Basil is one of those herbs you simply must grow in your vegetable garden. That’s because it adds so much flavour to any dish. Simply wander into your garden and pick a few leaves. And add them to a dish you’re preparing.

For instance, how about slicing up raw tomatoes and laying them on a plat. Sprinkle some pinches of salt and pepper. And adding finely chopped basil. Lovely.

Or tossing chopped basil into your salad leaves? This really enhances the flavours of a salad.

Or making a homemade basil presto? Gorgeous.

Or how about finely sliced and added to pasta? Just like the Italians.

But how do you grow basil so you can continue to harvest it through the growing season?

Basil is a simple herb to grow. However, it doesn’t like frost.

Sow your basil seeds in the spring after there is any risk of frost. Or if you want to jump-start your basil, sow your seeds in early March. And transplant them at the end of May. That is once the soil has warmed up.

As soon as your seedling plants have produced their first six leaves, prune hard. Cut back to just above the first two leaves. That’s because this encourages your plants to produce more branches. So you’ll harvest more leaves.

Next, as soon as your branches have eight leaves cut back to the first set of leaves.

To prevent early flowering, cut off the centre shoot at six weeks. Once a basil plant goes to seed then the leaves can lose their flavour.

To keep your plants productive, ensure you harvest them on a regular basis. Start picking leaves at six weeks…. Even if you don’t need the leaves. You can keep excess leaves in your freezer in an airtight bag.

As you’re harvesting on a regular basis you’ll need to feed your plants often. Use an all-round fertilizer.

Basil likes a lot of sunshine. So make sure you plant it in sunny locations which are sheltered. And protected against cold winds.

Basil likes a moist soil which is free-draining. So avoid heavy soils.

You can plant your basil in your garden… raised beds… containers…or pots.

If you’re growing tomatoes then consider planting your basil alongside these plants. Basil and tomatoes make ideal companion planting crops. Some gardeners claim they complement each other because they repel insects and make the tomatoes taste better. If you want to do this then you’ll need 2 – 3 basil plants per tomato plant.

The most common types of basil are sweet basil… lemon basil… Thai basil and purple basil.

And here’s an additional use for basil…

The aroma of basil can be used as a great insect repellent. It’s a natural, non-toxic and safe. It helps to repel houseflies… aphids….mosquitoes… whiteflies… tomato pests and asparagus beetle…

Basil is a fantastic addition to any vegetable garden. Next time your shopping for vegetable seeds, add some basil seeds to your order. Your palate will thank you