Basil 'Italian Large Leaf'

Pinch terminal shoots to encourage branching.
Harvest leaves before flowering occurs, or they will be bitter.
Pinch out flower buds for longer harvesting.

Good companion plants: tomato, cucumber and asparagus
Dislikes: Rue

Enjoys a full sun position in your garden and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Italian Large Leaf is thought of as half hardy, so remember to protect this plant from frosts and low temperatures. Ideally plant in loamy, sandy and silty soil and try to keep the ph of your soil between the range of 6.0 and 7.5 as Italian Large Leaf likes to be in weakly acidic soil to weakly alkaline soil.

Cover with finely sieved compost.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.2 inches (0.5 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 10°C / 50°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Italian Large Leaf about 20 days before your last frost date.

Plant out when frost risk has passed.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Italian Large Leaf is a half hardy plant.

By our calculations, you should look at planting out Italian Large Leaf about 21 days after your last frost date.

Cut it back to about 1/4 inch above a node which is where the branch meets the main stem. Make sure to leave enough foliage on the plants so they can continue to grow.

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by mid summer.

The word basil means “king” in Greek – it is believed to have grown above the spot where St. Constantine and Helen discovered the Holy Cross.

Jewish folklore says that basil adds strength while fasting.

large leave, large leaved, italian large leave

italian large leaved