Medicinal Herbs Basil: Secrets of the Cooking Herbs

Basil

Most of us have used Basil in some form. We tend to cook with it a lot. But we don’t really know what all this kitchen herb is really doing for us as we ingest it, or what it can do for us other than making our dishes taste even better. There are over 150 varieties of Basil in the world. The ones I use the most are Genovese Basil, Emily Basil and Holy Basil. Out of these three, Holy Basil is the best one to use for medicinal purposes. I just love the flavor of Genovese Basil and Emily Basil. And they both do have milder abilities to use in Medicinal Treatments. This is why it is a great idea to incorporate Basil into your cooking, you are getting these benefits without having to make anything extra. Just toss it in and you are good to go!

Medicinal Qualities
Minor Bites, Stings & Swelling
When crushed and made into a paste the juices this plant produces can relieve minor bites, stings, and swelling. It can also be used as a bug repellant. Though I have not tried this one.
Mildly sedative
Basil has many different forms and the majority of them are Mildly Sedative, they can help to relieve anxiety, depression, and difficulty in sleeping.
Basil can also be taken for Epilepsy, migraines, and whooping cough.
Helps with digestion, easing flatulence, stomach cramps, colic and indigestion.
Help increase the production of Breast Milk
Parts Used:
Leaves
Flowering Tops
Essential Oil
Active Constituents
1% Volatile oil consisting of Linalool and methyl chavicol, as well as small amounts of methyl cinnamate, cineole, and other terpenes. Which is why you can make an essential oil out of Basil.
Planting & Growing:
Depending on where you are buying your seeds from, the below information can be found on the seed packet or on the website. I use Baker Creek as much as I can. I have found their seed to work the best for me.
This is a super easy plant to grow and can easily be grown on a windowsill. Well if you don’t have cats. They love this plant.
Depending on the Variety this can be an Annual or a Perennial. Also if you let it go to seed, you will most likely have multiple plants pop up the next year. This is a really hardy plant.
Plant outside if you live in a region with long growing seasons. Start indoors after the First Frost date, then transplant to outside if you have a shorter growing season. I am in Zone 6b so I start mine indoors and then transplant outside.
Basil needs about 8-12 hours of sunlight
Sprouts in 6-10 days
If planting seeds they go ¼ inch deep into the soil
Thrives best in soil temps of 70-85 degrees.
Link in Description
Harvesting
Harvest this plant often, the more you harvest the more it grows. Once it goes to flower it is pretty much done, but you can let it reseed or save the seeds
Warnings: Basil essential oil is not to be taken internally.

Links: https://www.rareseeds.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Basil+seeds