How to properly grow basil outdoors?

The herb got its name from the Greek word which means "king". It has a bitter taste and a peppermint aroma. It is a popular condiment in Mediterranean cuisine. The famous Italian pesto sauce is prepared on the basis of basil. In France, its combination with tomatoes is a culinary canon. Further in this article, we will talk about the correct cultivation of this wonderful herb in the country or in the garden. We will find out how and when to plant seeds in open ground. How to dive, transplant or plant the first shoots.

Ancient history of purple and red basil

Basil has been used by people for over 5,000 years. Both in cooking and medicine. Basil tea soothes the nerves and tones the body. It is drunk to relieve colic in the stomach. It improves the functioning of the liver and gallbladder.

The homeland of grass is Africa. It appeared in Russia in the 18th century. Then, on its basis, popular tonics and cosmetic masks were made, which are still popular.

Basil in a pot close up

Description of the bush

Basil is an annual plant with oblong, short petiolate leaves. The stem reaches an average length of 60 cm. The root is branching, located close to the surface. The leaves, like the stem, are covered with hairs. The flowers are white, pale pink. Fruits are dark, similar to nuts, ripen in a group of 4 pieces and remain viable for 5 years.

How many varieties can you plant in the country?

There are many varieties of grass, more than a hundred. Sweet basil is the most popular of them. Basil with blue leaves grows in Africa, it is called camphor. In Mexico - cinnamon, and in southeast Asia - lemon. There is a species with purple leaves. Its aroma is weak compared to green, but for its rich color it is often used in decorating dishes.

Preparing seedlings at home in spring

Seeds are planted in seedlings at the end of March. They are not soaked for long before planting. Enough for two hours in warm water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. For seedlings, containers with a depth of 10 cm or more, pots or flower boxes are suitable. Drainage is laid out on the bottom, sprinkle it on top with soil mixture (proportions 4: 2: 1) from:

• peat
• humus
• sand

In the ground, grooves are made with a depth of 1 cm, in which the seeds are placed... Sprinkle with earth and irrigate from a spray bottle, and then cover with film or glass.

Containers with seeds are removed in a warm place. At this stage, it is important to properly care for the seedlings:

• once a day remove the film or glass and air it for a short time (15 minutes is enough)
• remove condensation from the inside
• easy to moisten the ground

Basil flower

The first shoots will sprout in a week. This is a sign that it is time to open the seedlings. When the first full-fledged leaf appears on the sprouts, they are seated at a distance of 5 cm from each other. When the fifth leaf appears, pinch the top of the sprouts. This will give the plant more foliage.

At the end of May, sprouts sprouted at home are planted in open ground. It is important that the plants have 5 formed leaves. Until they appear, the landing can be delayed.

Before planting, the seedlings are taken out of the room and left in the open air to harden. They start with 15 minutes and gradually increase the time spent outdoors up to several hours. Hardening begins a week before transplanting.

How to plant seeds or seedlings outdoors

Basil dies from low temperatures... Therefore, seedlings are planted in a permanent place when there is no morning frost. It is best to plant vegetable seeds in the spring in mid-May. You can choose any scheme for crops.

The soil for the grass needs fertile, air and moisture permeable. Fertilize the soil before planting. For 1 m2, 2 kg of humus, peat and compost are applied.

The sprouts are planted at a distance of 40 cm from each other, in holes 10 cm deep. Before planting, the pits are watered abundantly.

You cannot plant basil in the same place for two years in a row. This will lead to the appearance of brown spots on the leaves and the death of plantings. The reason for this is the disease fusarium. It is caused by fungi that live in the soil for a long time. The soil "rests" for 5 years between plantings of spicy grass.

Growing and caring for green shoots of basil in the garden

Keg Grown Basil

Basil needs to be watered with warm, settled water. Experienced gardeners start a large plastic barrel for this. During the day, the water in the barrel will heat up and settle. By the evening, it is suitable for watering.

It is important not to flood the sprouts with water. The soil should be slightly damp. With an excess of moisture, the plant will be struck by a black leg.

Grass grows well when fed with nitrogen fertilizers... The first feeding takes place two weeks after planting.

In order to increase the green mass of the sprouts, in addition to pinching the tops, flowers are cut on them.

The soil around the plants is loosened and weeded out. For the summer season, 6-7 times will be enough. After weeding and loosening, the sprouts are watered abundantly.

Collecting crops in the garden

Basil leaves are harvested before flowering. Then the concentration of essential oils and vitamins in them is peak. An unripe bud is a sign for collecting leaves.

The grass blooms until the first autumn days. Do not forget that this is a thermophilic plant. Before the onset of the first frost, it is transplanted into a greenhouse or house. The grass grows without problems in a pot for indoor flowers. She decorates the house and fills the rooms with a spicy scent.

Correct drying

After harvesting, the crop is dried:

• On open air... The leaves are washed, debris removed and laid out on a towel. When the water drains, they are placed on a baking sheet. A large crop is best tied in bunches and hung on a rope in a warm room without direct sunlight.
• In the oven. Put the washed and dried leaves on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400˚C. Drying will take 2 hours.
• In the microwave. Drying at full power will take 3 minutes.

Readiness is manually determined. Dried greens crumble easily in the hands. It is stored in dry glass jars or paper bags.

Basil plant care

Freezing whole leaves

They are washed and dipped in boiling water for 3 seconds. Then they are cooled in cold water. A little dried on a towel and laid out in bags in small portions. Then they put it in the freezer.

Quick freeze chopped leaves

They are washed, chopped finely and filled with water. The water is poured into molds and placed in the freezer. If you use olive oil instead of water, you get an excellent preparation for frying in a pan.

Basil seeds

Basil has long been known to man. It takes pride of place in the cuisine of many countries: Greece, France, Italy and Thailand. In Transcaucasia, it even got its own name - regan.

It contains vitamins:

• C (lowers blood cholesterol)
• B (good for the eyes riboflavin)
• PP (niacin for skin and stomach health)

Due to the presence of mercury compounds in basil, it is dangerous to consume it in large quantities. In pregnancy, diabetes and heart disease, the herb can be harmful to your health. Everything is good in moderation, including the use of basil.

Growing red basil on site is easy. The plant is unpretentious and requires little care and attention. You can sow it almost half of May. A plant does not always need a pick. In addition, the plant sprouts quickly and grows quickly. Harvesting and harvesting is easy. It doesn't take much time and effort to diversify the table and pamper yourself with the "king" among the herbs.

Basil - planting and care in the open field

Basil (lat.Ocimum) is a herb brought from India, it is referred to as laminae (lat.Lamiaceae) cultures. Depending on the variety, it is an annual or perennial herbaceous shrub. The plant is very useful for the human body; it is used as a spice and flavor additive in dried and fresh form.

Basil: varieties, photo

Basil has more than 70 varieties and hundreds of varieties, differing in the size of the bush and the shape of the leaves, color and aroma.

Basil - planting and caring for your site

Sweet basil (lat.Ocimum basilcum)

Bushes grow up to 0.7 m. The plant is abundantly covered with foliage, which is used for food, has a delicate peppery aroma. The stem is covered with fine fluff. The varieties preferred by Russian gardeners: Mammoth, Magical Michael, Ararat.

Sweet basil repels pests

Basil purple or Regan (lat.Ocimum basilicum var.purpureum)

The maximum plant height is 0.5 m. The entire surface of the basil is bright purple in color with iridescent shades, has a very mild aroma. The varieties most famous in the Moscow region are: Purple, Mavritansky, Zastolny.

Purple basil leaves are tastier and softer than green

Lemon basil (lat.Ocimum basilicum var.citriodorum)

Low-growing basil, up to 0.35 m. The leaves have a subtle scent of lemon and camphor. Proven varieties: Novinka, Lemon, Moscow Bogatyr.

Lemon basil is especially prized for its citrus scent

Black basil

Bushes are undersized up to 0.3 m. Leaves are painted in a dark saturated color, and have a pronounced burning aroma. Varieties: Ruby Cairo, Baku, Osmin.

Black basil tastes like hot garlic How to choose basil seeds

Growing a spice in a summer cottage for your own consumption, there is no need for a large number of seeds, but they must be of high quality. It is not recommended to harvest the planting material yourself. Since the crop is thermophilic, seeds harvested in cold regions will not germinate well. It is recommended to purchase seeds of Indian origin, since India is the birthplace of culture and is best suited for climatic conditions.

Basil seeds are recommended to be ordered from India Basil - planting and care in the open field

Basil prefers warm conditions, and does not tolerate cold weather. The full growing season of the plant is 160 days, so if you want to eat spicy herbs as early as possible, you will have to grow seedlings.

Basil: growing in seedlings

Growing basil by seedling method begins in mid-April. You can sow seeds - both in seedling boxes and in heated greenhouses.

Growing basil seedlings

Growing basil outdoors consists of the following procedures:

• the grains must be warmed up to 40 degrees Celsius;
• soak in a growth stimulator for 7-8 hours;
• dry the seeds slightly, and place in prepared soil, to a depth of 1 cm;
• cover with foil, moisturize regularly, but do not overfill.

The approximate period of "black earth", before the emergence of seed shoots - is from 7 to 10 days. Ready seedlings for planting in open soil should be one month old.

Basil: grown from seed outdoors

If the seedless method is used, the seeds are sown in the soil after May 15, when they will no longer be afraid of night frosts. The bed must be covered with foil or agrofibre until the plants reach 2 weeks of age.

The culture loves open and sunny, but sheltered from the cold winds, and light fertile soil. Sowing basil twice in a row in one place is not recommended. The culture grows well after: potatoes, tomatoes, legumes, cucumbers.

Basil: growing and nursing outdoors

The good development of basil is facilitated by regular weeding of plantings from weeds. It is necessary to aerate the surface of the soil, loosen it up, and also water it as it dries. Do not forget to feed the plants with nitrogen fertilizers once a month. The first feeding should be done 2 weeks after transplanting. This is how you care for basil outdoors.

Basil - outdoor planting

Protecting basil from disease and parasites

In order for basil to grow and develop well, planting and caring for it should include the following methods of preventive protection against diseases and parasitic insects:

• compliance with crop rotation;
• disinfection of planting material with potassium permanganate;
• moderate watering;
• dusting plantings with ash once a week;
• removal of diseased plants along with an earthen clod.

Basil collection time

When assembling greens, it should be borne in mind that in different periods of the growing season, it contains different amounts of essential oils. It is recommended to harvest the first basil before flowering in July, and the second in September. The tops of the shoots are carefully pinched off together with the leaves, without damaging or pulling out the entire plant.

Collecting basil leaves pinch the tops of the shoots Grow basil on the windowsill

You can grow basil at home with little effort. To do this, you will need a container with a depth of at least 30 cm. Seeds are sown at the end of March in boxes or pots. It is better to choose undersized varieties.

How to grow basil at home:

• drainage must be placed on the bottom of the container;
• you can use garden soil, or purchase soil marked "for vegetables and herbs";
• before sowing, the seeds are soaked in growth stimulants;
• the soil for sowing must be warm;
• young plantings must be covered with a film;
• the optimum air temperature for this culture is plus 25-28 degrees Celsius.

Growing basil at home on a windowsill

When 4-5 pairs of leaves are formed on a young sprout, it will be possible to pinch the top - this will limit the growth of the plant in height, and will stimulate active branching. Homemade basil care is similar: regular watering, loosening and feeding.

Outcome

Although basil is a thermophilic crop, it is grown without much effort by gardeners even in the northern regions of Russia.With proper care and adherence to preventive measures, you can easily grow fragrant and very useful greens in your own area, or at home.

If you ask residents of the northern regions what spices they sow on their plots, then most often you will hear standard answers: dill, parsley, anise, cumin. Few people know that growing basil outdoors from seeds is not difficult at all, and its taste is simply excellent.

Mystical prejudices are partly to blame for this: in the Middle Ages, Europeans considered this herb to be a cursed plant, the smell of which has a bad effect on humans. Someone is afraid that a southern visitor in a cold area will need difficult care. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine Italian or French cuisine without such a spice. Russian chefs also appreciated the taste and aroma of basil, it is added to many dishes.

Why do you need basil on the site?

There are different types of basil, when buying seeds, pay attention to their characteristics:

• Fragrant basil has a tart taste and aroma reminiscent of cloves.
• Violet basil is a favorite spice of the peoples of the Caucasus, where it is called "regan", herbs are used for cooking, and ready-made meals are sprinkled with seeds. Large juicy leaves, colored purple, have a delicate taste.
• Lemon basil is so named for the aroma and flavor of lemon. A very productive species, if provided with good care, can give up to 250 g of leaves from a bush.

Basil is not only tasty, but also healthy. During the growing season, many vitamins, microelements, essential oils accumulate in the leaves. It has a beneficial effect on the nervous and excretory system, has an anti-inflammatory effect. The bush itself looks very attractive, it can be planted in a flower bed as an ornamental plant.

Advice! Be careful when adding basil to your meals. An excessive amount of leaves can completely drown out the taste of other foods.

The aroma of basil drives away pests from fruit trees. You can plant the spice in near-stem circles without the need for chemical insecticides. In the resting corners surrounded by fragrant bushes, you can calmly read and take a nap: neither flies nor mosquitoes will disturb your peace. Grow spice from seeds in pots on a windowsill: you will get both an air flavor in the apartment and a natural insecticide.

Growing basil seedlings

To get spicy leaves on your table as early as possible, grow basil from seeds through seedlings. Take equal amounts of garden soil, peat and humus, spill the mixture with a fertilizer solution:

• water - 5 l,
• superphosphate - 0.5 tsp,
• potassium chloride - 0.5 tsp,
• urea - 0.5 tsp,
• potassium sulfate - 0.5 tsp.

Fill the boxes with soil, sow the seeds and plant them 1 cm deep.

Cover the containers with glass or plastic and put them in a warm place. The best temperature for seed germination is from + 25⁰ to + 28⁰. Seedlings will appear in a week, but mold and mildew may develop earlier, so ventilate your plantings every day. When you see green shoots, open the box and move it to a place about 8⁰ cooler: in extreme heat, the seedlings stretch out. There will be enough food for the seedlings until the pick, the main care for them is proper watering. In dry soil, seedlings will die, and in too wet soil they can get sick with a black leg. As soon as you notice suspicious signs in at least one plant, remove it, and treat all seedlings with a composition of 1 liter of water and 0.5 teaspoon of copper sulfate.

When 2 true leaves appear, the seedlings need to be dived into individual pots. Be careful not to damage the delicate roots, it is better to plant the shoots with a small clod of earth. Seedling care is the same as for seedlings: the main attention should be paid to watering. Monitor the condition of the soil in the garden: planting basil in the open field is possible when the ground warms up to + 15⁰.Take the seedlings outdoors a week before transplanting. The temperature during "walks" should be at least + 10⁰.

If you did not manage to grow seedlings from seeds in spring, in June you can plant basil seeds in open ground. To speed up germination, coat the grooves with a growth promoter. Cover the bed with a film or non-woven material, you can remove the shelter only after the emergence of shoots. In the northern regions, where frosts occur in August, it is undesirable to plant this way, you may not wait for the harvest.

Planting basil in the garden

For a spicy plantation, you need to choose a sunny place on fertile soil. The plant does not like waterlogged soil; drainage must be done in low-lying areas. If you plant a plant in wet heavy clay, you will not wait for many fragrant leaves, the bush will be stunted and will soon die, no care will help it. Do you have a wonderful place where, for the past several years, basil has yielded bountiful harvests both through seedlings and seeds? We'll have to look for another site: the land may be infected with fusarium, which will destroy new plantings. For at least 5 years, you need to plant crops there that are resistant to this disease, then you can return the spice to its old place.

Each region has its own terms for planting basil seedlings in open ground. This is a thermophilic plant, you need to navigate by the weather when the threat of frost passes. It is better to take your time and plant young shoots in early June: care will become much easier, there will be no need to cover the seedlings from frost, and you will have time to harvest the crop. Just in case, provide for the ability to quickly protect the plantings from the cold.

Remember the love of a spicy plant for light fertile soils and add 2 kg of compost, peat and black soil for each m2 for planting. It is advisable to plant young plants in the evening. You can do this in the morning if you are sure that the day will be cloudy, or cover the seedlings from direct sunlight. Place containers with water in an open, sunny place in advance so that the irrigation liquid is warm.

On the garden bed, mark rows at a distance of 30 cm from each other and dig holes after 15-20 cm, the depth of the holes should be from 7 to 10 cm.If you plant too often, the plants will become crowded, and care will be difficult. Place a few hydrogel granules under each bush to keep the soil moisture stable. Plant the seedlings and water the soil well. Cover the row spacing with a layer of peat, compost or sawdust 5 cm thick.

Caring for a thermophilic plant

Caring for basil outdoors does not require any new skills. Remember that the plant loves moisture, but cannot live in swampy soil. If you made good drainage before planting or put a hydrogel into the ground, you can not be afraid to overflow water when watering. Monitor the condition of the soil: as soon as it starts to dry out, you need to moisten the garden bed. Use lukewarm water: the sudden temperature drop causes a lot of stress on the plants.

For plants to thrive, they need all the nutrients and trace elements. Thick greens appear when there is enough nitrogen in the soil, use complex fertilizers with a predominance of this component. Make the first feeding 2 weeks after transplanting. Carry out further care according to the scheme: feeding once a month all season - and you will constantly have fresh juicy leaves on the table.

The plant needs a good soil structure, so if you have not mulched the bed, you will need to use the ripper quite often. Cover the soil with compost, grass cuttings or sawdust at least 5 cm thick, and the soil will be loose, and the weeds will not break through. It makes no sense to sprinkle a bed with a thin layer of mulch, the weeds will be able to break into the light. If you have little material, it is better to close half of the garden well than to somehow all plantings. You will still make your work easier: caring for a properly treated area will become quite simple.

Advice! Never mulch the seedbed as the seedlings do not have enough light to grow. Wait until the seedlings reach a height of 7-8 cm and then fill up the aisles.

The more the basil branches, the more green it will give. When buds appear, cut them off, and all the forces of the plant will go to the formation of new shoots and young leaves. You can pick off greens for making salads all season, but the spice plant reaches the peak of taste and aroma when the first buds appear, then you can start preparing. When harvesting, be careful not to pull the leaves with a violent jerk.

You can pull the whole bush out of the ground, and he could give you a lot of greenery. Gently break off or cut off the young ends of the leafy shoots. You need to dry the spice in a warm, ventilated place where the sun's rays do not fall. Collecting seeds for planting next year should be done from the strongest and most productive plants.

Advice! In the fall, dig up a basil bush and plant in a flower pot. The plant grows beautifully on the windowsill, and you will be eating fresh herbs all winter.

Conclusion

Southern basil can be grown from seeds in almost all regions of our country, except for the Far North. In open ground, it can exist when the soil warms up to + 15⁰, and on the coldest nights the temperature does not drop below + 7⁰. To quickly feast on fragrant leaves, grow a spicy culture through seedlings. Do not overdo it with watering young seedlings so that they do not get sick with a black leg.

When feeding, it is very important that nitrogen is present in the fertilizers. From it the leaves become thicker and fleshy. Only strong, healthy, productive specimens are suitable for collecting seeds. Purple varieties in taste are not inferior to green ones, and can be used as decorative crops for decorating a flower garden. Learn to use the spice correctly in cooking, and your table will become more tasty and healthy.

Fresh and dried herbs are the best seasonings for delicious and healthy dishes: salads, soups, fish, pasta and meat.

For example, basil adored by all culinary experts, the cultivation of which is possible not only in the garden bed, but also on the windowsill. We will learn how to grow this fragrant spice, rich in essential oils and other beneficial substances, in different conditions.

Basil: growing from seed on a windowsill

Do you want to get vitamin spicy greens all year round? Then we get down to growing basil at home. This unpretentious plant grows well in flower pots if the necessary conditions are created for it.

What you need to grow in a basil apartment

To get a home source of healthy greens, stock up on the following things:

• Seeds of the best varieties suitable for home cultivation.
• Universal primer.
• Drainage.
• Plastic containers or pots with holes in the bottoms.
• With a water spray to spray the plants later, and a watering can.

If you want to grow basil in a pot, growing it is possible only from the seeds of varieties related to undersized ornamental varieties.

Which varieties are suitable for growing

• "Dwarf"... Forms a mini-bush no more than 20 cm high with small foliage collected in a ball. Green or purple leaves have a pronounced spicy-pungent taste.
• "Marquis"... A small bush (in the form of a ball) of medium early ripening with small tasty leaves.
• "Violet"... A plant with beautiful large purple-violet leaves. The leaves with the most delicate taste will decorate and enrich any salad or other dish.
• "Citric"... A rare plant that forms a small bush of pale green leaves that exude a pronounced lemon scent.
• "Yerevan". Low bush with spicy blue-violet leaves. The leaves emanate aromas of tea and pepper.
• "Clove". A beautiful bush in the form of a ball of green foliage.The leaves have a laurel-clove aroma and a tart taste.

First of all, plants of the varieties "Dwarf", "Clove" and "Lemon" are ready for cutting.

How to grow basil at home

Growing a basil house: soil preparation

If you will be growing basil in universal soil, there is no need to prepare it for planting. The main thing is to ensure good drainage by placing it on the bottom of the container (pot).

If you use garden soil, we make it more fertile and loose. To do this, we mix humus, soil and peat in equal proportions: such a soil will allow air to pass through well, and will become an excellent medium for growing basil in room conditions.

As for drainage, they will serve as medium-sized pebbles or expanded clay. The thickness of the drainage layer should be 4-5 cm.

Basil: planting and care at home

Basil on the windowsill: growing from seed

Having prepared containers or pots with drainage and soil, we start planting seeds.

Basil seeds, like other spicy plants, are clothed in a thick shell saturated with oils: it prevents them from quickly germinating. Therefore, before planting, you need to keep the achenes warm for one and a half to two weeks so that they warm up, and the essential oils evaporate. And a day before planting, fill the seeds with warm water to soften the shell.

We embed the prepared seeds into the soil by 1 cm, throwing several achenes into the hole at once: then we will remove the extra sprouts.

If you are sowing achenes in long containers, keep a row spacing of 5 cm.

Basil: home care

Let's find out what conditions are necessary for indoor basil to build up green mass:

• Warmly... To get friendly shoots, after planting the seeds, cover the containers with foil and put them on a warm windowsill without drafts. The temperature under the shelter should be kept within 23-25 ​​° C. To prevent the soil from growing moldy, we remove the film for 10 minutes every day.

When shoots appear (about 2 weeks), gradually remove the film and lower the temperature regime to 21-22 ° С.

Basil: home care

• Lighting... We provide good lighting to the basil: if there is a shortage of it, the seedlings will become stunted, they will not be able to grow a good deciduous mass. If there is not enough light due to the fact that you have northern windows or it is winter outside, we use phytolamps or other devices.

Important: for normal development, we provide plants with at least 15 hours of continuous lighting.

• Care... It consists in regular loosening and watering. Water the young basil with warm water every morning, and if it's too hot and the soil has time to dry out in the evening, water it in the evening. We loosen the soil every 2 weeks. As soon as lateral branches appear on the stems, we feed the plants with a complex of organic fertilizers.

As soon as the seedlings turn into fragrant bushes, you can pick off the top of the young shoots to add to various dishes. After that, the bush will branch out even better and will not bloom. Blossoming should not be allowed because the leaves will become so bitter that it will be impossible to eat them.

Now you know how to grow basil at home. Let's find out how it is grown in the garden.

Basil: growing and nursing outdoors

If you want to grow basil on your own, planting and caring in the open field may seem daunting at first glance. It can be easily grown by seedlings or directly from seeds.

How to grow basil seedlings

First, let's decide on the varieties: which of them are better suited for cultivation in a vegetable garden or garden. If you need a seasoning with a strong smell and a lot of vitamins, buy purple seeds. If you prefer a delicate aroma and taste, it is better to opt for green basil.

The best varieties for open ground

• "Table". Tall variety with large green leaves with a mild taste, pronounced odor and juiciness.
• "Clove"... Compact variety with fine green foliage, clove scent and characteristic flavor.
• "Cinnamon"... A plant with purple leaves with a pleasant cinnamon smell and taste.
• "Caramel"... Compact bushes with leaves that smell of caramel. An excellent plant for preparing salads and desserts.
• "Anisic"... Sprawling variety with bubbly green leaves with aniseed smell and taste.
• "Philosopher"... A purple plant that forms a small bush of leaves with a clove scent and a pungent taste.
• "Citric"... A variety that forms a low bush with pale green foliage. The leaves are good not only in cooking, but also in medicine: they cure colds and headaches.

Now we will find out when and how to grow seedlings for subsequent transplantation into the beds.

Basil: growing and nursing outdoors

Basil: grown from seed in seedlings

When to grow basil seedlings? It is better to sow seeds in boxes 45 days before planting in the garden - around the end of February or the beginning of March. Since at this time the daylight hours are lengthening, the seedlings will not have to be illuminated with phytolamps.

Whether it's green basil or purple basil, seedlings can be grown in the following ways:

1. The classic way... We lay drainage on the bottom of the box and fill in universal or prepared soil (a mixture of equal shares of peat, earth and humus). We spill the soil with lukewarm water and make centimeter indentations. We sow achenes, cover with foil and put the box on a warm light windowsill.

When shoots appear, remove the film, and then regularly water the seedlings and keep the temperature at least 22 ° C. After the seedlings have several leaves, we plant them in the garden.

2. Using hydroponics... In this case, instead of soil, we fill the boxes with expanded clay, yellow peat, household mineral wool mixed with a complex of minerals.

Seedlings in hydroponics need to be watered frequently as they dry out quickly. After 20 days, we plant the seedlings in the garden.

3. Seedlings in a snail... A way that saves a lot of space and retains moisture for a long time. We make a snail like this: we take a foam pad and lay a layer of soil on it, on top - basil seeds with a distance of 5 cm between them. We turn everything into a roll.

The soil in the snail dries out for a long time, so frequent watering is not needed. When the seedlings sprout and get stronger, we transplant them into the garden bed.

We plant the seedlings in a sunny place, in loose, mineral-rich soil, but not the one where it grew last year. If you break these rules, plants will grow slowly and often get sick. And one more thing: disembarkation is carried out only after the end of the night frosts.

How to plant seedlings in the garden

• We prepare the bed by adding a mixture of peat and humus (compost) at the rate of 2 kg of the mixture per square meter of land.
• We make rows, keeping a distance of 30 cm between them.
• We plant the seedlings so that the distance between the seedlings is 20 cm.
• We water the bed with settled water.

Taking care of basil outdoors after planting seedlings

Seedlings need regular loosening, watering and fertilization. We water the seedlings every day with warm water so that they take root well. Then we water them only as the soil dries up, avoiding drying out. Waterlogging is also unacceptable - plants can rot.

Taking care of basil outdoors after planting seedlings

Once every two weeks we loosen the soil in the aisles and around the basil seedlings. We remove weeds and water the ridges after weeding.

We fertilize the plants on the 12th day after planting: we breed 2 tbsp. tablespoons of nitrophoska in 12 liters of water and apply fertilizer at the rate of 3 liters per square meter.

Growing basil outdoors with seeds

If you don't want to mess with seedlings, we will learn how to grow basil outdoors using a seed method. Basil, planting and caring for which is very simple, is sown at different times depending on the climatic zone.

If you live in the southern part of the country, we sow seeds in mid to late April, if in the middle - in mid or late May, when the soil warms up enough.

To speed up the germination of seeds, 2 weeks before sowing, we heat them in a hot place with a temperature of about 30 ° C to eliminate essential oils. A day before sowing, we soak them in almost hot water.

We sow seeds in the garden in the same way as in the seedling method, burying them in the ground no more than a centimeter. After the emergence of seedlings, we regularly water them, loosen the aisles, weed and feed.

When the plants grow up to 20 cm, we cut off the tops so that more green mass grows.

The care of basil also includes the timely elimination of damaged and dried shoots and prevention of flowering: if it blooms, it will lose its taste. To prevent this from happening, we break off the tops of the shoots with leaves, leaving 4 leaves on the branch. From this, the bush will branch out and overgrow with greenery even better.

Basil: growing and nursing in a greenhouse

Basil is most often grown in vegetable gardens, orchards and at home. But it's much better to grow a basil plant in a greenhouse, and here's why.

Benefits of growing basil in a greenhouse

• It grows faster and gains green mass.
• It is not attacked by pests.
• It is protected from temperature extremes.
• If the greenhouse is heated, growing basil in winter becomes commonplace: it will supply you with vitamins all year round.
• If you plant other greens next to it, eggplants, tomatoes and other crops, the basil plant, which can be grown in different ways, will not resist such a neighborhood.

The greenhouse method has another plus: it grows so many leaves that there is nowhere to put them. So, the surplus can be sold!

Basil: growing and nursing in a greenhouse

What varieties of basil can be grown in a greenhouse

Most often, lovers of spicy greens cultivate the following varieties in greenhouse conditions:

• Cinnamon basil (Mexican)... A compact variety in the form of pretty bushes of light green foliage that smells and tastes of cinnamon.
• Basil camphor... A beautiful bush with bright green leaves with a clove scent and a tart taste.
• Lemon basil... A well-branching plant with lush greenery of large, pale green leaves that exude a pleasant lemon scent.
• Basil purple... It is appreciated in Indian and Caucasian cuisine as a seasoning for sauces and meat dishes. The sweetish taste of the leaves allows you to add them even to desserts.

We decide on the varieties and find out what a greenhouse should be for growing basil.

Basil: growing conditions in the greenhouse

If you intend to grow basil only during the warmer months, a regular greenhouse or greenhouse will do. If you want to get vitamin greens all year round, you will need a heated greenhouse.

What should be a winter greenhouse

• Ventilated... From time to time, the greenhouse needs to be ventilated, so it should be with vents. And so that the icy air does not pass inside, it is necessary to equip the entrance with a small vestibule.
• Warm... If possible, you can make a home greenhouse when one of the walls is the wall of the house. Leaving the house, the heat penetrates into the greenhouse, which allows you to save on heating it. The winter greenhouse can be made of polycarbonate or glass. With the onset of cold weather, it is heated using a stove, air heater or electric boiler.

To maintain the required temperature in the greenhouse, we spread roofing material around its perimeter, and on the ridges - biological insulation in the form of a mixture of straw and rotted manure. This mixture should be covered with polyethylene for several days, and then distributed over the beds and a thick layer of soil should be poured over it.

How to grow basil in winter

Basil will not grow well in dense, heavy soils with a poor composition - it needs loose, fertile soil.First, we remove the top layer of soil and replace it with a mixture of sand, peat and garden soil.

Before sowing seeds, add rotted manure to the beds in a ratio of 4 kg per square meter.

A couple of weeks after sowing, we fertilize the soil by dissolving urea or chicken droppings in water.

How to grow basil seeds in a greenhouse

To get an early harvest, it is better to grow basil from seeds using the seedling method:

1. We fill boxes or containers with light universal soil.
2. We spill the soil with warm water.
3. Scatter basil seeds on the surface without deepening them. You can slightly sprinkle them with earth.
4. We cover the box with foil and wait for the shoots. As soon as they appear, we remove the film.
5. When 2 leaves appear on the seedlings, we dive them.
6. Leave the distance between the seedlings 5 ​​cm, remove the excess seedlings.

After 30-45 days, we plant the seedlings in greenhouse beds. It is advisable to do this in early spring, planting achenes in winter to get an early harvest. We plant the seedlings in shallow rows so that a distance of 15 cm is observed between the seedlings.

Greenhouse basil: care

To get a rich harvest of basil greens, we provide it with proper care.

• Warm environment... The plant develops better at a temperature of 22-28 degrees. If it is a warm season in the yard, we often ventilate the greenhouse so that there is no waterlogging, but do not forget that basil does not like drafts.
• Basil: watering... Every week we spill the ridges abundantly with cool water from wide-sprayed watering cans.
• Cut... In order for the plants to branch better and become overgrown with foliage, we make the first cut as soon as they grow to 20 cm. Cut the branches so that a stump with a couple of leaves remains.
• Basil: dressing... After cutting, water the ridges abundantly and apply fertilizer. Feeding basil is possible with an aqueous solution of urea or chicken droppings.

Thanks to this care and cultivation method, you will be provided with healthy and nutritious greens all year round: in just one season you can get 2-7 kg of product per square meter!

Now you know how easy basil is to care for, the cultivation of which is up to even the most inexperienced gardener. Start with basil, and gradually you will learn how to grow any greens!