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Ocimum africanum
Temperate Tulsi is a culinary and medicinal basil that is sweet and fruity with delightful hints of spice and vanilla bean. Cool weather tolerant and extraordinarily productive even in our short growing season. A brew of Temperate Tulsi is appreciated for its adaptogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Matures rapidly into a two foot tall multi-branched bush with lovely purple flowers. Well-loved by your neighborhood pollinators! As you harvest leaves, gently dry down out of direct sunlight and store in airtight containers to enjoy the healing properties all winter long!
This variety has somewhat of a nebulous classification story: First known to be introduced to American gardeners by the (no longer operating) Abundant Life Seed Foundation and passed through many loving hands originally under the classification Ocimum tenuiflorum. Current thoughts and studies consider this variety to be a species wholly different from O. tenuiflorum, a classification reserved for the sacred Tulasi Holy Basils, Rama and Shyama respectively. Temperate Tulsi is currently classified as O. africanum and it is also proposed to be possibly linked to the Ethiopian Besobela or O. bisabolenum. We are doing our best to stay abreast of the matter to offer clarity when and where we can!
Medicinal uses of Ocimum africanum listed are for informational purposes and not mean as replacement for medical assessment and care by a qualified practitioner such as an herbalist or naturopathic physician.
Sowing/Planting Instruction:
We recommend sowing indoors four weeks before last frost and transplant after last frost. However you can successfully direct sow Tulsi after the last frost has passed.
Germination of these seeds are light dependent (photoblastic). When sowing, gently press down the soil to create a shallow indent, sprinkle seeds and lightly cover with soil. Do not bury too deep and be sure to keep the surface of your trays moist as you await your seeds to germinate. When watering, use the mist setting on a sprayer hose to gently moisten without too much pressure. Using a spray bottle with water is also a good idea. Heavy water pressure may push the surface sown seeds out of the trays!
Space plants 12 inches apart.
Space rows 15 inches apart.
Moderate soil fertility. Add a good compost at time of planting. We recommend preparing the bed with a legume cover crop to add nitrogen.
Harvest Instructions:
Harvest leaf by leaf, pinching flowering tops to promote new branchlets. When frost threatens, harvest all that you can by cutting back plants, with reverence. Hang bundles or lay leaves on screens in a warm dry place, out of direct sunlight. Store tea leaves in airtight containers in a cool, dark place for a stabilizing and revitalizing infusion all year long.
