Don’t Make These 9 Basil Growing Mistakes This Year
The irreplaceable flavor of fresh basil makes it a must-have in summer gardens. However, overzealous gardeners often get a few things wrong when tending to this popular herb. Farmer Briana Yablonski shares some common basil mistakes to avoid this year.
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If there’s one herb you have to grow at home, it’s basil. The fragrant leaves add an irreplaceable flavor to dishes ranging from caprese salad to Thai curries, and growing at home means you can harvest the tender herb as needed.
While basil is relatively easy to grow, gardeners sometimes plant this herb in the wrong location or provide it with improper care. Knowing these common basil mistakes can help you avoid making them in your garden.
Planting Too Early
While spring crops like kale and turnips can handle light frost and below-freezing temperatures, basil can’t. This tender herb is extremely sensitive to cold and will perish when the air dips below freezing. Temperatures below 45°F (7°C) can also stress the plants. Therefore, this is one plant that you don’t want to plant outdoors too soon!
Keep an eye on your weather forecast and wait until the danger of frost has passed before planting basil outdoors. It’s also helpful to know your average last frost date and use this as a guide for your planting dates.
Where I live in Tennessee, a stretch of warm days in March isn’t uncommon. However, since the last frost date falls in mid-April, I don’t plant my basil outdoors just because the next week will remain above freezing. Instead, I wait until it’s closer to the average last frost date, then check the extended forecast. When nighttime temperatures are supposed to remain above 45°F (7°C), it’s safe to plant.
Planting Too Close Together
If you buy basil at a grocery store or nursery, you may end up with multiple seedlings in a single container. This tight planting isn’t always a bad thing, and these packed plants can grow well for a few weeks. However, as the plants become larger, they’ll crowd each other and limit airflow. This tight spacing increases the chances of fungal diseases like downy mildew and fusarium wilt.
Thinning out the seedlings to one plant will help you avoid the basil mistake of planting too closely together. Ideally, each basil plant should be between six and ten inches apart with 18-24 inches between rows. This will allow for good airflow and limit basil infections that can quickly discolor and kill the plants.
Overwatering or Underwatering
Like with all plants, overwatering and underwatering are common basil mistakes. So, how much should you water basil?
Basil requires between one and two inches of water per week to remain healthy. Paying attention to environmental factors like temperature, sunlight, and soil moisture will help you determine when to water. Expect to water more on hot and sunny days and less when the weather is cloudy and cool.
Checking the soil moisture is the best way to determine whether or not you should water basil. Stick your finger into the top two inches of soil and water only when it feels dry. Add water near the base of the plant to keep the leaves dry, and aim for a slow and steady stream to soak the entire root zone.
If you’re growing basil in a container filled with soil mix, plan to water more often. Soilless mixes often drain more quickly than native soil, and the containers heat up quicker than the ground. Smaller containers are even more likely to dry out quicker than larger ones.
Make sure to check container-grown soil at least once a day during the summer. If the top two inches of the soil feels dry to the touch, water thoroughly.
Planting in Poorly Draining Soil
Although basil prefers a moderate amount of moisture, it doesn’t like wet feet. Planting it in poorly-draining and/or compacted soil will lead to stressed roots and an overall unhappy plant.
Sticking basil in the ground without checking the soil is a common basil mistake. Before planting basil in the ground, inspect your site. If water is pooling after rain, it’s probably not a good area to plant. Find a different location if possible.
If you can’t easily insert a spade into the ground, the soil probably has some issues with compaction. Fortunately, you can improve the soil with a digging fork, broadfork, or shovel. Insert the tool into the ground, pull back on the handle until the soil cracks, then repeat this process every foot.
Not Pinching
When basil plants are young, they produce a single upright stem with short side shoots. While there’s nothing wrong with this growth habit, it won’t provide large harvests. Pinching the plants when they are young will encourage the side shoots to grow, leading to bushy growth and larger plants.
Pinching involves removing the top portion of the stem known as the terminal bud so that the other shoots will grow. It’s best to pinch the plants when they’re young—three to four sets of true leaves indicate it’s a good time. Use your fingers or a pair of clippers to remove the top leaves just above a node.
Not Harvesting Regularly
Regularly harvesting basil not only provides you with a fresh supply of fragrant leaves, but it also keeps the plants healthy and encourages them to produce new growth. You can begin harvesting once the plants have three to four sets of true leaves.
While regular harvesting will keep the plants healthy and encourage new growth, snipping the wrong parts of the plant can stunt or even kill it. Look for the nodes, the parts of the stems where new shoots and leaves form, and snip right above them. The remaining nodes will continue to grow, leading to bushy growth.
Even if you planted too much basil and don’t need it in the kitchen, you should still prune your plants regularly. Snip the stems anytime flowers appear to encourage the plant to focus on vegetative growth.
Letting Pests Go Untreated
Basil sometimes attracts small, sap-sucking pests like aphids and whiteflies. While a few of these insects won’t cause the plants serious harm, they can quickly reproduce. It’s not uncommon for a handful of aphids to increase to hundreds in a week during the summer!
Sometimes, natural predators like lacewings and parasitic wasps can help keep pest populations in check, so treatment isn’t always necessary. However, if you spot aphids, whiteflies, or other basil pests, you can squish them with your fingers or wipe them off with a soapy rag.
If you spot more than a few pests on your basil plants, spraying might be the best option. Insecticidal soap will coat the soft-bodied insects and kill them without harming flying pollinators that visit the plants.
Adding Too Much Fertilizer
While summer veggies like tomatoes and peppers benefit from regular doses of fertilizer, basil can get by with fewer nutrients. Some gardeners often fertilize all their summer crops on the same schedule, which can lead to the basil mistake of too many nutrients. Excessive nutrients can lead to light brown and white leaves that appear burnt.
Adding a low-dose, balanced fertilizer at planting time often provides your basil with all the nutrients it needs. You can also add a small amount of this fertilizer when the plants are a month old, if needed. Adding compost or worm castings also supplies slow-release nutrients that help nourish the plant throughout the season.
Planting Once
If you’re lucky, a single basil plant can provide you with healthy leaves from late spring through early fall. However, heavy rains, disease, and/or pests often cause the plant’s health to diminish by the time they’re a few months old. If you want to enjoy healthy green leaves throughout the growing season, consider succession planting.
Planting a new round of basil seeds in the middle of summer will give you access to tender, new basil just as your first planting is fading. If you want to really ensure you’ll have a steady supply of fresh basil, you can sow a new round of seeds every month from mid-spring through mid-summer.
