This may be simple, but I’m at a loss. I can grow just about any plant but am not sure what i’m doing wrong with my basil.
First it does not die. I can keep it well to November. It produces tasty leaves, and lots of them. But not the same as when I first buy the plant:
I buy the plants from Trader Joe’s. They have gorgeous green leaves, pretty big ones, with nice rich colors.
I take them, transplant them into nice pots with high quality Miracle Grow soil. Treat them with as much love as possible. They are on the west patio so get full direct sun for many hours a day (now pushing 9).
But my “new leaves” never look like the leaves when I first bring the plant home. They are smaller, they are lighter in color (too much sun I believe, if that’s possible for basil, as the concentration of chlorophyl which gives it the green is inversely proportional to the amount of light. Greater light means lighter green leaves) and they are more pointy vs. the rounder leaves when it first got here.
Am I harvesting wrong? I pull the leaves but someone suggested I cut the stalk near the base instead.
Are they getting too much sun and need more shade? I can do this but have beenn told they love direct sun. Of course direct sun in Maine and direct sun in ABQ are 2 different beasts.
there are holes in the leaves!! there are sage, tarragon, oregono etc planted there but nothing gets eaten, only the basil!
what is eating my plant and how do i kill it?
Jeff = u may be watering too little? i water every 2 days… miracle grow soil + full sun light…i mean… that’s pretty money
maybe u need water…
Our basil grows like a week. We have raised irrigated beds that get 6+ hours of direct sun. I use top soil and occasionally throw some manure/compost in there to sweeten the soil. I use organic fertilizer when I plant them and about 1/2 through the season. No problems. I am not an expert but…
When our basil first begins to grow on occasion the first leaves don’t look good but they eventually grow through that. It could be, though I sort of doubt, that the Miracle Grow soil is too “hot” meaning there is too much fertilizer in it.
I always cut the leaves when harvesting and also the blooms as soon as they start. The plants get watered as needed by the irrigation so the soil is damp but not too wet. I turn down the irrigation once the tomatoes begin to bear fruit and the basil continues to do fine. Don’t let the soil dry out too much.
We get the occasional holes in the leaves but that usually stops or becomes irrelevant as soon as the plant matures. There are all kinds of sprays you can use for bugs. I’d consult a gardening store. I avoid sprays unless I get worms on my tomato plant leaves.
New growth is always lighter green and the leaves are necessarily smaller but they’ll get larger. If the new growth is yellowish, your basil needs fertilizer. Also, don’t put them out until you’ve got nighttime temps in the 50s, especially those big plants at TJs, which have never been outside before.
Give them some partial shade or filtered light. The grower from whom I buy my basil plants tells me that full sun is not necessarily a good thing for basil and that it appreciates a little shade. It also likes to be a bit on the dry side.
Don’t cut the stems off at the base. Just keep harvesting leaves by pinching off the new, tender growth above a place where there are two side shoots. Your plants will become bushier and won’t flower.
The leaves are actually a different shape. Yes smaller but they do grow, but the smaller and pointier at the tip shape surprised me. But never the more rounded darker leaves.
Some shade? I can do that. Let’s see.
Not enough water? hmmmmmm maybe…
Moving the plants now to a place they will get some shade and we’ll see. Plus some water.
