When to plant basil seedlings c. Basil - growing from seed, when to plant

Basil is a very heat-loving crop and the fact that it fails in direct crops, especially in the northern regions, is quite normal. When considering when to plant basil for seedlings in a year, you need to use a single argument - you need to sow so that you can plant it in the ground when the threat of frost has passed.

Experienced vegetable growers, those who always succeed in basil, compare this crop with cucumbers. And it's true. If all agricultural practices are carried out by analogy with melons, then it will be possible to enjoy the greenery, prepare it for the winter, and collect the seeds.

If you have mastered cucumber seedling culture in your area, try doing the same with basil.

In April of the year, the best numbers according to the lunar calendar in order to sow basil for seedlings will be: 12, 13, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 30 numbers.

seed soaking

The awakening procedure can only be carried out if you are sure that your seeds will fall into moist soil. If there is no such confidence, it is better to sow dry seeds.

Lay a sheet of tissue paper or toilet paper on a plate, moisten it with plenty of warm water and lightly sprinkle with basil seeds. Wrap in a plastic bag and put in a warm place.

After a day, you will see how your seeds are covered with mucus. This is nothing more than hydrophilic polysaccharides, it is they who contribute to the fact that the seed germinates even with a small amount of moisture. It also protects the seed from a drop in temperature, but within reasonable limits.

Sowing

If basil seedlings at home will be grown from soaked seeds, then they need to be sown along with the paper on which they are located.

After pouring the soil into the container, and leveling it, put all the soaked seeds on top along with a napkin. Next, cover with soil for 1 - 1.5 cm, compact, and sprinkle with warm water from a spray bottle. Cover the container with plastic wrap and place in a warm place.

Shoots will appear in 5-7 days. And by the age of one month, the seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground.

Planting basil for seedlings at home can be carried out without soaking. In this case, sowing is easier. Seeds are large, dry, evenly fall on the ground.

After leveling the soil in the container, scatter the seeds evenly over the surface of the earth. Sprinkle with soil 1 - 1.5 cm and pour abundantly. Covering the container with a bag will reduce moisture evaporation and create a greenhouse effect, which will speed up seed germination. Putting the container in a warm place, after 12-15 days you will have shoots.

Acquisition of seed material

When purchasing seeds, pay attention to the date of their packaging. If the seeds are not last year's, but older, refuse to buy. Germination of old seeds is very low - both money and time will be lost.

The modern market for basil seeds is very large. You can easily purchase varieties with lemon, clove and cinnamon scents, and leaf color ranging from light green to purple.

Beautiful and indoor basil. Its leaves are small, and the bush miraculously lends itself to pruning. Having once become the owner of this variety, you will never refuse it again. Such a tree will be a wonderful decoration not only for dishes, but also for the kitchen.

seedling care

When thinking about how to grow basil seedlings, it must be remembered that this culture is Mediterranean, and the basis of the climate there is warmth and moisture.

Watering seedlings should be carried out with warm water. But basil does not respond to spraying. The plant responds to the drying of an earthen clod by stopping growth, and since its fragrant leaves are the basis of the crop, it is necessary to jealously monitor the optimal soil moisture.

Answering the question: “How to properly care for basil seedlings?” it must be recalled that the seedlings should be on the brightest, southern windowsill. Without a significant amount of light, it is impossible to grow high-quality basil seedlings.

If the weather allows, then after 2 - 2.5 weeks, the crops can be exposed for ventilation, but only if the ambient temperature is above 18ᵒ С.

The high popularity of basil grown in summer cottages is largely due not only to its excellent qualities as a fragrant spice, but also to its decorative effect. By the way, this wonderful-smelling grass is also planted to repel pests in the garden. So do not delay planting it, because you can grow early basil only after sowing seeds for seedlings. Read on to find out how to do it right.

Planting basil seeds for seedlings: varieties, terms, necessary containers and soil

The most popular varieties of basil, depending on the ripening period, are:

• Early (40-50 days): Dwarf, Fragrant Green, Pearl of the Moscow Region, Lemon and Clove;
• Medium (60-70 days): Caramel, Charodey, Moskvoretsky, Orion and Vanilla Aroma;
• Late (80-90 days): Moorish, Table, Marquis, Charm and Dreamer.

Depending on the color, basil also comes in green and purple.

Video: how to grow basil - an overview of varieties

When to plant seedlings: depending on the region, variety, according to the lunar calendar

Basil is a rather heat-loving crop, with planting and disembarking which in open ground should not be rushed. Therefore, if you want to get early and high-quality greens, as well as extend the time of its “fruiting” (of course, if you regularly pinch it), it is better to plant basil seeds first for seedlings.

As a rule, you need to plant basil for seedlings about 9-11 weeks before the expected time of transplanting the plant to the garden. Why so much time? Firstly, 1-2 weeks, as a rule, are spent waiting for the first shoots to appear, secondly, the seedlings should grow to an acceptable size - this is another 7-8 weeks, and thirdly, if you dive, feel free to add more 1 week for seedlings to take root in a new place. Therefore, if you live in the Middle lane (for example, Moscow region), then the second half of March - the beginning of April will be the best time for you to start planting, just by the end of May, seedlings can be planted in well-warmed soil. If you have a warmer climate, then the dates are shifted - you can start sowing as early as February, just in time for May, the seedlings will be completely ready.

The crop variety also has a noticeable effect on the timing of sowing basil for seedlings. So, it is better to plant medium and late varieties earlier, but it makes no sense to rush with early ones, because. overgrown seedlings do not take root well in a new place, and if you plant them ahead of time, they will simply freeze and will not be accepted.

According to the lunar calendar in 2019

It can help you choose the optimal date for sowing a crop. Moon calendar.

auspicious days according to the lunar calendar for planting basil in 2019 are:

• in February - 6-8, 15-17, 23-25;
• in March - 8-12, 15-17, 27-29;
• in April - 6-13, 15-18, 24-26, 29, 30;
• in May - 1-4, 8-10, 12-14, 17, 18, 21-23, 26-31;
• in June - 5, 6, 9-15, 22-25;
• in July - 10-12, 20-22, 29-31;
• in August - 2-8, 11-13, 17, 18, 26-28;
• in September - 1-5, 7-10;
• in October - there are no favorable dates;
• in November - 1-3, 6-8, 15-18, 24, 25.

But you should also take into account the periods of the new moon and the full moon, since when sowing at this time, the seedlings will turn out to be weak and elongated. Therefore, there are days when the planting of the basil is carried out categorically impossible:

• in February - 4, 5, 19;
• in March - 6, 7, 21;
• in April - 5, 19;
• in May - 5, 19;
• in June - 3, 4, 17;
• in July - 2, 3, 17;
• in August - 15, 16, 30, 31;
• in September - 14, 15, 28, 29;
• in October - 14, 28;
• in November - 12, 13, 26, 27.

Therefore, it is necessary to pre-plan the days for sowing and prepare for them in advance.

According to the lunar calendar from the magazine "1000 tips for summer residents."

Tanks and soil

When choosing a container for sowing basil, first of all, think about how much you will need it and where you will put it. If you have a lot of space and want to grow a large crop, then plant in large wooden or plastic boxes, special cassettes for seedlings. Also suitable are peat tablets and the most common disposable cups, used containers for sour cream, yogurt or milk cartons.

To successfully grow basil seedlings, loose and light soil is required, in other words, it must be nutritious and breathable.

As always, potting soil can be bought at a garden store, or you can mix it up a bit and make your own.

The optimal composition of the soil mixture should consist of the following components:

• 2 parts of humus or well-rotted compost;
• 4 parts of peat;
• 1 part sand.

You can also use the following soil mixture:

• 1 part of garden land;
• 1 part peat;
• 1 part humus.

The resulting substrate must first be sieved (so that there are no lumps in it), and then steamed in a water bath or heated in an oven for 60 minutes. Such heat treatment will rid the soil of fungal diseases and weed seeds contained in the ground.

When using ready-made store soil, it is enough just to shed it with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate or a special disinfectant, for example, the most famous brands - Maxim or.

Landing methods

A step-by-step classic method of sowing basil seeds for seedlings:

1. The planting container is filled with soil mixture by 5-6 cm, then compacted.
2. Seeds are spread evenly over the surface of the soil.
3. Lightly sprinkled with soil 5-10 mm.
4. Abundantly, but gently watered from the sprayer. The seeds must not be accidentally washed out.
5. It remains only to cover the future seedlings. To do this, you can use glass, shoe covers or transparent plastic wrap or a bag. And put in a warm (temperature should be in the range of 20-25 degrees) and a bright place (southern windowsill).

A more original way of planting may be sowing basil seeds. into snails. To learn how to do it right, see the following video:

An even newer and more effective (according to some summer residents) way of sowing basil is to plant it in shoe covers, all the information about which you will learn from the video below:

Caring for basil seedlings after planting

Growing basil seedlings can hardly be called a very simple and banal task. After all, you constantly need to control the temperature and properly water the crops, because. it is very picky about heat and soil moisture.

Friendly shoots, as a rule, appear after a week or a half. As soon as the basil sprouts, the shelter can be removed. Now it is necessary to maintain a slightly lower temperature - somewhere + 16-20 degrees. So the seedlings will not stretch. You can also prevent stretching by taking care of additional seedling lighting (phytolamps or economical LED lamps), thereby extending daylight hours to the recommended 12 hours.

About a week after germination, for better growth, young seedlings can be fertilized by preparing a solution at the rate of 10 grams of ash per 1 liter of warm water.

Note! Excessive moisture can cause damage to the basil black leg, so it is important to ensure that after watering, excess water does not stagnate in the pan.

Video: basil seedling care, watering

picking

You can start diving basil seedlings after the plant has 2 true leaves.

You can use the same soil mixture for picking, except to add a couple of spoons and one spoon of complex mineral fertilizer (for example, nitroammophoska) into it (based on 5 liters of earth), and then mix thoroughly.

By the way! So that the seedlings can easily be taken out of the ground, the seedlings should be abundantly moistened before picking.

The picking of basil takes place according to the standard scheme: the containers are filled with earth, then they are compacted, recesses are made into which the young seedling is placed, earth is poured in and the soil is slightly compacted again. Now it remains to perform the final watering.

Important! After picking, it is recommended to put the seedlings in a cooler place!

Video: picking basil

Care after picking

Further care for basil seedlings after picking consists of regular watering, several top dressings and the obligatory pinching of shoots.

top dressing

If the basil develops normally, the seedlings are usually fed for the first time immediately after picking. For this, a complex nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer is used at the rate of 10 grams of the product per 1 liter of water. In the future, the basil is fertilized 1 time in 2 weeks.

Reminder! Nitrogen stimulates the growth of leaves, and phosphorus and potassium have a positive effect on the content of essential oil in the green mass.

It is worth remembering that basil develops quite moderately at the beginning of its growth, so you should not rush it too much and constantly fertilize it. An overabundance can be much worse than a seedling's mineral starvation.

Pinching

When the 5-6th true leaf appears at the basil, it is recommended to pinch the shoots. So the greens will not stretch, but will begin to branch better and give more fragrant leaves. Actually, this is the main purpose of growing basil, isn't it?

Re-pinching the basil will be necessary when it begins to bloom. In addition to flowers, you should pinch a few leaves under them.

When and how to plant basil seedlings in open ground

10-14 days before planting in open ground, basil seedlings should begin to be taken out to fresh air or a balcony for the purpose of hardening.

As a rule, the time for planting basil in open ground comes when the earth warms up to 15 degrees, that is, it falls on May-beginning of June, depending on the climatic zone of the region.

The place for growing basil is chosen as much as possible illuminated and protected from cold winds.

However, there is often not enough heat in the Middle Band of Aromatic Spice, which is why it grows slowly. Therefore, you can plant it in a greenhouse or in a temporary mini-greenhouse made of covering material stretched over small arcs. An even simpler solution would be to cover the newly planted seedlings at night.

It will be useful to plant basil next to peppers, tomatoes or cucumbers. So the neighboring plant, due to its phytoncidal properties, will be under reliable protection from various kinds of insects and pests (for example, from the same aphid).

Basil will grow well only on light, airy and nutritious soils: clay and infertile soils will not suit it. Therefore, before planting, add a little humus or compost to the soil, as well as sand and peat, if it is excessively clay.

Basil seedlings are planted directly with an earthen clod.

The distance between adjacent bushes should be 25-30 cm for tall varieties, 15-20 cm for more compact varieties. Leave 20-30 cm between rows.

Immediately after transplanting to the garden, the bushes should be watered abundantly.

By the way! You can grow basil on the windowsill, read more about it

Video: planting basil seedlings in the garden

Caring for basil after planting in the ground

Further care and cultivation of basil in the open field in the garden includes regular watering, fertilizing and loosening the earth.

In order for the basil to rapidly grow fragrant green leaves, it needs a large amount of life-giving moisture, which means that watering should be regular and plentiful.

Factors contributing to the active growth of green mass are also timely pinching flower stalks and top dressing nitrogen fertilizers, which should be carried out at least once every 4-5 weeks.

Reminder! Nitrogen fertilizers stimulate the growth of green mass of all plants.

If you strictly follow these recommendations, then the basil will develop well and give a lot of useful greenery until the first frost.

Advice! The more often and more you cut off the leaves, the sooner new ones will appear.

Thus, growing an excellent basil spice through seedlings until the first harvests requires attention, accuracy and patience.

Video: growing basil from seeds - from seedlings to planting in open ground

In contact with

Modern cooking is unthinkable without spices. This is an unconditional taste decoration of many dishes. Therefore, it is not surprising that the cultivation of herbs in home gardens has become a popular pastime. But not all of them can be planted immediately on the beds. Such a whimsical culture as basil is grown by seedlings.

Growing spicy leaves

Any cultivated plant needs constant care. But basil is considered especially demanding and behaves very biased towards soil and ambient temperature, although it has strong immunity.

To grow basil and get a good harvest, it needs to be given more time to develop, especially in the conditions of central Russia and Siberia. And here you can not do without a seedling method.

In central Russia, varieties such as Anise and Lemon have taken root well, the leaves of which have an interesting rich aroma, summer residents are happy to grow them for home-made spice mixtures and as an additive to tea.

Sowing dates

Sowing seeds for seedlings should be done approximately 5-6 weeks before the end of spring frosts. This is usually done in late March or early April. Someone will say: too early for the grass. But the fact is that the first three weeks, the basil develops very slowly, and he needs to have time to get stronger by May.

Capacity and soil

You can sow basil both in a common box and in separate pots. These can be peat tablets, peat or plastic cups, as well as seedling cassettes. But most often, in the old fashioned way, boxes are filled with planting mix.

In shape and size, the boxes are taken so that they fit on the windowsill of a window facing south.

The selected container is filled with soil, consisting of equal parts of vermiculite, peat and perlite or humus, sand and soddy soil. The soil is compacted a little, removing air pockets, and moistened with a nutrient solution of potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, superphosphate and urea (3–4 g of each preparation per five liters of water).

Landing stages

1. Before sowing, basil seeds are soaked in a weak nutrient solution of Epin, Zircon or humate.
2. For sowing basil seedlings, containers with a depth of no more than 6-7 cm with drainage holes are best suited.
3. A drainage layer of expanded clay or small pebbles is laid at the bottom of the containers.
4. Sow basil in a soil rich in peat or sand mixed with humus and garden soil.
5. Seeds are laid out on the soil surface 4–5 cm apart in a row, with a distance between rows of 10 cm, and covered with a centimeter layer of soil.
6. Crops are carefully shed with warm water and covered with glass or a transparent film.
7. Covered containers are placed in a warm place with a constant temperature of 20-25 ° C, crops are watered and aired daily.
8. A few days after the emergence of seedlings, the glass or film is removed from the seedling containers, the temperature is reduced by 3-4 ° C.

   Subject to all conditions, seedlings will appear on the fifth day, and seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground or a separate pot in about 40-50 days.

Video: sowing basil

The original way to get seedlings in the "snail"

This method is gaining more and more followers. It is also applicable for obtaining seedlings of basil.

1. Cut tapes from polyethylene or isolon.
2. Lay toilet paper folded in several layers on them, moisten with water with the addition of Epin or another similar agent, carefully tamp the ground onto this substrate.
3. It is necessary to lay out the seeds with an interval of 1.5–2 cm, stepping back at least 1 cm from the edge and from the top of the tape.
4. Top the seeds with another layer of toilet paper moistened with a spray bottle. Put another strip of polyethylene on it.
5. Now you can twist the snail roll.
6. After placing the snail with seeds in any suitable container and adding a little water, cover with cling film and put in a warm place. Shoots will appear in 5 days or even earlier. Immediately rearrange the "snails" in a bright place.
7. When there are 2-3 true leaves on the seedlings, you can carefully unroll the snail-roll and transplant each plant into a separate cup.

Video: growing basil in a "snail"

Features of care

The process of growing basil seedlings is not easy. Unlike sowing, it requires trouble and attention: the temperature and watering regimes must be constantly monitored. Basil is especially demanding on heat and moisture. A box with crops should be placed in a room where the average daily temperature does not fall below 20 ° C.

Watering

Watering should be after drying the top soil layer, but it should not dry out completely.

After the appearance of the first sprouts, when the covering material is removed, watering should be a little more frequent, as the moisture will evaporate more intensively. Watering should be twice a day, not allowing the soil to dry out.

picking

When the shoots reach 6 cm, they dive into a more capacious container.

When picking, do not bury basil seedlings. The planting depth should be the same as that of the seedlings.

A pot for a single shoot should be well-drained, as you have to water often, but if the water stagnates, the basil will get sick and die. It is best to moisten the soil under the pickled seedlings once a day, in the morning, so that during the day the water can be well absorbed and the excess evaporated.

Pinching

After the development of the fifth true leaf, the shoots can be pinched. The plant will branch, it will have more leaves, for which basil is grown.

At the moment when the basil seedlings begin to bloom, it is recommended to pinch off the flowers and a couple more leaves under the buds. The fact is that flowering provokes the plant body to hormonal changes, and this does not have the best effect on the taste of herbs and reduces the number of leaves. If the basil is allowed to bloom, the bush will stretch up, become lanky and almost naked.

top dressing

An important factor for obtaining a healthy basil bush is the fertility of the soil.

Basil seedlings need to be fed. In the phase of the very first leaf, mineral fertilizers are already applied, however, only if the shoots are sluggish, lifeless. To do this, potash, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are diluted in a liter of settled water by 3, 2 and 5 grams, respectively. The resulting mixture is consumed per square meter, and the remains are reused, in the fourth week of plant development. If the basil shoots develop normally, the seedlings need to be fed immediately after picking, then the basil is fertilized every 10 days.

Do not forget that the basil at the beginning of its growth develops very slowly, and in the future it does not grow as fast as in the open field, so do not rush it and fertilize it excessively. An excess of nutrients can be more detrimental than a starvation of a plant.

Difficulties of care

Caring for seedlings is a laborious task that requires a lot of effort and time, since young plants experience stress and can get sick from any sudden change in environmental parameters. But knowing what difficulties occur when growing seedlings, some problems can be prevented, and those that have arisen can be eliminated.

Plants are very elongated

When the plants do not have enough light, the shoots begin to stretch strongly, because the balance of soil and leaf nutrition is disturbed. An elongated plant is greatly weakened. In such cases, stop feeding and increase lighting.

Young shoots are also stretched when the temperature rises. Greenhouse conditions for grown seedlings, unlike barely hatched seedlings, are not needed. Basil grows well at an average daily temperature of 17–23 °C. If trouble occurs, lower the temperature and increase the lighting again. You can apply artificial lighting landings.

If planted too early, it can also stretch unnecessarily. Elongated seedlings of an already capricious culture require special attention, and this is extra labor. So it is better to observe reasonable sowing dates.

If the plantings are too dense or if the picking is late, the seedlings again stretch upwards, as in crowded shoots begin to obscure each other. Therefore, do not be greedy, sow basil at an acceptable distance according to the 5x10 cm pattern.

Busting with nitrogen fertilizers will also inevitably make the seedlings stretch. In this case, we lower the temperature, stop feeding and reduce watering.

Video: dive overgrown basil seedlings

Seeds don't germinate

Some growers of flower soil, which is often used for seedlings, may use herbicides to kill weeds. These chemicals can prevent seeds from germinating or inhibit the development of seeds that have already sprouted. Keep this in mind when purchasing soil. When buying seeds, you should carefully check the expiration date, old seeds often do not germinate at all.

seedlings fall

With frequent watering, troubles such as mold and rot can occur. This can be avoided by adjusting the density of plantings and increasing the intensity of lighting at the first sign of trouble. If waterlogging could not be avoided and the basil fell ill with a black leg, it is necessary to treat the plantings with a solution of copper sulfate, diluting a teaspoon of the substance in two liters of water.

Young shoots suffer from excess moisture precisely at the initial stage of their development; still fragile plants cannot resist the black leg. To prevent the disease, it is necessary to monitor the removal of excess moisture and not thicken the plantings. But we should not forget that basil seedlings suffer from drought no less than from the bay.

A common reason for the death of the lower roots of seedlings is spraying plantings, which does not moisten the soil to the desired depth, and in dry soil, young roots suffocate. Sprinkled soil gives the illusion of moisture, when in fact it is not. The soil should be evenly wet both outside and inside. If, nevertheless, a bay has occurred, then it is possible to save the shoots that have not yet died by transplanting them into a new soil, having previously processed the roots in a solution of Fitosporin or manganese.

Often, bays occur when the drainage holes are clogged.

Plants stopped growing

Seedling growth retardation can happen if the roots of the shoots are damaged during picking. You can avoid this trouble by transplanting plants along with an earthen clod. When picking, air plugs sometimes accidentally remain near the roots, if it is bad to compress the soil around the stem. To avoid this, gently tamp the soil with your fingers and water generously. Often, plants are transplanted into a hole already filled with water, and then sprinkled with earth. This method also avoids airing.

Lack or excess of nutrients can stop the growth of seedlings. It is necessary to draw up a feeding schedule in order to fertilize on time and not overfeed your plantings. The use of high-moor peat instead of a soil mixture also leads to fading of seedlings.

The fact is that in such a substrate, plants quickly grow, and then, when the peat dries out, moisture does not linger in it, the seedlings die from drought. In such cases, the dried peat ball should be soaked in water, and then the seedlings should be planted in a nutrient mixture in which peat is only an integral part.

Basil is a favorite spice culture. It is added to meat dishes, soups, salads, desserts, when pickling vegetables. Due to the compactness of the bush, various shades of leaves, it is used to decorate the site. Decorated with pink, white, white and purple flowers, basil looks great among garden plantings. Fragrant greens growing close to berry bushes repel insect pests. To get early greens, it is grown through seedlings. Knowing how to plant it correctly, you can achieve excellent results.

To get early greens, it is grown through seedlings.

Sowing dates

Sow basil at the end of March. 35–50 days after germination, seedlings are planted on the site.

Soil selection for planting

The soil is used light, loose, without lumps. You can buy ready-made soil mix. It is shed with a solution of manganese or Fitosporin. If you prepare the earth mixture yourself, you should steam it for 1 hour. The soil should consist of peat, compost and sand (4:2:1).

Soil for basil seedlings can be prepared by yourself

Basil does not like waterlogging. To avoid stagnant water, expanded clay, crushed polystyrene with a layer of 3 cm are laid out at the bottom of the tank.

Drainage is laid at the bottom of the tank

Selection of containers

For growing seedlings, shallow containers (up to 7 cm) with a pallet are used. However, it is preferable to immediately plant the seeds in separate cells, since when grown in a common container, followed by picking, seedlings will take an extra week to adapt to new conditions.

Shallow containers with cells are suitable for growing seedlings.

Advice! It is better to use peat pots. When transplanting into the ground, the plant is planted together with the container, without damaging the young roots.

Seed preparation

For better germination, the seeds are kept in a solution of a growth stimulator - Zircon. Then let them dry a little.

Basil is grown from seeds

Seeds in the shell are wrapped in gauze and placed for an hour in water or for 15 minutes in a solution of hydrogen peroxide.

Seeds are disinfected before sowing

How to plant at home: a step by step process

Prepared soil is poured into a container with a drainage layer.

Moisturize it and make grooves 0.5 cm deep with a distance of 5 cm between them.

Seeds are laid out every 2 cm, covered with earth and lightly tamped.

Cover with a film and put in a warm place with a temperature of + 25–28.

Pots with sown seeds are placed in a greenhouse

Moisture, heat and air access are the main conditions for seed germination. The greenhouse is regularly ventilated, condensate is removed, and watering is carried out.

Sprouts will appear in 7-14 days. Shelter is removed - high temperature is no longer needed. To prevent seedlings from pulling out, they withstand a temperature of + 16 ... + 20 ° С.

To prevent seedlings from stretching, maintain a temperature of + 16–20 degrees

How seeding is done: video tips

seedling growing conditions

It is not difficult to grow strong seedlings, providing it with favorable conditions: choose suitable soil and good seed material, observe light and temperature conditions, regularly water and fertilize.

You can grow healthy seedlings by creating comfortable conditions for them.

Lighting

Small seedlings are in great need of light. Basil does not grow well in areas with little sun exposure. Seedlings are placed on the southern windowsill and additional lighting is turned on, especially in the first five days. It is best to use Reflux lamps that are installed above the plants. They have a built-in mirror reflector that allows all the light to be directed to the plant. It is necessary to carry out supplementary illumination of seedlings until it is planted in the ground.

For additional lighting, lamps are installed on top

Watering

This crop is demanding on moisture, especially during seed germination. But basil is watered very carefully, once every 3-4 days. And only warm water. Make sure that the water in the pan does not stagnate. Waterlogging of the soil leads to the decay of the roots, increases the risk of black leg disease. After watering, be sure to loosen the earth.

Water the basil very carefully

top dressing

Basil is very responsive to fertilizers: the introduction of nitrogen contributes to the growth of green mass, phosphorus and potassium - increases the content of essential oil in the leaves.

7 days after germination, top dressing is carried out with a solution of ash (10 g / 1 l).

A week after picking, a solution of complex fertilizer is applied. After feeding, seedlings are watered with clean water from a watering can to prevent burns.

In the future, the plants are fed after each cut.

Dive

At the age of 20–25 days, when the first two true leaves grow, the seedlings dive into pots. Seedlings are not heavily buried, watered. Plants will take time to get used to the new environment.

When diving, seedlings do not deepen much

When sowing seeds in individual cells, the plants are thinned out as they grow.

After the appearance of 5-6 pairs of leaves, the top of the seedling can be pinched, which will allow the plant to bush and not form flower stalks for a long time.

Cutting greens can be carried out a month after sowing, by which time the plants will rise 10-12 cm in height.

Basil. Seedling in a snail - video

Possible problems with basil seedlings

Seedlings are practically not affected by pests, but under adverse conditions they can get sick, which will immediately affect their appearance.

Pulling

With a lack of light and heat, too dense planting, seedlings wither and stretch. It is necessary to move the plants to a warmer and brighter place, use additional lighting. Densely planted plants should be thinned out.

In adverse conditions, basil seedlings are pulled out

When pulling out seedlings, a long stalk is placed in a small depression next to the plant, sprinkled with earth, watered. Soon, small roots will appear on the buried part.

Blackleg

With excessive moisture or watering with cold water, seedlings may suffer from a black leg. The root neck becomes thin, blackens, the plant disappears.

The soil must be moderately watered with warm water and monitor the temperature regime.

To avoid such problems, plants are not planted too densely. Then they do not interfere with each other to develop, receive the necessary nutrition and light. To prevent the black leg, the soil is sprinkled with ash before watering, which not only disinfects the soil, but also nourishes it due to the content of potassium and phosphorus.

Yellowing leaves

Yellowing and drying of seedlings can be caused by a lack of trace elements. In nutrient soil, the plant has bright green leaves. You can correct the situation by adding Fitosporin.

Yellowed leaves - a signal that the plant needs to be fed

Spots on the leaves

Spots may appear on the leaves - this is a sunburn received by the plant when it is under too bright spring sun. It is necessary to shade young seedlings on a hot afternoon with blinds or curtains.

Healthy basil seedlings are stocky, with 4-6 true leaves and rich color typical of the species.

Strong basil seedlings ready for planting in the ground

2 weeks before planting, they begin to harden it in the fresh air at a temperature not lower than + 5–10 ° С.

Seedlings are planted on the site in late May - early June, when the soil warms up to + 15 ° C. Choose a place protected from the wind, illuminated most of the day. Planted at a distance of 30 cm from each other - for tall varieties, and 15 cm - for compact specimens.

At the end of May, seedlings are planted in the ground.

After planting, watering is carried out. Basil will quickly grow green mass.

This is a unique quote.

On a note. The ancient Romans considered basil a symbol of success: for prosperity and longevity, you need to use it as much as possible.

Basil grows quickly after planting in the ground

Growing basil seedlings requires attention, accuracy and patience. Only by creating the necessary conditions and carrying out preventive measures to protect against diseases, it is possible to grow strong, viable, healthy seedlings.

Basil is an annual plant, it is very warm and photophilous, since its homeland is the tropics. In our climatic zone, in open areas, it grows only in the summer season, but at home - all year round. Therefore, if you decide to plant basil in the garden, then you will have the opportunity to pamper yourself and loved ones with fresh vitamins, because this bush is a real “storehouse” of useful substances for the body. In addition, it has unique taste qualities, so the leaves are added to various dishes (soups, meat, fish, salads). Food with basil acquires a special appetizing flavor. How to grow basil in the garden? This is not at all difficult, but you should remember some planting rules and the features of caring for this crop.

Popular varieties of basil

• "Anise aroma" - such a name because of the bright anise flavor. It flaunts with its branched stems and spreading crown. It grows up to 50-60 centimeters.
• "Broad-leaved" - basil with large green leaves. Used fresh and dried
• 'Yerevan' has purple leaves and matures quickly. Twenty days later they are already eaten.
• "Lemon flavor" - thanks to its citrus aroma, it is widely used to flavor dishes, but the variety is rare.
• "Basilisk" - peppery-clove smell and taste. Early maturing. Grows up to 25 cm in height. "Philosopher" - purple foliage and clove aroma. Grows up to 30cm.
• "Troll" - small purple-green foliage. Grows up to 40 cm.

Preparation and sowing of basil seeds

Both the soil and the seeds need to be prepared. Self-prepared soil must be disinfected by heating in the oven for up to an hour, the soil purchased in specialized stores is being processed. Immediately before sowing, the soil is heated to room temperature and enriched with mineral fertilizers or humic concentrate.

In the prepared soil, grooves are made 0.5-1 cm deep with row spacing of 10 cm, prepared seeds are sown in them, the distance between the seeds should also be at least 7 cm. The grooves are sprinkled with earth, the soil is moistened and covered with a transparent film or glass to preserve moisture . The boxes need to be kept in a warm place, it usually takes 5-7 days for the seeds to germinate.

Care and harvest of basil

Approximately in the second week after planting the seeds, the first shoots begin to appear. At this time, the film can be gradually removed, and the temperature can be lowered to 20-22 degrees. Basil does not tolerate drafts - this must be taken into account when placing pots with seedlings on the balcony.

Basil is a very photophilous crop, and without sufficient heat and light, its cultivation at home is impossible. But how to grow basil on the windowsill if the windows of the house face north, and also in winter, when daylight hours are very short? In this case, you will need additional lighting with the help of special lamps or other lighting devices. Basil needs at least 15 hours of light daily to grow normally. If it is impossible to provide such conditions, it is better to sow the spice no earlier than February.

Further cultivation and care of basil at home consists in regular watering and loosening the soil. Young plants should be watered daily in the morning, in extreme heat, you can additionally water in the evening. Water for irrigation should be relatively warm (about 30 ° C). Loosening is carried out 1 time / 2 weeks. With the advent of lateral shoots, the plants must be fed with an organic complex mixture.

After a few weeks, the young plant will turn into a fragrant bush, from which you can harvest the first crop. For use in food, it is recommended to pluck the tops of young shoots. So the plant will branch better and will not be able to bloom - a blooming basil bush is unsuitable for consumption.

3 Alternative Ways to Grow Basil in Pots

1 All the same method, but with the germination of seeds in a temporary container and with subsequent picking into a permanent one

In our instructions, we talked about sowing seeds immediately into a permanent pot, which is convenient because the plant does not need to be replanted after the first shoots. But if for the first 1.5 months you don’t want to clutter up the window sill with a large pot, then you can first sow the seeds in a small container (for example, in cups of sour cream) and only after reaching a shoot growth of 5-7 cm, transplant them into a big pot.

2 Transplanting basil from open ground to a pot

If you are growing basil in the garden, then you can simply transplant the young plant into a pot. Such a basil will bring a crop faster, but will not last long, as it will bloom soon.

3 Growing basil from cuttings

Another way to accelerate and simplify the cultivation of basil is by planting cuttings. To do this, you need to cut off the tops or side shoots from an adult plant (you can even buy basil), germinate them in water for 1-2 weeks (changing it every day), and then plant them in a pot. Such seedlings will give the first harvest in 2-3 weeks, but will last only 3-4 months.

cleaning basil

When the greenness of the basil reaches 10-12 cm, it can be removed little by little. The leaves are tied into bunches and dried, then finely ground and used as a seasoning for a variety of dishes.