Description
Key Facts
- Basil with very large leaves with a nice subtle basil flavour
- And is often used for sandwiches, pesto and salads.
- Takes about 2 to 3 months to grow
- Full details on Amazon
Below you will find example recipes & usage information, as well as our summary for the lettuce leaf basil.
There is advice on how to grow it further down the page.
Example Lettuce leaf basil Recipe
This type of basil has a lovely flavour, and great as a substitute for normal lettuce.
For example the Tacos (shown on the right) are a very easy dinner to make, and very often normal lettuce will be part of the recipe.
But replacing the lettuce with lettuce leaf basil will provide an lovely extra flavour.
The full recipe can be found here – lettuce leaf taco recipe
This type of basil is not often found in shops.
However it has been grown at home for well over 100 years – it’s very easy to grow with a long harvesting season.
You can grow it from seeds, and will grow very fast.
How to grow it outdoors (garden, balcony, etc.)
This type of basil prefers direct sunlight, well drained soil and need to be frost free.
If you want to grow them outdoors the easiest option is to sow them in pots March to April and then move them outdoors when there is no danger of frost.
For example the picture on the right shows it after it was sown on 7 July, transferred into a pot on 14 July – the picture was taken 14th August and was ready for harvesting i.e. 2 months from sowing to harvest.
Pinch out the tip of the main stem to encourage bushy grow and prolong growing time.
Alternatively you can sow the seeds indoors (in a seed tray on a seedling heat mat) any time of the year and then transfer them into a pot.
How to grow it using hydroponics or aquaponics
Because of the importance of moisture and light the basil is ideally suited for hydroponics with additional lights.
More information
The type of basil you use will differ depending on the flavour you need, as well as recipe requirements.
There is more info at the example basil recipes page
Minze V –
It was fun to grow but did take up a lot of space. However much nicer to use then lettuce. (much more flavour)