Basil is one of the most useful and beautiful herbs you can grow. There are so many different types of basil with more appearing every year. Try curly basil, Dark Opal Basil, and the traditional Genovese. The tiny leaves of the bush basil are very tasty as well as lovely to look at.
There are as many uses for basil as there are types. You can put basil in bouquets, tisanes, soups, and almost any fish dish. It also dries and freezes well so you can have the herb to use all winter long. The reason to grow buckets of basil is classic pesto, which freezes well in small jars, or ice cube trays.
Basil is a warm-weather, fragrant herb that tastes great in Italian dishes—and let’s not forget homemade pesto! Plant seeds or transplants after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm, and it will yield an abundant harvest within weeks. Keep harvesting the leaves to keep the plant going strong.
Basil is easy to grow, but it only grows outdoors in the summer—and only once the soil has warmed up nicely—so plan accordingly.
- To get a jump on the season, start the seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last spring frost.
- 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.
Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site
- 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 moist but well-drained.
- Basil works great in containers or raised beds, as these allow for better drainage.
- If you’re planning on cooking with these plants, plant in clean soil, don’t use insecticides, and grow them away from driveways and busy streets so that exhaust won’t settle on the plants.
How to Plant & Grow Basil
- Lightly moisten the fresh potting mix and pack firmly into 4-6″ pots. Pour some seeds into your palm, and sprinkle the soil surface with a few seeds. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and press gently to firm the soil. Water gently or use a mister.
- Place in a warm window with southern exposure. Avoid drafty windows or places where temperatures drop considerably at night. As the plants grow, rotate the pots to keep them from leaning in one direction, toward the light. If you are using grow lights, set a timer so that they are on for 14 hours a day. Place the lights a few inches above the seedlings, raising the lights as the plants grow. If the plants look leggy, move the lights closer. If you see white spots on the leaves, the lights are too close.
Use scissors to thin crowded seedlings.
- Keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet. If the plants start to look crowded as they grow, use scissors to thin them out. Snip the extra seedlings at the soil line and enjoy them in a salad.
- A month after planting, you can enjoy the aroma of basil by running your hands over the small leaves. Two months after planting, you may have enough basil leaves to make fresh pesto and impress your friends! If the leaves start looking pale green in color, start using liquid fertilizer, mixing at the rate recommended on the package. For continuous harvests, plant a batch of seeds every few weeks.
Harvesting and StoringIt is important to pinch your basil back often for it to grow bushy instead of tall and lanky. Start pinching from the time it is about 4 inches tall, taking off the top leaves.
To store basil, make a ton of pesto, which you can freeze in jars. You can also make a slurry by blending basil with a little olive oil, which you can then make into ice cubes.
Preparing and Using BasilFor the best flavor, add fresh basil at the end of cooking. It’s said that you should tear rather than chop basil leaves to release their wonderful aroma. Use in salads, soups, stews, to make pesto and other sauces, particularly any recipe containing tomatoes.