Growing Basil - A Guide for Growing Basil Year-Round   by Steve Adams

in Home / Gardening    (submitted 2011-08-17)

Meet Basil
Basil is assumed by many to be one of the oldest herbs on this planet, and so it has been respected for its many properties. It is often used for cooking, medical treatment around the world, in art and within religious ceremonies. Growing basil is worthwhile for many who are starting out with gardening, since it is not a hard herb to cultivate. You'll find only a couple of basic points which you'll find important to consider if you want to have success at growing herbs in general. Basil can be easily grown outdoors or inside in pots year-round. A pair of basil plants may offer a sufficient amount of basil for your cooking needs all season long.

Climate for Growing Basil
When growing basil outside the home, make perfectly sure that the climate is warm before you plant or sow seed, otherwise it will probably fail. Basil is actually a plant that loves warm, sunny weather. The daytime temperature should get to at least seventy degrees Fahrenheit and the evening temps should get no lower than 50 degrees. The plant enjoys having 7 or even more hours of direct sunlight every day. What's more, it's critical that your topsoil has good water drainage.

Planting
When planting basil seed just drop the seeds on top of the garden soil and delicately pat them. Doing so offers good contact with the dirt to guarantee that germination can take place. Cover up the seeds by using a quarter-inch of fine soil or compost and water the soil. Keep the soil moist, however, not too wet, before the seeds sprout. Soil which can be too wet could potentially cause the seeds to go rotten. Germination may occur inside a week's time. New plants will appear with two large leaves. After the baby plants have a pair of true leaves they may be thinned out. Our recommendation is that basil plants be planted no nearer than twelve inches apart. When growing basil indoors, seeds could in fact be started three weeks before hand, just before the warm weather comes. After that time, replant them out-of-doors.

Plant Food
If you intend on feeding the soil, do that before planting or at the beginning of spring when growing commences. Herbs in most cases don't have to be fertilized more than once a season. When you go to do this, use a complete fertilizer, such as a 5-10-5 (that's the proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Feel free to use approximately 1/2 to 1 pound of plant food per 110 square feet.

Basic Care
A basil plant should really be watered once per week. When watering, make sure to water to about one inch deep. Watering with greater frequency will cause roots to develop shallowly and therefore the plants may become less resistant. The regularity should be generally increased for remarkably hot weather. When watering, administer water at the bottom of the herb not on the leaves directly.

Basil plants need to be pruned through the season to increase growing and encourage additional stems. Prune it by pinching the stems just above a set of leaves. This can be done anytime as soon as the plant grows to 2 to 4 inches in height. When the plant develops it is going to begin to form buds and flowers. These blossoms will cause the basil to generally be bitter to the taste, so they have to be trimmed. Presence of these flowers will likewise influence the herb to put a stop to growing leaves. To extend the life of the plant, prune the blooms exactly the same way the leaves are trimmed. Using these helpful hints you should now know how to grow basil. Follow the same methods to grow basil indoors, just make sure to put the plant in a window or employ fluorescent lighting in place of natural light. Good luck and enjoy. Harvesting basil is a rewarding experience.

About the Author

To learn more about growing basil please visit Steve at growing-basil.org.

Steve Adams is an avid gardener with 10 years of experience growing basil and other herbs. He uses his success at gardening to support his love of cooking.