How to Germinate Purple Basil

Purple basil works double-duty in gardens both as a cooking herb and as an annual ornamental plant. The leaves smell and taste identical to standard basil but they differ greatly in the size and color of their leaves, which are smaller than regular basil with a deep purplish-red coloring. Purple basil seeds germinate effortlessly when potted in moist soil and kept very warm, but it is best to start the seeds indoors four weeks before the last spring frost so the seedlings are well-established before transplanting them into the garden.

3.5-inch peat pots
Potting soil
Greenhouse warming mat

Instructions

- 1
  Fill 3.5-inch peat pots with sterile potting soil containing a small amount of perlite. Drizzle water onto the soil in each peat pot until the top 2 inches are moderately moist.
- 2
  Sow two purple basil seeds in each peat pot. Bury the seeds under a 1/4-inch-thick layer of soil. Firm the soil over the purple basil seeds.
- 3
  Set the peat pots on a greenhouse warming mat near a large, well-lit window. Set the temperature on the greenhouse warming mat to 68 F.
- 4
  Water the purple basil seeds whenever the top half-inch of soil dries out. Water the seeds using a spray bottle or plant mister since they provide adequate moisture without disturbing the top layer of soil.
- 5
  Watch for germination in seven to 10 days. Remove one of the seedlings from each pot, if both germinate. Transplant the purple basil into the garden, peat pots and all, once they produce two pairs of mature leaves.

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