Tulsi, Temperate — Holy Basil (Ocimum africanum) seeds, organic

(15 customer reviews)

$2.95$300.00

PLEASE NOTE:  This seed is ON SALE until 1_15_2024–all sizes significantly reduced in price.  This offer is made to encourage growers to buy bulk quantities and direct-seed.  Holy Basil is one of your best tea herbs to dry and put up for longterm use, Also a great seller at the farmstand.  Enjoy!

Family:  Mint (Lamiaceae)

Annual, harvest at 40 days and ongoing to frost.  For the purpose of seed-saving, it takes 120 days from direct-seeding to winnowing.

Note to those wishing to grow their own tulsi tea.  Unless you live in a very warm zone, are a very experienced propagator, or are particularly attached to growing the tropical-type tulsis (Krishna, Amrita, Rama and Vana) then I really council you to grow this temperate tulsi instead.  The germination is far easier, the growth faster, the productivity  greater, and the overall experience more likely to bring happiness.

(Temperate Tulsi)  The plant is a bushy annual tea basil with small leaves, purple flowers, powerfully aromatic.  This plant is of East African origin, and India is right across the way.  Among all basils (including Ocimum basilicum) in my experience, this one is the shortest season, most frost-hardy cultivar. I’ve also seen these self-seed over the seasons, which is unusual among basils.  We tested this cultivar and confirmed the presence of essential oils linalool, nerol, geraniol, citral, icocaryophyllene, humulene, etc.  Also ran it for genetic analysis to confirm identity as Ocimum africanum.  This is the holy basil my wife and I grow for ourselves to make into tea.  We find it very satisfying, with aroma most appealing.   Traditional usage (Ayurveda): stress, anxiety, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and dementia.  Drinking tulsi tea in the morning is a fantastic way to get started.  Prepare a flat of potting soil or a fine seedbed in spring and scatter seeds on surface, then press in and keep evenly moist and warm until germination, which is rapid.  Transplant or thin to 1 foot apart.

Packet contains 50 seeds
1 g contains ~1,580 seeds
5 g contains ~7,900 seeds
10 g contains ~15,800 seeds
100 g contains~158,000 seeds

Certified Organically Grown

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5 out of 5 stars

15 reviews

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10 reviews with a 5-star rating

  1. Claudio

    Cual es el verdadero tulsi el medicinal el original de la india

    Claudio

    Cual es el verdadero tulsi el original de la india

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  2. One person found this helpful
    Lana

    Cheerful and so fragrant

    Lana (verified owner)

    I am growing this tulsi in pots on my apartment balcony here in zone 8 Texas. My plants are small yet, so I am reluctant to pick any leaves, but every morning I enjoy gently brushing the plants with my hands to breathe in the fragrance. Just wonderful.

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  3. Chris Cohen

    A Garden Must Have

    Chris Cohen (verified owner)

    I plan on trying 2 other tulsi types this year, all from “Strictly Medicinal” but tulsi temperate is definitely a keeper. Wonderful smell without having to burry your face in the plant or crush leaves. Quality taste, good for food, good for tea, bountiful bloom which attracts insects.

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  4. 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
    Jacob Kaylor

    It's everywhere!

    Jacob Kaylor

    Richo, thank you for this wonderful plant. It’s been a year since I first planted them and they’ve self-seeded like mad. Even my watermelon patch way on the other side of the yard from my herb garden has tulsi popping up in it. Many thanks from Kentucky!

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  5. 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
    mary

    Grow extra plants...

    mary

    …your friends will want some! The seeds germinated like a “chia pet” (this dates me, I know) in flats, indoors at 65F under grow lights in April. Seedlings transplanted well outside in June – most in a production plot for tea with some along the path for their sweet fragrance as one brushes against it when passing. By far the most fragrant of the three tulsis I’ve grown (Amrita and Vana being the other two) so far. It was also the only tulsi that bloomed during our short Zone 3 season. I harvested it twice when it went to flower and a third time just before the first killing frost – a great producer! This tulsi has a milder flavor than the other two tulsis when brewed as a tea, according to friends I subjected to tulsi tea tasting trials. I’ve found that a blend of the temperate tulsi and either the Amrita or Vana tulsi produces a fragrant and flavorful tea, most worthy of sharing with friends. After reading others’ comments about this tulsi reseeding, I will let a few plants go to seed next year and see if the seeds survive our cold winters and germinate in the spring. Regardless, tulsi has earned a large space in my garden.

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  6. 3 out of 3 people found this helpful
    Annie

    Seeds are amazing

    Annie (verified owner)

    Planted for the first time on Memorial Day. Almost every seed took which I was not expecting so I have quite a crop. So happy with the health, ease of growing and flavor of temperate tulsi.

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  7. MV Paul Worland

    Sacred tulsi

    MV Paul Worland

    About 16 years ago I bought this tulsi basil (then marketed as Rama tulsi). It has self seeded year after year. A great delight and bees love it. It makes a true medicinal honey along with ashwaganda flowers which the bees also love. Wondering if it will hybridize if I plant other basils in the garden such as Thai or genovese basil.

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  8. One person found this helpful
    mariecantu88

    Easy growing plant with a gorgeous scent

    mariecantu88 (verified owner)

    I can’t say enough good things about this tulsi. It grew beautifully in my PNW 8b herb garden (in a cool rainy summer), the bees were obsessed with its flowers (to the point where I would stagger my flower head removal so there were always at least four plants in bloom for them!), and the scent was my favorite in the garden – strong, sweet, and almost marshmallow-y. The flowers and leaves both made delicious tea and powerful tincture, and only now at the beginning of October am I thinking about taking the plants out before frost. They still look amazing and are blooming continuously though! This lovely plant has a permanent place in my herb garden now.

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  9. blazej

    Great Tea Herb!

    blazej

    thank you for the seeds!

    Nice seed germination and growth. Very aromatic with a sweet note. Makes great tea when used fresh. I boil water, allow the water to cool for a few minutes then i pour the water over the herb, which has been placed in a mason jar, i cover the jar and allow to steep for at least 30 minutes. I even sometimes wait until it cools and then i have a real strong tea. I sometimes combine with fresh lemon balm as well!

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  10. One person found this helpful
    Mistie Clark

    Mistie Clark

    I am in love with this. I purchased the Lifeline Medicine packet and I am very happy that I did. The Holy Basil is by far one of my favorites. The smell is the mix of a sweet grass and fruit. Beautiful!!!

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