Basil

Last year I had my first real go at growing some herbs & veg.

Some went very well and some not well at all.

The one I had the least luck was basil, it just never took so I decided to go and buy some small plant, but within a few days they started to look very unhealthy.

So any tips would be appreciated.


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Welcome to Gardeners Corner

It likes full Sun and good drainage, so maybe some grit in with the compost.

Were you growing it indoors or out?

 

Basil is quite tender and dislikes cool conditions.
I've grown it a few times but never out doors, usually under glass even in summer.

 

Hello and welcome

I agree with Zigs. I'd also add that basil has got to be the softest, most feeble plant I've ever known. It get upset by absolutely everything. Aphids, slugs and snails, the rain, the wind, the cold, someone looking at it the wrong way, you name it, basil gets upset about it.

That said, you can have success with it. The best success I've had with it was from one of those awful force grown supermarket 'living herb' pots for about 50p. That one pot usual has half a dozen plants in it, all cramped up and struggling to grow. The first thing I do on getting it home is chop almost all the top growth off to use that day, making sure to leave the stems just long enough to have a couple of young leaves on them. Then it gets a proper good soak, then I bust it up into 2 or 3 chunks, each with some of the shoots in. They then get planted up in a container of fresh compost, which then gets completely soaked again and allowed to drain at its own pace (typically a few hours). The whole thing goes on a window ledge indoors, in a window that gets a fair bit of sun but not the mid day sun (which would bake it while its still tender). After a couple of weeks of suffering and sulking, it starts to grow, then you just harvest it as needed, each time taking the lead stem just above a fork. Then it just grows and grows nice and bushy.

I've also grown it from seed and kept it in the greenhouse. It got upset about that (remember, everything upsets basil) and it didn't do too well.

 

Someone mentioned Basil

 

I did once but I think I got away with it.

 

Hi thanks for the welcome

I grew a few basil plants, inside, outside & in a small greenhouse.

The ones in the greenhouse were the first to go, but it did get hot inside.
The one inside did ok, but never really was that happy.
Outside I had a few through the summer months, but they started of very well but didn't last.

I might try some grit as they got a good amount of water and sun.


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Welcome to GC jake.

Agree with what others have already said about basil being a fussy so-and-so, but I have found something which seems to work reasonably well.

My greenhouse tomatoes are always planted in the ground, (as opposed to grow bags or containers) and each year when I plant them out, at the same time I scatter and rake in a packet of basil seed in the soil around the tomato plants. The variety of basil which seems to work best is 'Classic Italian'.

I keep the soil moist until the basil has germinated and thereafter I keep it well watered in hot weather. As the basil plants grow, I thin out and use any which are growing too close to the tomato plants, leaving the others to grow and fill in the space around the tomatoes.

The tomatoes and basil seem to grow quite happily in close proximity, in fact I think the basil benefits from the shade provided by the tomato plants. Planting basil and tomatoes together is often recommended by gardeners who practice 'companion planting' and my experience would suggest there is something in this.

If you look at this photo I posted of my Beefmaster greenhouse tomatoes a couple of years ago you can just see, at the bottom of the picture, some of the basil growing alongside them.

 

Thanks for the welcome Trunky

Unfortunately I only have a small plastic green house so my tomatoes grow outside.

But I like the idea as Basil & Tomatoes as they go together so well.




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Oh dear. I must be doing something wrong then, I've always considered basil a sow and forget crop, aside from pricking out into pots. I scatter seed onto potting compost (April/May) cover lightly with a perlite grit mix, leave to germinate in green house, prick out when seedlings are about 1"high. Then water and feed at the same time as the tomatoes. They are kept out of direct sunlight by growing on the shady side of the greenhouse. Typically keep me in basil until the tomatoes finish reach 3ft tall, flower. Occasionally get a bit of grey mould on the leaves but just pick off affected leaves/throw plant.
Seed is not a good keeper though.
Nigel

 

I am sorry to hear you have had bad luck with basil. I am no expert but grow basil quite regularly, and here are a few tips:
To avoid disappointment, go for safety in numbers: either scatter a good handful of seeds into a large seed-tray, or several to a pot each; I always sow a few individually in pots as well though there is rarely any difference in how well they grow versus the ones sowed more numerously. The seeds like to be about half an inch below the soil, and watered daily. i try to use a mister or pour on water til the compost is moist, usually on a morning and at about 5 on a night, though obviously it isn't always possible to be so rigid.
Two good seed companies I've used are Unwins and Thompson&Morgab. Any seeds from them are usually good quality.
Sow the seeds in the morning and place on a sunny window sill, preferably getting the sun in the morning. A good multi-purpose or specifically seed compost is a must; Westland's "Gro-Sure" is a good one. Products like vermiculite are also beneficial, but to be honest I have had best results by using simple compost.
Unwins advise about 3 to 4 seedlings per pot, hardening off for 3-4 weeks then planting out with approx 12" between each, in sunny spots. Basil grown outdoors will have tougher leaves, and my preferred option is to simply grow indoors as this can be done all year round.