Basil
Purple basil: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sowing indoors
SI
SI
Sowing outdoors
SO
SO
Planting
P
P
P
Harvest
H
H
H
H
How do you sow your purple 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.
How do you sow your purple basil outdoors?
How do you plant your purple basil?
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 your purple basil?
