Got Basil Gardening Questions?
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello, i bought a basil plant a few months back and repotted it. It stays inside on my window ledge. The plant is about 6 inches tall, but quite skinny. Pictures ive seen show shorter plants which are quite bushy, how do i get mine to do this? also, the bottom of the stem s brown, is this anything to do with the height of the plant?
@David
You might be over watering.
And it might not be getting enough light in the window.
I’d check on both of those issues. Unless you’re getting plenty of sun, it’s probably not going to thicken up as much as a healthy outdoor basil plant.
HI,
I AM GROWING BASIL OUTSIDE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. MY BASIL IS GETTING PLENTY OF SUN BUT THE LEAVES ARE A YELLOWISH-GREEN, NOT A HEALTHY DEEP GREEN. WHAT COULD BE CAUSING THIS?
your soil might be lacking in nitrogen, causing the leaves to turn yellow. Or the plants may need more water.
I heard that when if you let the basil plant flower, it will reach the end of its life cycle and die. Is this true and can I prevent this from happening by picking the flowers off?
My basil’s leaves have turned black in places and I think it started at the roots. The roots and stems are black. What caused this? Maybe I over watered it.
I bought 3 basil plants from Lowes and replanted them in a planter for my courtyard. The area is well lit most of the day, but does not always get direct sunlight since it sits between the garage and the house. It does get direct sunlight a few hours a day. I have been watering it every am since I live in Orlando, FL. My plant is growing and I have noticed some small plants starting up, but the basil looks faded and there are many leaves underneath that appear yellow. What can I do?
I have tried to grow basil two years in a row in Annapolis Maryland. Both years, the leaves started to look chomped on, but I don’t see any beetles or other pests. Most leaves now have rather large holes in them. Suggestions?
@Sue
Lots of things like to eat basil, so it’s hard to say. I get really good results in my garden in general with general purpose Spinosad based organic pest control products like these:
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/spinosad-yard.html
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/organic-slug-bait.html
Spinosad is organic, and it’s safe for vegetable crops.
Lars:
Thank you so much! Just ordered the products. I’ll let you know how they worked.
Sue
Hi. I have a problem identifying 2 types of basil that I am growing in my garden. I’ve tried to identify by pics, but no luck! One grows exactly like mint on long runners. The leaves look like mint but are more round at the tip. They are not smooth and shiny like the pics i have seen and they have jagged edges. The other that i have grows like a bush, has woody stems and is now about 3ft tall. The leaves are long, slender and smooth. It now has long shoots of white flowers. I would really appreciate it if someone can help. Thanks!
Hi,
I was hoping you could help me. I have begun to grow basil for the first time. Basically all I did was open a packet of seeds and throw them into a flower pot that’s about 20cm wide/round. The seeds have germinated and have started to grow into about 1cm high little stems. So now when I look into the flower pot all I see is green (which is the large amount of stems with little leaves growing off them).
My questions is, can I just leave it how it is and continue to grow it in this pot or am I supposed to separate the stems and grow each one separately? I’m afraid that if I separate them they will all die.
I hope someone can help me
Allison
My basil is growing but the leaves are full of holes. could something be eating them? I have sprayed it some with dish soap and water, but it doesn’t seem to be helping.