. We enjoyed this basil on our toast with tomato, toasted sesame seeds, and balsamic vinegar for summer breakfasts. We will be growing this from now on. It is fragrant, tasty, and simply divine!
Perfect!
by Danny
We have grown this 3 years in a row in area 10. It's just perfect and we harvest it from May all the way through December. The fragrance is amazing and like most basils it's virtually pest free. We make pesto and margarita pizzas and sometimes I just stand there smelling it like a flower. It's simply amazing.
screwed
by John
its great can I please place my order now!!!!!!
Sprouts Quick!
by Noelle
So far, it's been the easiest sprouting seed I purchased. I live in SC, so I am interested to see how it does once it gets really hot here...Can't wait to use it in my cooking.
Perfect taste and wonderful aroma
by Amish Country Gardener
I've been planting this for a decade. I planted four seeds this year and all four sprouted. I use basil a great deal in my Italian dishes and this has the perfect flavor and the best aroma. I'm in zone 6b and started my plants indoors 7 weeks ago. They are now living outdoors and are a foot tall. I know from experience they will yield until the beginning of October in my zone. I like to use some fresh and save some for drying for the winter months.
Great Herb
by southwynd
Easy to grow. Does will in the heat. Excellent flavor. Highly recommended.
Japanese Beatles got it!
by Sheila
We grew this variety every year in Omaha, 5B. Bears beautifully and no pests. But, in 2021 the Japanese beetles just about destroyed it. You'd think they would be repelled by the strong smell, but they loved it. Will now grow it in Missouri, 6B.
THE Basil.
by Dani
This variety is the King of all Basil! The smell, the taste, the beautiful glossy leaves and full bushy plants, I need it every year! Deliciously Pungent! Some varieties have too much of a black licorice smell, but this isn’t one of them. Some varieties don’t have that BURST of flavor, but this isn’t one of them either. This year I grew several in a row, 12” apart. I want to harvest all at once to can a bunch of pesto so I keep pinching the tops before they go to seed and they are big and bushy now. I taste the older leaves underneath and as long as flavor isn’t compromised I let it keep growing. I’ve used it for pesto in the past and it’s perfect. Used fresh in cooking is amazing as well.