Tulsi, also known as sacred basil, is widely grown in homes across India. It has beautiful light green leaves with a tinge of purple on its stems.
Although in the same family as other basils, Tulsi does taste different than other basils. Tusli has more of a clove, lemon, peppery flavour whereas Genovese-type basils have a sweeter, peppery flavour.
The online edition of the newspaper, The Times of India, provides a few tips about growing Tulsi in an article titled, ‘Dos and Don’ts’: Facts about Keeping Tulsi Plant in the House‘. Here are three of their tips:
- “A Tulsi plant should always be kept in the north and north-east direction because that is the direction of water which helps destroy negative energies.”
- “No matter how big your garden is, you must never plant Tulsi in the ground. Always plant in a pot.”
- “Plant Tulsi on a platform which is higher than the base of your house. A higher window area or balcony space would be great.”
Use the fresh leaves for tea or to infuse in (unheated) water. Or simply eat the fresh leaves.
Tulsi is easy to grow from seed and you can start Tulsi when you sow your other outdoor garden seeds in spring. You can also grow Tusli indoors over the winter in a container.
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How to Grow Tulsi from Seed? Ease of Germination: Easy. Start Tulsi when you sow your other outdoor garden seeds, which is at the end of May for us. Sow seeds just below the soil surface, keep soil moist until seedlings emerge. Seed will germinate in 5 to 10 days. Pinch off flowers when they appear to keep the plant producing new leaves. Or you can start indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost.
