Greek Basil
The basil to start with if you have failed with basil before. Small leaves, dense growth, and far more tolerant of cool damp air.
Greek basil, sometimes sold as bush basil or by its botanical name Ocimum basilicum var. minimum, makes a tight dome of tiny leaves rather than the broad soft foliage of a Genovese type. The leaves are a fraction of the size but the flavour is concentrated, and the plant is noticeably tougher. In an Irish house that toughness is the whole point: it tolerates the cooler, damper, less than ideal conditions that make large leaved basil sulk, and it stays compact enough for a kitchen sill without stretching.
Quick facts
- Botanical name
- Ocimum basilicum
- Type
- Open pollinated
- Category
- Bush basil, small leaved
- Difficulty
- Challenging
- Hardiness
- Tender, no frost tolerance
- In Ireland
- Needs a greenhouse or tunnel
- Germination
- 5 to 14 days at 18 to 25C
- Sowing depth
- 5mm
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 25cm between rows
- Height
- 25cm
- Position
- Full sun
- Containers
- Grows well in pots
- Sowing to harvest
- 8 to 12 weeks
- Harvest
- June to September
Sowing and harvest calendar for Greek Basil
Months shaded below are the reliable windows for Irish conditions.
Where to buy Greek Basil basil seeds in Ireland
Irish suppliers that stock this, so postage stays domestic and seed arrives in time to sow. These are plain links, not paid placements.
Garden centres and mixed retailers
- Mr Middleton Irish Six basil varieties, the widest choice here Mail order arm of a long established Mary Street shop, carries the familiar named varieties the organic specialists skip. Visit Mr Middleton , Co. Dublin
- Johnstown Garden Centre Irish Four basil lines including organic Third generation family business near Naas with the widest branded range, though popular varieties sell out by midsummer. Visit Johnstown Garden Centre , Co. Kildare
Why it suits Ireland
Every basil grown in Ireland is really a container plant, so the variety that behaves best in a pot indoors is the variety that works best here. Greek basil stays under about 25cm, holds a dense rounded shape, and does not go leggy the way a Genovese does when the light drops in September.
The smaller, slightly thicker leaves also take cold and damp better. It is not hardy, and a frost or a cold wet night outdoors will still finish it, but it shrugs off the marginal 12C indoor nights that make sweet basil drop leaves.
If you have bought and killed several pots of basil, this is the one to try from seed. The failure modes are the same but the margin for error is wider.
Growing notes
Sow from mid-March to June at 18 to 25C, thinly, covering with 5mm of compost. Because the plants are small, sowing three or four seeds per module and growing them on as a clump gives a fuller pot than a single plant would.
Grow it in a 12 to 15cm pot on the brightest sill in the house, or in a greenhouse. Ordinary peat free multipurpose compost is fine; adding a handful of grit or perlite improves the drainage, which is the one thing basil really cares about.
Water in the morning, at the compost, and only when the top two centimetres are dry. The compact habit means water does not evaporate quickly from under the canopy, so if anything this variety needs watering slightly less often than a taller basil.
Harvest by shearing the top of the dome rather than pulling individual sprigs. Feed at half strength every three or four weeks through the summer.
A plant sown in June and kept on a warm bright sill will carry on into November, longer than a Genovese will, but it still stops growing usefully once the short days arrive.
Common questions
Is Greek basil as good as sweet basil for cooking?
For most uses yes, and the flavour is arguably stronger per leaf, with a slightly more peppery edge. Where it loses out is anything that needs whole leaves or bulk: you will not make pesto quickly from leaves the size of a fingernail, and it is fiddly for layering in a tomato salad. For scattering over pasta, stirring into sauces or finishing a pizza it is excellent, and you can use the small sprigs whole.
Why is Greek basil easier in Ireland than Genovese?
Partly size and partly leaf structure. Small thick leaves lose less water and take cold damage less readily than the broad thin leaves of a Genovese, and the dense compact habit means the plant does not stretch when light is marginal, which is exactly what happens to sweet basil on an Irish windowsill in April or September. It still will not survive outdoors here, and it still rots if overwatered, but it is more forgiving of everything else.
How do I keep the plant shaped?
Clip it like a tiny hedge. Take the top centimetre or two off the whole dome with scissors every couple of weeks, which is both your harvest and your pruning, and it keeps the plant dense and stops it flowering. Left unclipped it opens out, flowers, and stops producing new leaves.
More basil to consider
Sweet Genovese
Open pollinated / Sweet basil, large leaved
The pesto basil, and the one worth the extra fuss, but only if you have a greenhouse or a genuinely sunny south facing sill.
Growing notes and stockistsDark Opal
Open pollinated / Purple leaved sweet basil
Grown for the colour more than the harvest. Slower and fussier than green basil, so give it the warmest brightest spot you have.
Growing notes and stockistsThai Basil
Open pollinated / Thai or anise basil
Worth growing for the aniseed flavour that holds up in a hot wok, but it is greenhouse only in Ireland and slow to start.
Growing notes and stockists