How to Grow the Herbs Basil and Cinnamon

Sweet basil

Both cinnamon and basil are aromatic and have medicinal properties. Use basil as a salve for insect bites, acne and ringworm, and add basil oil to massage oils to soothe sore muscles. Cinnamon can help with stomach problems like nausea, flatulence and diarrhea. Herbalists use cinnamon to treat athlete's foot, body odor, diabetes and fever. You can grow your own herbs with a little sun and a little patience.

Things You'll Need

• Seeds or cuttings
• Plastic pots
• Potting soil or peat moss
• Wooden or plastic plant labels
• Sunny window

Instructions

1. Fill a 2½- to 4-inch plastic pot with rich soil. Press the soil firmly in the pot.

2. Shake the seeds into the pot as indicated on the packet. After you've planted your herbs, label them so you know which herb is which.

3. Cover the pots with plastic wrap. The plants then absorb the water and heat that would otherwise escape into the air if left uncovered, which increases the likelihood that the herb will take root. Remove the plastic after the seeds have germinated. If you choose to plant your herbs outside, do this after the last frost---usually in early spring.

4. Keep indoor pots of the herbs in a sunny spot, or plant outdoors in full sun or partial shade. Cinnamon needs just a moderate watering, but basil needs constant moisture. Basil can dry out if left too long in direct sunlight after it has matured.

5. Harvest basil whenever an abundance of leaves appear when the plant gets to be 6 inches tall. Don't allow flowers to form on the basil plant---the plant will then stop producing leaves.

6. 

   Harvested cinnamon

   Begin harvesting the cinnamon after two years. When harvesting cinnamon, remove a single branch. Set it aside for a couple of days. Remove any additional branches and using a knife, peel off the outer layer of bark, exposing the cinnamon stick. Dry the stick or use it fresh.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also grow basil from cuttings. To do this, remove the bottom leaves from a 4-inch-long cutting of basil. Insert the cutting into a screen-covered glass or jar of water. The screen will help to support the cutting. Then put the glass or jar in a sunny window, but change the water every few days. Roots should develop after one to two weeks. The basil cutting can then be transplanted into a pot.

• Cinnamon is much harder to grow than basil. It is a tropical tree, so it will not flourish in cool or cold climates. It must be protected from frost.

References

• Growing basil
• Easy Plant Propogation, Nancy J. Ondra, 1998