Sweet Basil is a tender herb well known for its aromatic leaves and history of cultural cuisine and medicinal applications.

Deer and Rodent Resistant🦌🐇🐁
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial insects
Repels: Asparagus beetles, carrot flies, tomato hornworms, mosquitoes, whiteflies, and ticks

Note: Proper care keeps plants resilient and healthy, preventing diseases and pests. This list details the potential threats, specific diseases and pests vary depending on environmental climate.
Diseases:
◦ Botrytis blight: Disease that appears as tan or brown spots on leaves, sometimes with a grayish mold, when plants are grown in high humidity, like in a terrarium.
◦ Downy mildew: A destructive disease that may become widespread if left uncontrolled.
◦ Gray mold: Causes wilted foliage on cankered stems.
◦ Fusarium wilt: A common disease caused by a seedborne fungus that stunted growth, wilting, or brown vascular tissues. Infected plants and seeds should be destroyed, and that family of plants shouldn’t be planted in the same area for 2 years to 3 years to prevent reinfection.
◦ Leaf Spot: A diseased or discolored area on a leaf caused by a plant disease or injury. Leaf spots may be caused by fungi, bacteria, or viruses, or by injuries from insects, nematodes, environmental factors, herbicides, or toxicity.
◦ Root Rot: Affects the roots of plants growing in wet or damp soil, may be lethal to both indoor and outdoor plants.
Pests:
◦ Aphids: Small, soft-bodied sucking insects which pierce plant tissues and draw out the juices.
◦ Flea Beetles: Flea beetles may overwinter in the soil, plant debris, or nearby weeds, and may go through multiple generations in a year.

Sweet Basil has very low, safe levels of thujone. Thujone is a chemical compound found in specific herbs and is toxic in high amounts. Pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, and young children should avoid consuming thujone. Consuming excessive thujone may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dizziness, seizures, damage to the liver and nervous system, coma, or death. Thujone toxicity is higher with concentrated forms like teas, extracts, and oils. Thujone consumed from common culinary use of these herbs now and then is considered safe for consumption.
High Thujone Content: Wormwood (do not eat) and Mugwort
Moderate Thujone Content: Holy Basil, Sage, and Yarrow
Low Thujone Content: Thai Basil Sweet Basil, Thyme, and Oregano
Animal Toxicity: Safe for dogs, cats, and horses
ASPCA Website – Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants “Basil”
Medicine Interactions:
Individuals may have a sensitivity or allergies to sweet basil, consult a healthcare professional first and proceed at own risk.
◦ Anticoagulant and antiplatelet medicine (Blood thinners): Sweet basil may slow blood clotting. Taking sweet basil with medications intended to slow blood clotting may increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.
◦ Antihypertensive medication (High blood pressure medication): Sweet basil may lower blood pressure and strengthen the effect of blood pressure medications.
WebMD Website – Basil “Interactions”

❗Never ingest essential oils, instead use organic fresh or dried herbs.
Use: Popular culinary herb for pesto, soups, and salad. common in Italian dishes. Sweet basil leaves may tolerate high cooking temperatures better than other types of basil.
◦ Flowers or flower buds: As potpourri, herbal tea, crushed for seasoning, or garnishes.
◦ Leaves: Most medicinal part of the plant. Renowned for pesto, sauces, and marinades. also excellent in stir-fry, soups, salads, dressings, flavored salt, flavored oil, garnishes, desserts, and beverages. Externally applied in the form of herbal oil, poultice, salve, cream, or therapeutic tea soak. Flowers have mild medicinal properties.
◦ Seeds: Seeds may be planted for edible sprouts or consumed as a seasoning or garnish. Mild, nutty flavor. Dry seeds are difficult to chew and should be soaked for 15 minutes to 20 minutes prior to soaking. Soaking seeds causes their size to triple, be sure to add enough water or the seeds will clump together.
◦ Essential Oil: Click Here for Precautions, Instructions, and Dilution Ratios
Benefits: Blood thinner (reduces blood clots), antioxidant, antibacterial, antidisease, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, prevents and fights infection, colds (flu and influenza), fevers, relieves swelling, headache, digestive problems, digestion stimulating, promotes cardiovascular (heart) health, hypertension (reduces high blood pressure), lowers cholesterol, balances body pH, bad breath, reduces stress, anxiety, flatulence (farting), and acne.
Dosing: 1 teaspoon of dried herb or 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh herb every other day for adults, using irregularly for tea or to add flavor to meals. Use for 2 to 3 weeks, then stop use for 2 weeks prior to continuing use. 1 teaspoon of fresh sweet basil contains 10.4 mcg (9% RDV) of vitamin K, which supports blood health and bone strength.
Click Here for How To Harvest, Dry, and Properly Store Herbs and Seeds
Harvest: Never harvest more than 20% of a plant’s leaves or roots!
◦ Flowers: Harvest any time
◦ Leaves: Harvest any time, primarily Mid Spring to Late Summer
◦ Seeds: Harvest the dry, brown, crunchy flowers from Summer to Fall. Follow harvesting techniques in the link above to extract and properly store the seeds.

Note: The flowering stage may cause leaves to be more bitter. Drying the leaves slightly reduces flavor.
Aroma: Sweet, herbaceous, with a mild hint of peppery clove
Flavor: Sweet, savory, and herbaceous with a mild hint of peppery clove
Culinary Combinations: Sweet basil compliments herbs and spices (thyme, rosemary, mint, oregano, cilantro, parsley, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, chamomile, goldenseal, lavender, cardamom, coriander, tarragon, lemongrass, chives, elderberry, ginger), quinoa, whole wheat enriched pasta, wild rice, beans (sugar snap peas, green beans, chickpeas [garbanzos], black, pinto), legumes (lentils, mung beans), tofu, tempeh, mushrooms, nuts (roasted cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and pine nuts), vegetables (arugula, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Winter squash [pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash], Summer squash [zucchini, straightneck, and crookneck], sweet potato, red potato, white potato, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, bell pepper, carrot, beet, asparagus, brussels sprouts, radish, tomato, and cucumber), and fruits (avocado, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, apricot, mango, citrus [lemon and lime], and figs)
Click Here to explore a comprehensive list of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients with function explanations, deficiency or excess symptoms, and vegan food source rankings (high, medium, low)

Sweet basil, or Ocimum basilicum, has been cultivated in India and Southeast Asia for over 5,000 years. The name Ocimum comes from the Greek word okimom, which means “aromatic herb”, and basilicum comes from the Greek word basileus, which means “king”. Basil has been used in many cultures, including the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

1 year to 4+ years longevity for life expectancy