10 Mexican Basil Seeds

Mexican Basil, better known as Cinnamon Basil, is the most fragrant member of the basil family, prized for the warm, spicy cinnamon-clove aroma that rises the moment you brush its leaves. It carries glossy, narrow dark-green foliage on purple-tinged stems, topped in season by slender pink-purple flower spikes that make it as ornamental as it is useful. That sweet, spicy scent makes it a favourite for herbal teas, fruit salads, desserts and Middle-Eastern sweets, where ordinary sweet basil would taste too green. This imported strain gives you a distinct, perfumed basil that stands apart from the everyday green types.

Planting

This is a warm-season annual that is sensitive to frost, so timing is everything. Start the seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, or sow and transplant outdoors only after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed; wait until night temperatures stay reliably above 10 C before moving plants outside. Sow the seed about 0.6 cm deep. Germination usually takes 5 to 10 days, and is best at a soil temperature of around 18 to 21 C. In Egypt the main constraint is cold nights rather than summer heat: in the Nile Delta and Lower Egypt, start seed under protection or in a seedbed in late January to February and transplant out in March to April once nights are reliably above 10 C, giving a long cutting season from June through October. In warmer Upper Egypt the frost-free window is wider, so transplanting can begin a few weeks earlier (late February to March), and a second autumn crop is possible. Avoid open-field sowing in the cold of mid-winter (December to January). Thin or transplant the seedlings to their final spacing once they have 2 to 3 pairs of true leaves, allowing roughly 15 to 30 cm between full-size plants, or a closer 10 to 20 cm if you are growing mainly for cut leaves. Give the plants full sun, with at least 6 to 8 hours of bright light each day in a warm, sheltered spot.

Fertilizing

Basil grown in good garden soil often needs no extra feeding at all. For a stronger start you can work a low-nitrogen starter fertilizer into the bed before planting. If growth slows about two months after planting, give the plants a light nitrogen side-dressing of calcium nitrate, roughly 0.1 to 0.2 kg per row section, to push fresh leafy growth. Plants in pots and containers are the exception: feed them with a diluted, organic-based balanced liquid fertilizer every 3 to 6 weeks, and avoid high-potassium feeds, which do not suit basil.

Care

Cinnamon Basil is not drought tolerant and wants a fairly steady supply of soil moisture, so keep the soil evenly moist rather than letting it dry out. Water deeply about every 7 to 10 days, and more often for plants in containers. Water at the base of the plant in the morning and try to keep the foliage dry, which helps limit disease. Pinch out the growing tips at least once a week to keep the plant bushy and full. For the best, most perfumed flavour, harvest just before the plant flowers and pinch off flower buds as they appear, because flowering turns the stems woody and the leaves more bitter while cutting the yield. Pick young leaves as you need them in the cool of the early morning, and for a full cut take the plant back to about 10 to 15 cm above the ground to encourage fresh regrowth. Watch for common problems such as downy mildew (fluffy growth on the leaf undersides), Fusarium wilt, gray mold, bacterial leaf spot and damping-off, along with pests including aphids, slugs and snails, spider mites, whiteflies and leafhoppers; watering at the base and keeping the leaves dry is the simplest way to keep downy mildew at bay.