How to grow & use Lettuce leaf basil

Lettuce leaf basil has very large leaves it is often used for sandwiches, pesto and salads.

It has been grown at home for well over 100 years – it’s very easy to grow with a long harvesting season with a nice subtle basil flavour

Below you will find:

How to grow lettuce leaf basil at home

Quick summary:

To grow it you will need:

The first step is to get the basil seeds.

The next stage is to put the seeds in the soil.

Fill a plant pot (or a few pots ) with soil, then add the seeds and sprinkle a bit of soil on top.
Quick tip – If you put the seeds into a bowl of water for 30 minutes to 1 hour they will start growing quicker then simply putting them in soil.
Quick tip – Instead of using plants pots start the seeds using a seed tray with a lid. The advantage of using a lid is that it will retain the moisture helping your plants grow. Simply put a bit of soil in the tray, spoon in the seeds and cover with a bit of soil.

Then simply put the pot or tray somewhere safe and leave them to sprout.

The seeds will germinate in 12 to 30 days.
Quick tip – Use a heat mat. All you do is put the tray on the mat and the extra heat will significantly speed up how fast your seeds will grow.
For more info & why it works so well have a look at our article on a seed starter mat

Help them grow

When they’ve grown thin the seedlings or transplant leaving 30 cm between plants, Then simple put them somewhere warm and sunny and wait for them to grow.
One option (depending on the time of year or where you live) is to use an indoor grow light.
For example the picture shows 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.

It is ideally suited for planting outside in a pot on a balcony or terrace or inside on a sunny windowsill (or using lighting)

Because of the importance of moisture and light it is ideally suited for hydroponics with additional lights.

Not only are they easier to grow, but you will also get fast results.

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

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