Italian large leave sweet basil

This is large leave Italian sweet basil, even though it is grown in the same container the size of the leaves varies. The leave is broad almost as broad as lettuce leave basil, It is aromatic, smell similar to Crimson king basil but the aroma is the mildest of all the sweet basil that i’ve grown so far.

Lettuce leaf sweet basil

         I've fascination with basil. I rarely eat cooked veggie hence basil is perfect for me. I can add it in my mixed salad or eat is with sambal durian .Lettuce leave sweet basil has wrinkle large leave. I think it has the biggest leave of all the basil cultivar. It aroma is slightly stronger than large leave Italian sweet basil.

wrinkle leave but still not big as it is supposed to be

Cinnamon basil

I love varieties of herb. This is among the basil that i grown. For Asian who is so used to cook with spice, this cinnamon basil smell is very annoying, it just has a hint of cinnamon, but the combination of cinnamon and basil is very strange. It taste is slightly better than lemon basil. It is 4th in my list.

Lemon basil

This lemon basil is grown by and for my father. It’s been in my garden for ages, i tolerate it because its white flower attract good insects. The taste is very strong, nobody like it except my father. It self seeded readily, just plant it once and you'll have it forever.

 

Crimson King Basil

I bought its seed from US. In the seed catalogue it is dark purple. But when i grow it has more green that purple. I'm still trying to get the colour like in the seed catalogue, so off it goes to the partial shade. Next month I’ll put it under direct sun to compare the leave colour in response to sunlight.

Whatever the colour, it tastes really good. It smells like cloves and taste milder than lemon basil. It is second to purple ruffles as far as taste is concerned. Since I’ve 8 more basil variety in various stage of growth, I’ll rank it after i taste it all.

photo from seeds catalogue

This is how it look like in the tropics

Purple ruffles basil

I’ve 9 varieties of basil; this is my favourite because it is beautiful as well as edible. And it does not require much care other than daily watering during hot and dry season. The leave is purple and large; twice the size of sweet basil and it has ruffled edge hence the name. I only grow 4 varieties at one time, each at different corner of the house to prevent cross pollination, so far so good. This basil will emit a sarsi/coke/pepsi like smell when it is bruised and it taste milder than lemon basil.

Purple ruffles and crimson king basil

the leaves started to turn purplish

Finally it look like in a seed katalog