Basil: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow basil under cover?
Sow basil indoors in spring, in small pots of fine, well-drained seed compost. Sow thinly on the surface and keep the pots somewhere warm and bright, around 20 °C. Keep the compost moist without waterlogging it.
When the seedlings have several leaves, move them into individual pots or a larger container. Keep them warm and give them plenty of light. Before planting outdoors, gradually harden them off and wait until all risk of frost has passed and nights are consistently above 10 °C.
Moisten the compost before sowing so that the first watering does not wash all the seeds into one corner. Use clean containers with drainage holes, and empty any water left in the saucer. If you use a clear cover to retain moisture, check the pots daily and ventilate them when the first shoots appear. A windowsill that gets cold at night may be unsuitable even when it is bright during the day. Sow small batches a few weeks apart to avoid having all your plants reach the same stage together.
How do you sow basil outdoors?
Sow basil outdoors only once the weather is warm, all risk of frost has passed and nights are consistently above 10 °C. In a cool climate, this often means early summer. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot with well-drained soil, or use a pot with drainage holes.
Sow thinly on the surface without covering the seeds, then water gently. Keep the soil moist without waterlogging it. Thin out the seedlings as they grow, leaving around 20 cm between plants and adjusting the spacing to the variety. Indoor sowing is often more reliable where summers are cool.
Before sowing, crumble the surface and remove large lumps that would make it difficult to distribute the small seeds evenly. Water gently first if the soil is dry. When sowing in a pot, check that water can drain freely and do not leave the saucer full. Watch the surface while the seeds germinate: it should remain slightly moist, especially in sunny or windy weather. Thinning means removing surplus seedlings to give the remaining ones space. Keep the strongest plants and watch for slugs, which can quickly destroy tender young shoots.
How do you plant basil?
Plant your basil in a sunny, sheltered spot, in well-drained soil or a pot with drainage holes. Gradually harden off plants raised indoors. Wait until all risk of frost has passed and nights are consistently above 10 °C before planting outdoors.
Plant at the same depth as in the original pot and water gently. Keep the soil moist without waterlogging it. To encourage branching, pinch out the shoot tips just above a pair of leaves, rather than removing only the top leaves. Leave enough foliage for the plant to keep growing.
To harden plants off, start with a few hours outside in a protected place, then gradually increase their time outdoors. Bring them back inside if nights are still cool. Moisten the root ball before removing it from its nursery pot, and handle it without pulling on the stems. Make a hole wide enough for the roots, refill around them and firm gently. For container growing, choose a pot at least 20 cm wide and deep. Match the number of plants to their eventual size to avoid an overcrowded clump that is difficult to water.
How to care for this plant
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Weed
Identify the young plants before starting. If weeds grow between them, remove them gently by hand without loosening the herbs’ roots.
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Remove the first basil flowers
If you mainly grow basil for its leaves and flower buds appear, pinch their stem just above a pair of leaves, leaving plenty of foliage. If there are no flowers yet, there is nothing to cut. You can also leave one plant to flower for pollinators or seeds; this reminder does not call for removing every flower in the garden.
How do you harvest basil?
Harvest your basil as it grows, once it has enough leaves. Cut the shoot tips just above a pair of leaves to encourage branching. Leave plenty of foliage and avoid taking more than a third of the plant at once.
Use the leaves soon after picking to enjoy their aroma. For longer storage, you can freeze or dry them. Hanging stems in a dry, airy place away from direct sunlight is a drying method, rather than a way to keep basil fresh.
Choose healthy shoots and use clean scissors so that you do not crush the soft stems. Spread your picking over several branches instead of stripping the same one repeatedly. Check the plant's recovery before the next harvest: new shoots need to develop from the leafy growth you leave behind. If you want to extend leaf production, remove the first flowering shoots as they appear. When collecting a large quantity for a sauce, harvest from several plants where possible rather than leaving a young plant almost bare after one picking session.
Basil
- Type : Aromatic plants
- Subtype : Leafy vegetables
- Botanical Family : Lamiaceae (labiate)
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Annual
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Sensitive
- Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
- Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse crops : Unheated greenhouse
- Greenhouse Growing : Recommended
- Sowing Depth : 0.5 cm
- Plant Spacing : 20 cm
- Row Spacing : 20 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : High
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Sowing