Long Island Gardening Community Resource

My basil plants were less than fantastic this year. They just did not perform as usual (it may have to do with the fact that I have relocated this year and are just working in the soil here).

But I was able to learn a couple of things from my basil troubles. I started a second set of Basil plants (lettuce leaf and genovese) in potting soil and left outside in partial shade. When they had their first true leaves, (in the end of August) I transplanted them into different locations. It seemed kind of late to plant basil, but I figured Ill plant 8 plants and Im bound to get some kind of harvest from them. I spaced them out all over the yard in various locations. The ones that did the best had a layer of mulch on them. One had grass clippings and the other had bark mulch and was planted in a pot with a rosemary plant. The ones that did not do so well were planted without any mulch and in full sun. I think the big reason they did not do as well as the others was the lack of consistent water. (so they wilted fast).

What I learned:

1. Give your Basil plants a nice mulch and some friendly neighbors to help keep moisture near the roots.

2. You can start a late summer crop of Basil for a very flavorful fall Basil without worrying about it going to seed so quickly (good late season weather helps too - like we had this year). Right now its mid october, and I have thriving Basil plants that are yet to go to seed.

Side Note: When your basil starts showing signs of going to seed, pinch the tops off to continue the plants concentration of energy into the leaves. You will need to keep up with this every day to every other day. Once the plant needs to go to seed, there’s no stopping it, so keep pinching and keep getting beatiful green shoots.