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Growing basil from seeds on your own makes sense if you plant a crop not only for your own consumption, but also for sale. For the average family, in order to provide themselves with fresh, dried spices and medicinal raw materials, just a few bushes are enough. They are easier to buy on the market.
But they usually sell several varieties there, 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 particular or exotic variety, they will have to fiddle with seeds. There is nothing difficult in this, especially if there is a minimum picking skill – you can’t do without it.
When to plant basil
Sowing basil is carried out, focusing on the fact that the culture is very thermophilic. The slightest decrease in temperature will lead to a halt in development, and even a short-term frost will certainly destroy the plant.
When to sow basil for seedlings
In most regions of Our Country, basil is grown only through seedlings. Depending on climatic conditions, seeds are planted from mid-March to the end of April. This period is quite extended, but most gardeners who grow basil for their own needs spend only one harvest. Of course, except for the preparation of marinades and salads with fresh leaves.
If sown early, basil will quickly gain green mass and make it possible to harvest the green mass several times. In the northern seedlings it will outgrow, but it will take root well, even if it is not planted in peat cups.
If you sow basil late, it will still give several harvests in the southern regions. In the central it will be possible to make 1-2 cuts. In the north, the crop will probably yield one, but you need very little basil for your own consumption. By and large, the average family can get by for a whole season by being able to give one bush.
When to plant basil outdoors with seeds
As a heat-loving crop, basil cannot be sown in the ground before the threat of frost has passed. Our Country is a very large country, 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 to allow planting, otherwise you might not get a harvest. In the south and in the center, basil is sown in open ground at the same time as cucumbers.
The term is determined by weather conditions. The ground before planting the seeds should warm up well to a depth of 10 cm. If the soil temperature is below 10⁰ C, the basil simply will not germinate. Usually seeds are planted from late May to early June. Later, the heat can destroy tender shoots.
How to plant basil seedlings
If the gardener is familiar with the basics of seedling diving, he will easily grow basil. This culture requires minimal care, not only in the open field after planting, but also in the initial phases of development.
Preparing a planting container
For sowing seeds, it is best to use special cassettes for seedlings, which are always on sale and are inexpensive. Rinse them well before use. If they were stored in unsuitable conditions or were not cleaned from the ground for some reason 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 dishes with bottom holes. Their preparation should be considered in more detail.
Seedling boxes are washed, if necessary, disinfected with potassium permanganate, scalded with boiling water, and dried. Then set in a warm, well-lit place and filled with planting mixture. To do this, it is better to take the usual purchased soil for seedlings.
The most common mistake when preparing a planting box is that gardeners try to fit drainage into it. Of course, if the seedlings are sown in an ordinary flower pot or other unsuitable dishes, 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 potting soil
Not everyone knows how to fill seedling boxes correctly, and any mistake will lead to attacks, a black leg. You can even ruin crops.
The sequence of correct filling of the container for seedlings:
- The landing box is installed immediately in a permanent place. It should be taken into account that water for irrigation will flow through the lower holes and lay an oilcloth or provide a pallet.
- The substrate should be sifted before laying. Then they fill 2/3 of the box with it and ram it tightly using hands and any heavy object. Pay special attention to the perimeter. With fingers, applying force, the soil is pressed, poured and again crushed so that there is not a single badly trampled place between the edges of the box and the substrate. The surface is leveled with an improvised iron such as a trowel.Comment! After proper tamping, the box will be less than half full.
- Pour loose soil to the edge of the box. They pass along the perimeter, dying with force. Ideally, it will be impossible to stick a match into the soil near the side.Important! So much ramming and crushing is necessary only for the area near the very walls.
- With an open palm, lightly press down on the soil, then level with an iron.
Filling the planting box with substrate will take longer than you might think. This procedure is not easy even for experienced gardeners, but it must be done carefully – the quality of seedlings directly depends on this.
It is best to prepare the box just before sowing the seeds. If something distracts, or work has to be postponed, you should wrap the container with cellophane so that the substrate does not dry out.
Seed preparation
Basil seeds are buried dry in the ground. A variety of 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 handle. 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 packed 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
Sowing basil seeds for seedlings in cassettes is very simple. The best way to tell about this video:
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. Yes, and basil is not a tomato, damage to the root system, which cannot be avoided when picking, does not benefit this culture. It will take time to restore and resume growth processes.
The advantages of growing seedlings in boxes include:
- significant space savings;
- easier to water;
- boxes are more durable than cassettes;
- easier to move if needed.
Furrows 5 mm deep are made along one wall of the seedling box at a distance of 5 cm from each other, they are spilled with warm water and seeds are rarely sown. Then they are covered with soil, sprinkled abundantly from a household spray bottle, covered with glass or film.
When sowing dry basil seeds at a temperature of 20-24⁰ C, the first shoots will appear in 10-14 days, if it is increased to 25-28⁰ C – after 7-10 days. Keeping in a cool (below 20⁰) room does not make sense.
Planting should be ventilated daily by removing the shelter and checking the soil moisture. If necessary, the soil should be poked from a spray bottle. It should never be wet.
Care of seedlings
Basil seedlings do not need special care. They only need to be regularly watered with warm water, preventing the soil from getting wet so that a black leg does not appear. At the first signs of the disease, seedlings are treated with a weak solution of copper sulfate, dissolving 1 teaspoon of the drug in 2 liters of warm water.
So that the basil seedlings do not stretch out, the lighting must be intense, at least 10 hours a day. If necessary, seedlings will have to be illuminated. The optimum indoor temperature is 25-28⁰ C, at 20⁰ basil seedlings stop development.
When two true leaves appear, a pick is carried out. 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 get sprouts from the ground with it, make indentations and press the shoot to the ground in a new place. It is extremely inconvenient to do this with your fingers.
Basil seedlings can be dived into separate containers, cassettes or into the same planting boxes. The substrate is changed in them, stuffed 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 the planting will be carried out later than 25 days after the appearance of the seedlings, then further.
A week after picking, the basil seedlings are fertilized (if it has taken root, that is, it has started 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 top dressing 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, and not cut off – this way you can accidentally pull the whole basil out of the ground.
How to plant basil seeds outdoors
In the northern regions, sowing basil in the ground does not make sense at all. If you wait for the soil to warm up in Central Our Country, you can bring a seedless crop to a stage where you can cut off the shoots for drying only in warm summers. Otherwise, it will not pick up enough essential oils, and will only be suitable for freezing or fresh consumption. In the south, the soil warms up quickly, the seeds germinate well, just the first cut of basil grown through seedlings is carried out much earlier than when sown directly on the garden.
Site preparation
Before sowing the seeds, the earth must be dug up at least half a bayonet of a shovel. If the basil will subsequently be seated (which is preferable), sand is added first. Heavy soils are not suitable for planting seeds. They need to be improved by adding additional lowland or transitional peat.
The site is freed from pebbles, 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 fail and “get lost”. Because of this, seedlings 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 can not sow basil where aromatic herbs have already grown before. They release substances into the soil that not only repel pests, but also inhibit their own growth.
Seed preparation
Basil seeds do not need to be cooked before planting in the soil. Soaking does not speed up their germination. In addition, it is almost impossible to evenly distribute slimy swollen balls in the ground.
Rules for sowing basil seeds
Basil seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 15-16⁰ C. But it must be borne in mind that in the spring it is much lower in the soil than a street thermometer shows. Basil is sown when the earth 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, with a glanders, flat cutter, or other tool, shallow (about 15 cm) rows are drawn every 1 cm, watered with warm water, and basil is rarely sown. 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. Do not water. Basil seeds will get enough moisture – after all, the rows were previously saturated with water.
Care after landing
Immediately after planting, the bed is covered with a film – this will retain moisture and accelerate 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 seedlings once a week, alternating preparations with zircon and epin – this will make them more resistant to adverse factors, such as overflows or temperature changes. By the way, the worst thing that can be done with basil at the initial stages of development is not to forget to cover it for the night, but to overmoisten the soil.
When two true leaves appear and fully take shape, the crops can be fed with urea, diluting it 2 times more than recommended by the instructions, or with special fertilizers for seedlings.
At this time, watering, weeding is carried out, and the soil is loosened 1-2 times a week. 10-14 days after the first feeding, a second one is given, using a complex fertilizer diluted by half.
It will be possible to seat the basil about 25 days after the seedlings hatch.
How to plant basil in open ground 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 tails, and over time will almost catch up with them in development.
Preparation of seedlings
7 days before planting, the temperature of the seedlings during the day is lowered to 15-17⁰ C, at night – to 12-15⁰, watering is reduced. If the weather is warm, 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 grows, spending less time on adaptation.
On the eve of planting, the seedlings are watered, but not abundantly, but in such a way as to only moisten the earthen ball.
Soil preparation
The land for planting basil is prepared in the same way as for sowing seeds – they are loosened, weed roots are removed and leveled. Under digging on good black soil, you can not add anything. If you need to get a large yield of green mass, 0,5 buckets of humus, a glass of ash are added to each square meter, and sand, transitional or lowland (black) peat are added to dense soil.
After digging, the soil is allowed to settle for at least 2 weeks. But what to do when for some reason there is no such time? Then, after loosening, the bed is watered, and if a hose is used, they try to spray the jet as much as possible, and the next day they start planting.
How to plant basil seedlings
Under each bush, you should dig a shallow hole, fill it with water. Then remove the basil from the pot or cassette, set 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, you do not need to remove it. When picking is carried out not in separate containers, but in planting boxes, basil grows in rows close to each other. The question arises how to remove it, minimally damaging the roots. Experience has shown that it is better to get such seedlings with a spoon – a teaspoon or a tablespoon, depending on the size of the seedling.
Basil can form roots on stems, thanks to which it is propagated vegetatively if necessary. So, if you do not overflow, he is not afraid of deepening.
The scheme of planting basil in the garden is 30 cm between plants, 40 cm in rows. Varieties forming large bushes should be placed more freely. The same applies to plants that are not planned to be cut to obtain fragrant greens – basil intended for drying is 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 often, only with warm water. But it is better not to allow waterlogging – the culture does not like this and is prone to rotting of the stem. It is better to alternate watering with loosening – this way moisture is retained in the soil, the roots breathe, and 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 bypass bushes planted freely and watered in moderation.
Conclusion
Growing basil from seeds is a challenge for beginners. Typically, gardeners need far fewer plants than the contents of one sachet can provide. So in culture you can train in picking.