#THINNING OUT BASIL SEEDLINGS FULL#

Downy mildew is an airborne disease which travels great distances in the wind. Place the diseased plants in a bag and send them out with your garbage.

It is characterized by yellowing leaves with a gray downy growth on the undersides. This is a very recent disease in Pennsylvania. The most serious disease is downy mildew. Photo credit: Susan Marquesenīasil is bothered by few pests and diseases. Temperatures below 40☏ will discolor leaves, which is why stems of basil picked for use in the kitchen are best held in a glass of water at room temperature instead of in the refrigerator.īasil flowers should be pinched off throughout the summer. When cold weather is predicted, be sure to harvest all basil. With this continual harvest, my container of basil yields enough to make pesto several times with additional leaves for bruschetta and salads. This keeps the plant growing strong and bushy, providing for a continual harvest through the warm days of fall. I pick leaves every other day and use them in cooking or preserve them for later use. Continue to pick the leaves regularly to encourage growth throughout the summer. The flavor will be adversely affected if the plant is allowed to flower. Once temperatures hit 80☏, basil will really start leafing out. If flower buds do emerge, just cut or pinch them off. After six weeks, watch out for early flowering. Every time a branch has six to eight leaves, repeat pruning the branches back to their first set of leaves. After the seedlings have their first six leaves, prune (or pinch) to above the second set. Use a mulch like straw around the basil plants to conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds. I get a plentiful harvest with one large (one foot by two feet by 8 inches deep) pot of basil.Ĭaring for basil throughout the summer is not difficult. Basil can also be grown in a container with a good fertile potting mix. Plant seeds about ¼-inch deep and thin to 10 to 12 inches apart. Do not rush basil. Without heat, this herb won't grow. Transplant or seed after the last frost date for your area and after the soil has warmed to at least 60☏. As with other edible plants, chose a site with clean soil, away from driveways and busy streets so that exhaust won't settle on the plants. You can start seeds indoors six weeks before the last spring frost in your area, or sow the seeds directly into a prepared garden bed outdoors.

#THINNING OUT BASIL SEEDLINGS FULL#

Choose a site with full sun, meaning at least six to eight hours per day. Additional cultivars of sweet basil include large lettuce leaf varieties like 'Napoletano' and 'Italian Large Leaf', as well as compact small leaf bush varieties such as 'Spicy Globe' and 'Green Globe'.īasil is a tender annual that will need to be replanted every season. I grow 'Genovese' basil (in Ligurian language, baxaicò or baxeicò) which is one of the most popular cultivars of sweet basil for culinary use, particularly for bruschetta and the traditional Genovese pesto sauce. Other types include purple basil (less sweet than common basil), lemon and lime basil (wonderful citrus flavors) and Thai basil (spicy licorice flavor). The most common type of basil is sweet basil ( Ocimum basilicum). Basil is very easy to grow in Pennsylvania's warm summer months and will give even the novice gardener much satisfaction to grow and use. I use it to make homemade pesto sauce for pasta, and I love it in summer sandwiches in place of mayonnaise or mustard. Basil tastes great in Italian dishes and is a key ingredient in many other ethnic cuisines. Basil is a favorite herb to grow every summer.

Thinning out basil seedlings