| How to Grow Basil from Seed Feb 16th 2013, 16:00 Basil has many varieties. It is easy to grow, and transforms ordinary meals into culinary treasures! Fresh basil not only tastes better than dried, it actually tastes different, almost as if it were not the same herb. Basil smells so good, and has such attractive blooms for an herb, that it's also grown in flower gardens as decoration. The blooms are also edible, though if the plant is allowed to bloom regularly its flavor declines. - Choose the kind of basil you wish to grow. Cinnamon basil really does smell like the sweet spice, it also has unusually beautiful and fragrant flowers. Lemon basil actually contains citral, an aromatic compound found in citrus fruit, and smells very lemony. Purple basil is often grown for decoration, as well as its scent and flowers. There are perennial basils which come back year after year, like African Blue Basil (which has pretty blue veins on its leaves) and Thai Basil, while most other varieties are annuals, which you'll have to plant year after year. Globe and Greek basil are much more difficult to grow, but form pretty little bushes which stay well-contained.
- Start seed indoors four to six weeks before last frost. Fill flats with equal parts perlite, vermiculite, and peat. Press soil slightly to eliminate air pockets. Dampen soil. Drop one to two seeds into each container. Cover lightly with soil. Cover containers with clear plastic kitchen wrap and leave in a sunny window. Remove plastic wrap when plants emerge. Water lightly twice daily.
- Once two sets of leaves have formed, basil can be planted into the garden or permanent containers. Basil does not tolerate frost so don't plant out too early. It's best to put basil somewhere where it will get a good deal of sunshine. To plant into the garden, pinch off the bottom two leaves. Turn container upside down and gently squeeze container until plant falls out into your cupped hand. Bury roots and stem to just cover spot where leaves were pinched off. Pat down soil around the plant to eliminate air pockets.
- Harvest and prune. As the plant matures, pinch off the top two pairs of leaves once a stalk reaches a reasonable height. If you look closely, at the base of every leaf are two tiny little leaves that will grow outwards if the stem growing between them is cut off. Cut close to those tiny leaves, but be sure not to damage them.
- When you see flower buds, pinch them and two pairs of leaves under them off. Flowers blooming create a hormone change which dramatically reduces the flavor of the leaves, as well as reducing the amount of foliage which grows. This is called "bolting" and is more likely to happen when there's extra sunshine. You'll notice that if you leave the flowers, the plant will become lanky and the leaves won't be as full or tasty.
- When seeding directly in the garden, be sure to keep the very surface of the soil moist. Normal rules against over-watering say to let the soil surface dry, but watch for the depth of dryness. Seeds and seedlings that don't have deep roots can suffer from even a few hours of dry soil.
- Water plants lightly, twice daily with warm water until well established.
- If seedling stems appear tall and thin, they are probably not getting enough light.
- When inter planted, basil is said to improve the taste of tomatoes and peppers, as well as repelling horn worms and aphids.
- Basil can be grown from seed directly in the garden. Since you don't have as much of a head start this way, you might pick one of the faster-growing varieties, like Lemon Basil. On the other hand, all varieties of basil grow fast enough to become productive, they just won't have the head start.
Edit Warnings - When watering, avoid getting the leaves wet, unless you are doing foliar feeding, as the leaves can spot.
- Do not overlook this opportunity to choose one of the many astounding varieties which might be most fun or useful for you
- When moving plants from indoors to the garden, make sure you gradually expose the basil to outdoor conditions to avoid transplant shock.
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