Last summer Keith brought home some basil for my herb garden and we planted it where last summers pigs roamed. It smelled a little odd, no, wise-arse ones, not because we planted it in a pig pen, but because it was Holy Basil, not the regular Italian Basil I usually grow. Too busy running around last summer in Ireland with my study abroad gig, I pretty much ignored the garden and forgot about the stuff.
This year, after doing a fabulous job of self-seeding, the Holy Basil (also known as Tulsi or "The Incomparable One") took off like a crazed loco weed. In a serendipitous manner this wild growth is just to the side of the studio (My Studio) and looks fantastic with it's deep green leaves and tiny purple flowers. Keith hates the smell of the herb and hinted about mowing down the patch, but I hopped on Google and discovered that it would be a marvelous addition to our home grown medicinal arsenal. So the patch was granted clemency.
Just a few of its redeeming qualities are: anxiety reducer, sleep enhancer, blood pressure reducer, anti-inflammatory, digestive aid, antibacterial, antifungal, a treatment for the common cold. and if you accidentally amputate a limb while enthusiastically chopping wood, it will grow you a new one.
All in all it appears I will be drying a good amount of this amazing plant this fall and testing it on appropriate subjects...like my family. Holy Basil Biscuits sound intriguing don't they?
So, are you familiar with this centuries old herb considered one of the most sacred herbs of India with a deeply rooted history in religion and mythology? If so, put down your Holy Basil Bong long enough to make a comment.
Not something I've heard of before, it sound wonderful. I doubt it would grow here though.
ReplyDeleteIt's not native here either, we're thinking the little micro climate near My Studio, is helping. The ground is lower, moister and alltogether more mystical. And the pig manure helped too.
DeleteWill Holy Basil soap be coming up, too? You do grow the soap, don't you?
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Hey Janie, thanks for all the recent emails, comments. I just sent an email to you! Now, soap of the Holy Basil kind, now you have the herbal wheels rollin' in my head.
DeleteA lot of people like going the "herbal" route.
DeleteSounds like it has exactly the same healing qualities as Tiger balm and Apricot kernels (and Snake oil).
ReplyDeleteSnake oil? I need some of that. How is it harvested?
DeleteHoly Basil anything sounds intriguing. But I've always gone for sweet basil of some sort (the Italian-smelling kind, not the kind that smells like other stuff). There are almost too many varieties of basil to choose from! If it grows with wild abandon, has good medicinal properties, and the goats love it, that would be great.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, both my horse and a calf in the near vicinity won't touch it,but they won't eat tomatoes either so I find their judgement suspect.
DeleteI have a couple of plants called 'year round' basil, they floewr constantly and are always covered in bees, so if you are getting hives this patch may be very useful. I let it flower because I don't like the taste of it.....I just wait for the sweet basil to reseed again.
ReplyDeleteWe do have bees Margaret, two large active hives and I love to work alongside them in the flowers. From what I have read about the Holy Basil, it is their flowers that are most potent anyway, along with their leaves and stems in second and third place.
DeleteI am only familiar with the more basil we used to buy in starter pots at the local nursery. Interesting about the medicinal qualities of holy basil although I wouldn't chop off a limb to find if it grows you a new one!
ReplyDelete