Basil for the Big Win!

Everyone loves it, we plant tons of it all summer long and we sell every single stem of it! From our florists and wedding designers to our grocery store clients and weekly farmer’s market customers, people just love it!

Basil has turned out to be one of the most valuable crops we grow on our 1-acre flower farm. After reviewing my numbers from our two growing seasons, I was stunned to learn this warm-season tender annual herb has turned out to be one of our most profitable and in-demand flower fillers with all our customers. This simple crop has turned out to be a powerhouse producer on our farm!

In our second growing season, basil was the number one request from our florists and they asked nonstop when we would have it available. Florists and designers love basil not just for the foliage but for the clean fresh scent that everyone loves. In addition, they cannot get it from their wholesalers.

Our farmer’s market customers purchase basil bunches to put throughout their homes because they find the uplifting scent to be calming. We use basil every week through the summer season in our mixed bouquets. Add a few stems of Basil to 5 stem bunches of sunflowers and you’ve got a farmer’s market winner!

Basil checks all the boxes you want in a cash crop to grow on your flower farm. It is an affordable seed and easy to grow. The seed-to-harvest time is roughly 60 days, which means you can succession plant it up until 2 ½ months before your first fall frost date.

We succession plant basil all summer long and we add more quantities of it to our crop plans every year to meet growing demand from all our customers. You’ll want to plant and sell all of the different varieties as you move through the season. In early summer, Mrs. Burns’ Lemon Basil is the favorite first choice for all our customers. Later in the season, Cinnamon Basil and Purple Ruffles for late summer and fall bouquets. Cardinal Basil works all season long for us as a foliage.

Make sure that your commercial customers know that basil does not like to be put in a cooler so they can plan accordingly when they design with it.

Lisa covers all the details on growing Basil from seed to harvest in her book, Vegetables Love Flowers. Harvest your basil early in the morning, making sure you strip most or all of the side shoots. Use Quick Dip to help keep it hydrated and immediately put the stems into water treated with CVBN tabs. After a few hours or before we deliver to our customers, we put the basil in freshwater treated with holding solution T-bags.

TGW offers four great varieties of basil that you can succession plant all summer long to have the variety you need to move through the season for all your customers. We’ve grown them all and our customers can’t get enough! Check them all out here.

You might also enjoy Lisa’s Podcast: #153: All About Basil!