Growing Basil
I think I could give up just about any other herb (if we don’t count salt and pepper) if I could keep basil. I grow it and use it in combination with my tomato plants (and cooking) and given how much I like tomatoes…
Growing Basil
For early crops, sow the seeds any time after the beginning of April. Barely cover seed with soil. Soil temperatures should be in the low 70’sF. and it should only take 7 days before you see germination.
Grow on in the seedling flat until the plants have 4 true leaves and then transplant into their own small container.
You’ll often see small pots of basil sold in stores with multiple plants all bunched together at the bottom. This is because the grower was too busy to separate the tender stems (they demand care) when transplanting and it is much easier to move a larger number hoping enough will survive to give you a potfull.
Don't Crowd Basil
Overcrowding of seedlings will lead to stem rots, mildews and fungal infections. Forewarned is forearmed so do space them well in your own garden and your growing basil will not be plagued with those problems.
Transplant in the garden so that every plant is 12 inches apart.
Water regularly and fertilize with compost. Overfeeding nitrogen produces a poor tasting plant (but one that grows like heck).
If you’re like me and need to get even more plants, you can sow them outside after all danger of frost and the ground has warmed up. I usually sow in the first week of June. Sow the seeds one eighth inch deep and thin the resulting seedlings (about two to three weeks later) to one inch apart. Transplant the extra to other rows (trust me, you’ll want extra rows once you taste fresh basil). As the plants start to grow, continue to thin out the extra until the final 12-inch spacing is reached.
Harvesting Basil
Harvest regularly before the plant flowers. When you see the plant trying to set flowers, pinch them off. Keep harvesting. Take a final harvest right before frost as there will be nothing left of this plant once Jack Frost hits it.
You can dig up basil plants in the fall and pot them up for a sunny windowsill but it is far easier to start another crop for winter use (with less bugs or hitchhikers) around the end of August indoors. You will find growing basil will be slower indoors with the lower light levels of fall and winter. I also regularly answer questions about this kind of thing in the free gardening newsletter I write.
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