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Growing basil from seeds yourself makes sense if you plant the crop not only for your own consumption, but also for sale. The average family only needs a few bushes to provide themselves with fresh, dried spices and medicinal raw materials. They are easier to buy on the market.
But they usually sell several varieties, and often the sellers themselves do not know which ones, but separate them by color: red and green basil. If gardeners or designers want to grow a specific or exotic variety, they will have to tinker with the seeds. There is nothing complicated about this, especially if you have a minimum picking skill - you can’t do without it.
When to plant basil
Sowing of basil is carried out, focusing on the fact that the culture is very heat-loving.The slightest drop in temperature will stop development, and even a short-term frost will certainly destroy the plant.
When to sow basil for seedlings
In most regions of Russia, basil is grown only through seedlings. Depending on climatic conditions, seeds are planted from mid-March to late April. This period is quite extended, but most gardeners who grow basil for their own needs carry out only one harvest. Of course, except for preparing marinades and salads with fresh leaves.
When sown early, basil will quickly gain green mass and make it possible to harvest the green mass several times. In the northern regions, the seedlings will outgrow, but will take root well, even if they are not planted in peat cups.
If you sow basil late, in the southern regions it will still produce several harvests. It will be possible to make 1-2 cuts in the central ones. In the north, the crop will probably produce one harvest, but you need very little basil for your own consumption. By and large, the average family can get by for a whole season with what they can produce from one bush.
When to plant basil in open ground with seeds
As a heat-loving crop, basil cannot be sown in the ground before the threat of frost has passed. Russia is a very large country, and warm weather is uneven. In the northern regions, planting basil in open ground with seeds simply does not make sense.What's the point of waiting until the soil warms up enough for sowing to be possible - you may not get a harvest. In the south and center, basil is sown in open ground at the same time as cucumbers.
The period is determined by weather conditions. Before planting the seeds, the soil should warm up well to a depth of 10 cm. If the soil temperature is below 10⁰ C, the basil simply will not germinate. Typically, seeds are planted from late May to early June. Later, the heat can destroy the tender seedlings.
How to plant basil seedlings
If a gardener is familiar with the basics of planting seedlings, he will easily grow basil. This crop requires minimal care not only in open ground after planting, but also in the initial phases of development.
Preparing the container for planting
To sow seeds, it is best to use special seedling cassettes, which are always on sale and are inexpensive. It is enough to rinse them thoroughly before use. If they were stored in unsuitable conditions or for some reason have not been cleared of soil since last year, the cassettes are first washed clean, then soaked in potassium permanganate, rinsed and filled with soil.
Many gardeners are accustomed to using standard 8x30x60 cm planting boxes or other shallow containers with bottom holes. Their preparation should be discussed in more detail.
The seedling boxes are washed, if necessary, disinfected with potassium permanganate, scalded with boiling water, and dried. Then they are installed in a warm, well-lit place and filled with planting mixture. To do this, it is better to take regular purchased soil for seedlings.
The most common mistake when preparing a planting box is that gardeners try to stuff drainage into it.Of course, if seedlings are sown in an ordinary flower pot or other unsuitable container, a layer of expanded clay or gravel must be made. But in planting boxes it is not only not needed, but can also cause low seed germination - under the influence of water the soil will sag and they will simply fail.
How to properly fill a container for seedlings with soil
Not everyone knows how to properly fill seedling boxes, but any mistake will lead to lunges and black leg. You can completely ruin your crops.
The sequence of correctly filling the container for seedlings:
- The landing box is installed immediately in a permanent place. It is necessary to take into account that water for irrigation will spill through the lower holes and lay down an oilcloth or provide a tray.
- The substrate should be sifted before laying. Then 2/3 of the box is filled with it and compacted tightly using hands and any heavy object. Particular attention is paid to the perimeter. Using your fingers, applying force, the soil is pressed, added and pressed down again so that there is not a single poorly compacted place between the edges of the box and the substrate. Level the surface with an improvised iron such as a trowel.Comment! After proper compaction, the box will be less than half full.
- Add loose soil to the edge of the box. They pass along the perimeter, killing them with force. Ideally, it will be impossible to stick a match into the soil near the edge.Important! Only the area near the very walls needs to be tamped and crushed so tightly.
- With an open palm, lightly press down the soil, then level it with an iron.
Filling the planting box with substrate will take longer than you might think.This procedure is not simple even for experienced gardeners, but it must be done carefully - the quality of the seedlings directly depends on this.
It is best to prepare the box immediately before sowing the seeds. If something distracts you, or the work has to be postponed, you should wrap the container in cellophane so that the substrate does not dry out.
Seed preparation
Basil seeds are planted dry in the soil. Various tips to soak them before planting to destroy the shell only add to the worries. Swollen basil seeds are covered with a slippery shell that is difficult to pick up. It is impossible to sow them evenly. In addition, soaking the seeds of this crop will not speed up their germination. It's easy to check if you want.
Basil seeds are usually sold packaged up to 0.5 g. And this is a lot - 1 g contains 600-900 pieces, it all depends on the variety, and their size is not so small.
How to sow basil for seedlings
It is very easy to sow basil seeds for seedlings in cassettes. This video explains it best:
In boxes more familiar to the older generation, you can also grow high-quality seedlings. The downside here is the need for picking. Not everyone loves it and can do it correctly without destroying half of the sprouts along the way. And basil is not a tomato; damage to the root system, which cannot be avoided when picking, does not benefit this crop. It will take time to recover and resume growth processes.
The advantages of growing seedlings in boxes include:
- significant space savings;
- easier to water;
- boxes are more durable than cassettes;
- they are easier to move if necessary.
Along one wall of the seedling box, at a distance of 5 cm from each other, make furrows 5 mm deep, shed them with warm water and rarely sow the seeds. Then they are covered with soil, sprayed generously from a household spray bottle, and covered with glass or film.
When sowing dry basil seeds and a temperature of 20-24⁰ C, the first shoots will appear in 10-14 days, if it is raised to 25-28⁰ C - after 7-10 days. Keeping it in a cool (below 20⁰) room does not make sense.
The planting needs to be ventilated daily, removing the cover and checking the soil moisture. If necessary, the soil should be searched with a spray bottle. It should not be wet under any circumstances.
Seedling care
Basil seedlings do not need special care. They only need to be watered regularly with warm water, not allowing the soil to become soaked, so that a black leg does not appear. At the first signs of the disease, the seedlings are treated with a weak solution of copper sulfate, dissolving 1 teaspoon of the drug in 2 liters of warm water.
To prevent basil seedlings from stretching out, the lighting should be intense, at least 10 hours a day. If necessary, the seedlings will have to be illuminated. The optimal room temperature is 25-28⁰ C; at 20⁰, basil seedlings stop developing.
When two true leaves appear, pick them. Of course, if necessary, basil seedlings planted in cassettes do not need this. As a tool, it is convenient to use a wooden stick about 15 cm long, planed at one end in the form of a flattened peg. It is easy to remove sprouts from the soil, make indentations and press the shoot to the ground in a new place. It is extremely inconvenient to do this with your fingers.
You can plant basil seedlings in separate containers, cassettes or in the same planting boxes. They change the substrate and fill them in the usual way (not as carefully as for seedlings). The plants are arranged in rows, no closer than 5 cm from each other, and if it is already clear that planting will be carried out later than 25 days from the time the seedlings appear, then further.
A week after picking, the basil seedlings are fertilized (if they have taken root, that is, they have begun to grow again). To do this, dissolve in a liter of water:
- ammonium nitrate – 2 g;
- superphosphate – 4 g;
- wood ash - 2 teaspoons.
The second feeding is given 10-14 days after the first. To stimulate your own immunity, it is useful to spray the seedlings alternately with epin and zircon once a week.
You need to pinch the seedlings when 4-6 true leaves appear. It is best to cut off the tops with nail scissors rather than tearing them off - this could accidentally pull the entire basil out of the soil.
How to plant basil seeds in open ground
In the northern regions, it makes no sense to sow basil in the ground at all. If you wait for the soil to warm up in Central Russia, you can only bring a crop grown without seedlings to the stage where you can cut off the shoots for drying in the warm summer. Otherwise, it will not contain enough essential oils, and will only be suitable for freezing or eating fresh. In the south, the soil warms up quickly, the seeds germinate well, it’s just that the first cutting of basil grown through seedlings is carried out much earlier than when sowing directly into the garden bed.
Preparing the landing site
Before sowing seeds, you need to dig up the ground at least half the size of a shovel.If the basil will subsequently be planted (which is preferable), sand must be added first. Heavy soils are not suitable for planting seeds. They need to be improved by adding additional lowland or transitional peat.
The area is cleared of stones and weed roots, dug up, leveled, and allowed to settle for at least 2 weeks. Basil seeds, of course, are not the smallest, but if this is not done, they will easily fall through and be “lost.” Because of this, the shoots will appear later, and there will be few of them - some shoots will not be able to break through. In addition, the upper layers of the soil warm up much better.
You cannot sow basil where aromatic herbs have already grown. They release substances into the soil that not only repel pests, but also inhibit their own growth.
Seed preparation
There is no need to cook basil seeds before planting them in the soil. Soaking does not speed up their germination. In addition, it is almost impossible to evenly distribute the slimy, swollen balls in the soil.
Rules for sowing basil seeds
Basil seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 15-16⁰ C. But you need to take into account that in the soil it is significantly lower in the spring than the street thermometer shows. Basil is sown when the soil has warmed up well and its temperature has become almost the same as the air. This happens quite late - around the end of May, and for some regions - not earlier than June.
In the garden bed, using a squeegee, flat cutter, or other tool, draw shallow (about 1 cm) rows every 15 cm, water them with warm water and rarely sow basil. It is not difficult to distribute the seeds correctly - they are quite large.Consumption rate – 0.5-0.6 g per 1 sq. m.
Then carefully level the bed with a rake. Don't water. The basil seeds will receive enough moisture - after all, the rows were previously saturated with water.
Care after landing
Immediately after planting, cover the bed with film - this will retain moisture and speed up the germination of basil. After the first sprout has appeared, the cellophane begins to be lifted during the day to ventilate and moisten the seedlings. Watering should be done with warm water.
It is very useful to spray the seedlings once a week, alternating with preparations, with zircon and epin - this will make them more resistant to adverse factors, for example, overwatering or temperature changes. By the way, the worst thing you can do with basil in the initial stages of development is to remember to cover it at night and to over-moisten the soil.
When two true leaves appear and are fully formed, the crops can be fed with urea, diluting it 2 times more than recommended in the instructions, or with special fertilizers for seedlings.
At this time, watering and weeding are carried out, and the soil must be loosened 1-2 times a week. 10-14 days after the first feeding, give a second one, using a complex fertilizer diluted by half.
Basil can be planted approximately 25 days after the seedlings hatch.
How to plant basil in open ground with seedlings
When not only the air, but also the soil in the area warms up, you can plant basil seedlings. Overgrown bushes will take root more slowly than short, unbranched ponytails, and over time they will almost equal them in development.
Preparing seedlings
7 days before planting, the temperature of the seedlings during the day is reduced to 15-17⁰ C, at night - to 12-15⁰, and watering is reduced. If the weather outside is warm and windless, the basil is taken out into the yard for several hours. This is called seedling hardening. It is necessary so that after moving into the ground the plant does not receive a shock, but quickly takes root and begins to grow, spending less time on adaptation.
On the eve of planting, the seedlings are watered, but not abundantly, just enough to wet the earthen ball.
Soil preparation
The soil for planting basil is prepared in the same way as for sowing seeds - loosened, roots removed weed and level. When digging on good black soil, you don’t need to add anything. If you need to get a large yield of green mass, for each square meter add 0.5 buckets of humus, a glass of ash, and sand, transitional or lowland (black) peat into dense soil.
After digging, the soil is allowed to settle for at least 2 weeks. But what to do when for some reason you don’t have this time? Then, after loosening, the bed is watered, and if a hose is used, they try to spray the stream as much as possible, and the next day they begin planting.
How to plant basil seedlings
Under each bush you should dig a shallow hole and fill it with water. Then remove the basil from the pot or cassette, place it in the center, cover the root and 1-2 cm of the stem with soil. Press the soil with your hands and water.
If the seedlings were grown in a peat cup, there is no need to remove it. When picking is carried out not in separate containers, but in planting boxes, the basil grows in rows close to each other. The question arises of how to remove it without damaging the roots as much as possible.Experience has shown that it is better to take out such seedlings with a spoon - a teaspoon or a tablespoon, depending on the size of the seedling.
Basil can form roots on its stems, so it can be propagated vegetatively if necessary. So, if you don’t overfill, it’s not afraid of deepening.
The scheme for planting basil in the garden is 30 cm between plants, 40 cm in rows. Varieties that form large bushes should be spaced more freely. The same applies to plants that are not planned to be cut to obtain fragrant greens - basil intended for drying becomes overgrown with a large number of side branches and takes up a lot of space.
Further care
The first time after transplanting into the ground, basil seedlings are watered frequently, only with warm water. But it is better not to allow waterlogging - the crop does not like this and is prone to stem rotting. It is better to alternate watering with loosening - this way moisture is retained in the soil, the roots breathe, and the weeds grow less.
Diseases and pests
Basil is not only rarely affected by pests, but also protects other crops from their invasion - insects do not like the essential oils contained in the plant. Diseases also avoid bushes that are planted freely and watered in moderation.
Conclusion
Growing basil from seeds is a task for beginners. Typically, gardeners need far fewer plants than the contents of one sachet can provide. So you can practice picking on a crop.
