How to Grow Basil? A Complete Guide to Planting Methods and Precautions

Surely everyone is familiar with basil. It is an aromatic plant used both as medicine and food, and it often appears on all kinds of dining tables as an ingredient. However, when used as a seasoning, fresh basil is best, so many fans have started growing it at home. But everyone still has many questions about how to grow it correctly. Below, the editor will answer them one by one for everyone.

How to Grow Basil

1. Planting Methods

Sowing time: If you are in the south, you can choose March to April; if you are in the north, you can choose late April to May.

Sowing soil: The soil can be a mix of 1 part peat soil + 1 part perlite + 1 part vermiculite.

2. Preparation Before Sowing

Seeds: You can buy the variety you want. Basil also comes in multiple varieties, so when buying seeds, you can choose the variety you want.

Soil: Gently press the soil with your hands to help expel air from the soil, then water the soil thoroughly, but there must be no waterlogging. This is beneficial for seed germination.

3. Sowing Steps

1. Place 1 to 2 seeds in each flower pot, then cover with a layer of soil, and then cover it with plastic film. At this time, the soil must be kept moist.

2. Place the flower pot in a sunny place, and every day open the plastic film and spray water into the pot so that the soil continues to remain moist. Do this twice a day.

3. Once small sprouts appear, the plastic film can be completely removed.

4. Water it every day to keep the soil moist. At this time, the soil must not be allowed to dry out.

4. Transplanting and Setting Out

When it grows 1 to 2 mature leaves, it can be transplanted and set out, but the placement location must be a sunny spot, which is very beneficial for its growth.

After that, it can be grown according to normal methods.

Basil Planting Methods and Precautions

1. Cultivation and Topdressing

When basil seedlings are 6-10 cm tall, thin and fill in the seedlings. For hole sowing, leave 2-3 plants per hole; for drill sowing, leave about 1 plant every 10 cm. Generally, cultivate and weed 2 times. The first time is 10-20 days after emergence, shallowly hoeing the surface soil. The second time is from early May to early June, before the seedlings close the rows. After each cultivation, apply human and livestock manure water. The seedling stage is afraid of drought, so pay attention to timely watering.

2. Harvest Time

Basil stems and leaves are harvested in July-August. Cut the whole plant, remove fine roots and impurities, and sun-dry it. When the plant is 20 cm tall and the rows have closed, harvest by selecting the front ends of young tender branches that have not bolted, with a length of 5-10 cm, harvesting once every 7-15 days. For extracting essential oil, do it when the inflorescences have fully emerged.

3. Harvesting and Processing

When harvesting basil, use a sickle to cut the plant part 20-25 cm above the ground, avoiding shaking the root system, so as not to affect its regenerative capacity. Then strengthen fertilizer and water management to promote the regrowth of new stems and leaves. After harvesting, processing should be carried out as soon as possible to avoid the wounds and leaves turning brown and yellow, which would affect the quality of the essential oil.

4. Pest Control

In terms of pests, basil mainly has aphids, Japanese beetles, thrips, leafminers, snails and slugs. For organic cultivation, water can be sprayed to drive away aphids, and Japanese beetles can be picked off by hand and thrown into soapy water. As for slugs and snails, a small beer container can be used to trap and kill them, or copper strips can be tied 5 cm from the base of the plant (10 cm is even better). Because the copper strips react with slug mucus, the invading insects are driven back.

5. Disease Control

In terms of diseases, basil is highly susceptible to fungal wilt disease. The pathogen invades from the vascular bundles of the roots, hindering plant growth and causing leaf wilting. In general field cultivation, fungus-resistant F1 hybrid varieties can be selected. In addition, high humidity and poor drainage also make it more susceptible to fungal leaf spot disease.

Does Basil Bloom?

The answer is that it definitely will. Basil produces purple or white flowers, and the tiny little blooms are very cute. Usually, a single flowering branch of basil is covered with a cluster, layer by layer. The petals open wide, and the long filaments hang down, making it feel like little dancing figures growing there.

The flowering period of basil is usually from July to September each year. When basil blooms, a single flowering branch blooms very luxuriantly. After the flowering period comes the fruiting period of basil. When the flowering branches of basil become dry and withered, collect the seeds and sow them the following year.

How to Water Basil

1. During Germination

During this period, keep the potting soil continuously moist, but not too moist. The environment at this time also needs a certain degree of humidity so that it will sprout small shoots faster. You can cover the flower pot with plastic film and regularly open it to water the potting soil.

2. During the Seedling Stage

During the seedling stage, careful care is needed. At this time, the greatest fear is that the soil is too dry, which is not helpful for the growth of the young seedlings, so just keep the soil continuously moist.

3. Summer

Summer is characterized by high temperature and high heat. You can water once a day. It is best to choose the time before the sun has fully risen in the early morning. Watering at this time allows the plant and soil to absorb water more thoroughly. But if the soil becomes somewhat dry in the evening, then water once more. If there is bad weather such as rain, you can delay watering or extend the watering interval.

4. Winter

In winter, if the cultivation temperature can be maintained at a normal temperature, then water normally. But if the temperature is relatively low, then just keep the potting soil slightly dry.

If you have a small balcony at home, besides growing ornamental plants to decorate the home environment, growing a small pot of fruit and vegetable plants is also worth trying. Basil is a very good choice. Its small body contains endless power, and it has very good effects in both edible and medicinal value.