Description:
Grown for its aromatic leaves, holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a flowering plant belonging to the mint family (Lamiaceae). The holy basil plant grows to a height of up to one metres and is a small annual or short-lived perennial shrub. The hairy stems have simple toothed leaflets or whole leaves that are borne oppositely along the stem. Depending on the type, the fragrant leaves might be either purple or green. The tiny purple or white tubular flowers are carried in terminal spikes and include green or purple sepals. Nutlets are the fruits, which yield a large number of seeds.
Habitat
It is indigenous to Australia, Malesia, Asia, and the western Pacific, where it grows in tropical and subtropical climates. In the tropical regions of Southeast Asia, it is widely grown.
Uses
Numerous studies have shown the health benefits of holy basil. It can reduce joint pain, regulate blood sugar, cholesterol, and protect your stomach in addition to providing infection prevention.
Varieties
Rama tulsi is known for its mellowing effects and has a cold flavor. Depending on the season, Rama features purple blooms, green foliage, and either a green or purple stem.
Krishna tulsi has a strong medicinal presence and tastes like black pepper. Krishna holy basil has light purple blooms with violet foliage and stems that are all dark green in colour. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent’s meadows and has been successfully cultivated for usage in temples and private gardens.
In the United States, the most commonly grown type of tulsi is kapoor. Compared to other types, it has a milder flavor, bolts fast, and grows more slowly as an annual. This cultivar is the least appealing for medical purposes, but it is a great food source for pollinators due to its large flower count. Look for one of the other types if you intend to bring your plant indoors.
Tulsi amrita is the least often grown. Amarita tulsi is a plant that symbolizes immortality, thus it makes sense. It’s an easy-to-grow perennial that is almost unbreakable. This is the type of holy basil to choose if you want to grow it in a container.
Plant Care
- Light
Holy basil needs lots of sunlight to produce large, robust leaves. This plant can withstand a certain amount of shadow, but more than just dappled shade will cause it to deteriorate.
- Soil
Holy basil requires little work to flourish, even though it grows fairly well in most soil types. Rich yet light and airy soil is the perfect soil type. Because it drains effectively and maintains some moisture, a silty loam is a suitable option. If you have trouble with soggy, soaking soil, you can add perlite to the soil as an amendment to help with drainage.
The ideal soil mixture to use when planting holy basil in a container or raised bed is three parts peat moss, one part compost, and one
- Water
Holy basil grows best and is most abundant when the soil is kept damp but not soaked. You can cultivate the plant outside or indoors according to this rule.
When watering basil, keep in mind that diseases like basil downy mildew can spread by splattering contaminated soil onto the leaves. Drip irrigation systems or soaker hoses can stop fungus spores from rising to the surface of the ground.
- Temperature and Humidity
Since the native range of holy basil is in a tropical area, keeping the plant outside requires an average temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Holy basil will behave as a perennial if the average annual temperature in your area is above this.
This plant will be annual in cooler hardiness zones unless you put it in a container and bring it indoors during the winter. Holy basil grows best in USDA zones 10b through 11, though you may grow it indoors in any zone.
- Fertilizer
Any herb should not be fertilized. Planting a herb in well-quality soil and adding compost or well-aged manure to the soil is the greatest way to give it nutrition.
When you fertilize an herb, the fertilizer causes the foliage to develop swiftly and produces abundant flowers. This would normally be a desirable outcome for most other flowering plants, but in the case of herbs, the consequence is a relatively weak flavor due to the herb’s less concentrated essential oils. Again, flavor is mostly found in the foliage, thus forcing early flowering directs resources towards blossoms rather than the foliage. Thus, it’s preferable to forego applying fertilizer.
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