I Have a Serious Problem Growing Basil
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Guest
Posted: May-12-2008 at 10:51pm It seems that all the basil I grow, inside and out, store bought seedlings, or from seed dies.
They grow great, vigorous and then wilt and rot.
I'd say overwatering but I've been very careful with the last two seedling trays I purchased and the dirt is nearly dry, yet the plants aren't wilting, they are rotting and dying...
Any thoughts?
Fern
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: May-13-2008 at 7:24am Basil is a challenge to grow around here, keep in mind that it's native to India, where there is strong sun and the temperatures don't fall much below 70 degrees, and you can see you don't have the same conditions. I tell people to wait till June to plant it outside. It is prone to many diseases. As with most diseases, the key is to get the growing conditions right, so it you're starting them indoors in our low light area that means a south facing window or grow lights and a fan for air circulation. Boytrytis is the most common disease, at least outside, probably because of our cool temperatures. They also get Damping Off disease and Fusarium Wilt that could be your problem. The back spot disease of the leaves would be something that happens later. I usually don't bother to start my own plants, I look for 4" pots of basil with many plants in it, no earlier than late May, and carefully separate them and grow them in a raised planter box.
Instead of just copying all the advice on good disease management of basil, I'm adding a link to the good information as a PDF that Johnny's Selected Seeds has on it.
Jonny's Selected Seeds
Fern
Guest
Posted: May-13-2008 at 10:38am Thanks Fern.
This year I have them both growing from seeds and store bought. Both are in fairly shallow pots full of organic potting soil, vermicompost and regular compost. The seeds still look ok but haven't really grown beyond the second set of leaves for the past couple weeks. The store bought stuff grew great for a week and then stalled out and now are rotting/wilting. Judging from my experience last year, the seeds will do this soon too.
Basil is my favorite herb and I am stubborn so I keep trying to grow it.
Appreciate the link and the info!
DebbieTT
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posted: May-13-2008 at 11:20am
Are they outside or indoors? Outside it's been too darn cold for them. Indoors the seedlings may be dying from damping off.
Usually caused from poor air circulation helping the fungus grow. Try using a sterile medium to start your seeds. Once they get a good start then transplant them up into regular potting soil.
Guest
May-13-2008 at 6:32pm They're indoors. Definitely not a sterile medium... I'll have to try another batch next time I see some basil at the store.
Thanks!
DebbieTT
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posted: May-13-2008 at 6:42pm
It's getting warm enough during the day now, so when you buy your basil plants don't keep them indoors. Basil needs a lot of sun. Take them to a full sun position and if there is going to be a cold night bring them under a deck cover for the night and place them back out in full sun in the morning.
gary
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: May-16-2008 at 4:35am Chris Smith has some great timing advice in his Kitsap Sun column today on our warm weather crops for our region including basil.
"It's All About Timing With Tomatoes"
I agree with his mid-June, at least, transplanting date for basil. For too many years, I have seen them suffer along side tomatoes on plastic mulch while the tomatoes were growing.
Gary
AmyPNW
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jun-05-2008 at 3:15pm
I always put some basil inside the hoops with my early tomatoes and it does great. The bulk of my basil crop (direct seeded) comes later in the summer for the pesto and multitudes of summer recipes.
Amy
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton