Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Basil
Planting
Basil will grow best in a location that gets 6 to 8 hours of full sun daily, though it can perform well in partial sun, too.
Soil should be moderately fertile and moist but well-draining. Basil works great in containers or raised beds, as these allow for better drainage. The pH of the soil should ideally be in the range of 6.0 to 7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral).
If you plan on cooking with these plants, plant in clean soil, don’t use insecticides, and grow them away from driveways and busy streets so exhaust won’t settle on the plants.
When to Plant Basil
- To get a jump on the season, start the seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting outside. (See local frost dates.)
- To plant outside, wait until the soil has warmed to at least 50°F (10°C)—preferably around 70ºF (21°C) for best growth. Nighttime temperatures shouldn’t drop below 50°F (10°C).
- Don’t rush basil. Without heat, the plant won’t grow well!
How to Plant Basil
- If you are sowing seeds directly into the ground, sow no more than 1/4-inch deep. Seeds should germinate within 5 to 7 days. Once they have developed 2 to 3 pairs of true leaves, transplant them.
- If you are planting the germinated seedlings or starter plants in the ground, spaced 10 to 12 inches apart; basil should grow to about 12 to 24 inches in height.
- A 2- to 3-inch mulch of compost or ground-up leaves retains soil moisture and minimizes weeds around the plants.
- Tomatoes make great neighbors for basil plants in the garden—and on the plate—so many gardeners will plant the two warm-weather friends around the same time.
Growing
How to Grow Basil
- Make sure that the soil is moist. Basil plants like moisture.
- If you live in a hot area, use mulch around the plants (the mulch will help hold in moisture and suppress weeds).
- During the dry periods in summer, water the plants freely.
- After the seedlings have produced their first six leaves, prune above the second set. This encourages the plants to start branching, resulting in more leaves for harvest.
- Every time a branch has six to eight leaves, repeat pruning the branches back to their first set of leaves.
- Fertilize sparingly throughout the season with a 5-10-5 fertilizer.
- After about 6 weeks, pinch off the center shoot to prevent early flowering. If flowers do grow, just cut them off.
- If the weather is going to be cold or if a sudden frost is imminent, be sure to harvest your basil beforehand, as the cold temperatures will destroy your plants.
- Cinnamon basil, to add a hint of cinnamon to a dish
- Purple basil adds some nice color to your garden (when steeped in white vinegar, it creates a beautiful color)
- Thai basil adds a sweet licorice flavor to a dish.
Cooking Notes
Make herbal vinegar using basil; it retains the flavor and makes a great gift! See how to make herbal vinegar.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I bought a basil plant at the market, it is about 10 inches high looks and smells so good. I live in Bakersfield CA, we have 100 + temperatures the new few months. How do I keep it from dying?? I have a patio but no trees. Please help... THX
Basil likes summer temperatures, up to a max of about 90 degrees F. If higher temperatures are forecast for your area, you can help the plant to keep cool by keeping up with the watering (but making sure soil is well-drained), providing mulch (which keeps soil cool and moist), and providing shade cloth or row covers—or for single plants, an umbrella or laundry basket with large holes for ventilation will do. High heat may encourage basil to flower, so pinch any flower buds that appear to help prolong harvesting of the leaves.
I don’t know the English name for this plant , but ya very hard to find here
Great Article!
It is not clear to me where on the plant we should "start picking." Is sounds like maybe the recommendation is to pick the top off the plant. Is that what you mean?
Hey Guys, 2nd year gardener and my basil plants, the main stems have turned brown like the color of wood, the leaves are small and under-sized and underperforming on those plants, but I care for all 12 of my basil plants in half gallon pottery clay pots. I move them out of full sun by 2 pm as I live in SoCal zone 9 and it gets super hot here, I water using a gauge, not just daily, watering when it's dead-center on the gauge. When I transplanted from the plastic garden center containers I used quality soil and a bit of food (small pellet type) What am I doing wrong? Is brown stems a bad thing, maybe I'm being impatient...Thanks my new friends
Hi Thomas
It’s hard to tell without seeing a picture of the plants, but here are two possibilities. The first is that your basil plants might be getting too much sun, despite your precautions. Give your plants only 3 to 4 hours of sun for a week or two and see if there is a change. The second possibility is less likely, but your basil plants could be infected with Fusarium Fungus, an incurable disease that will eventually kill the plants. This may not be the case, however, and your plants may just need more time to adjust. Further signs that it is Fusarium Fungus would be that the growth will be stunted, and leaves will turn yellow and then brown before falling off. If your plants show these signs, it’s time to get rid of the them and the soil. The soil will be infected as well, so it’s best to dispose of it.
I got an aerogarden as a present. When my Thai basil grew it developed what we were sure were scale (it fit pretty much perfectly) and then it seemed to move to the common basil, dill and thyme were unaffected. In a hail mary effort we cut off healthy branches and removed the infected bases. the branches grew well and clean until i moved two back to the aerogarden. the branch of thai is still clean but has yellowed leaves, however the common basil has regained and increased the white pods some of which managed to grow to the size of rice, they really feel and look like a yellowish tan rice. The rice like stuff could maybe be roots except for how they pop off and the pods go too high to be roots. I'm very confused at this point. the thyme and dill are in the same space and fine, the other branches in glass jars with water are fine, though with a few blackened leaves, and while the thai in the aerogarden is yellow it's otherwise fine so why is just this one plant being effected? and what is doing it?
My Basil plants suffer a lot from leaf miner infestation. What can I do please?
Prevention is key when it comes to leafminers, so removing infected leaves and looking for eggs will be most effective. Here’s some great advice from Pennsylvania State University: https://extension.psu.edu/leaf-miners
What Nutrients Does basil Have?
