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Aromatic Herbs for Cooking and Garnish
Greek basil, Greek oregano, Perilla nankinensis.
For growing in the UK, we germinate in a small greenhouse and grow on in polytunnels. Some plants such as basil and perilla need to stay a bit longer until the night temperature increases to about 8deg C around the end of May. We have noticed that some plants in the confines of a warm greenhouse are particularly aromatic. These plants are Greek Oregano which is a sub species much stronger that the ordinary variety found growing in Greece.
Greek Basil has tiny leaves and produces a pretty white flowers on a stem which is good for garnish and much stronger that the standard Sweet Genovese variety. Greek basil is from Chile but so called because it is commonly grown in pots in Greece. We do not normally sell basil as it can be difficult to grow as it must be kept warm but not too hot.
The third plant is Perilla Nankinensis which is a garden foliage plant introduced by the Victorians and often seen growing in the central reservation of dual carriageways in this part of the world. We first grew this for salad/garnish before its close relation the Perilla herb seed became available. It has a sort of pineapple perfume and in our opinion a better flavour than the herb.
These plants should be grown as house plants for the dining room. They should grow all year round if kept at a minimum of about 15deg C. For maximum effect the plants should be kept as warm and dry as possible to concentrate the aromatic oils. In these conditions the plants will be naturally aromatic however they give off more scent when touched.
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