Basil: The Herb You Sow Several Times a Year
1 min read By Екипът на Seeds
How to sow basil in a pot and in the garden, when to pinch out and how to have fresh leaves until autumn.
Sowing
Basil is sown indoors from March, and directly outdoors from mid-May. The seeds are small: scatter them over the surface and cover with just a few millimetres of soil. They germinate in 5–10 days at 20–25 °C.
For a continuous harvest, sow a little every 3–4 weeks until July.
Pinching out
When the plant has 3–4 pairs of leaves, pinch off the tip above the second pair. Basil branches out and becomes a dense bush instead of a single tall stem.
Remove flower buds as soon as they appear — after flowering the leaves turn coarse and lose their aroma.
Pot or garden
- Pot: at least 15–20 cm deep, on a sunny windowsill, watered when the surface has dried out.
- Garden: next to tomatoes — the two crops thrive in the same conditions.
Varieties
Besides classic green basil, try lemon, cinnamon or purple basil — the latter is also a striking accent in a flower bed.
Photo: David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
