Basil - fantastic grass! It is very easy to grow and pleases in almost all climates!
You can use basil in your favorite recipes, as a side dish or even as a year-round decoration in your garden or kitchen!
Here are some good reasons for growing basil at home:
o Vasily - one of the best culinary herbs! You can make your own delicious pesto, Thai green curry, add a little to the chicken salad, and of course, tomatoes and basil are just made for each other!
o Basil has a pleasant, strong smell - this will give your kitchen a sweet, delicate smell of fresh herbs or give your garden a pleasant aroma.
o Basil helps repel fruit flies and other pests - because he has a strong smell, he mixes up the mistakes that your plants are trying to find.
o He looks great! Some varieties, such as opal basil, have beautiful, dark purple flowers, while others have tightly curved balls or sharper shapes.
o Basil has many traditional medicines if you are interested in such a thing.
So, you decided to grow your own basil - now, so that it all starts ...
Do not forget to choose a beautiful sunny place, basil is not very similar to the cold! Then you can either buy a packet of seeds, or, if you want, buy a tray with seedlings. Third, use cuttings from a friend or a plant that you encounter. Basil seeds are tiny and can take several weeks to germinate, so if you are going to grow your basil from seeds, make sure that the weeds do not grow before the basilis! For cuttings, just take care of the tip from any plant at any time of the year, cut off all the leaves, leaving the smallest on top and plant in a pot. Be sure to keep it moist and in a shady, shady area - it should root quite quickly. Once it starts growing again, you can transfer it to the garden if you want.
As you might expect, basil becomes best on very fertile soil - the more food, the more leaves. Unlike many plants, where overfeeding leads to poor plants, undernourished basil is less fragrant than a plant with a good feed additive. Give your basil frequent doses of fertilizer, such as kitchen waste or liquid manure during the growing season, to support leaf production. The more often you choose, the more often you have to feed! As you already know, most culinary herbs are best suited when you treat them harshly. They lose their taste if you constantly feed and treat them. Not so for basil. You just can not feed basil too much! It will pretty much use everything you can throw at him, and then some! Here are some ideas for feeding basil: kitchen waste, good quality compost, tea bags, chicken coop, fish fertilizer, mulch and rich leaves, whatever. Basil usually tastes best if you feed it well. If you want your basil to grow beautifully and produce a lot of leaves, continue to feed it!
Having said that, basil has a very strong root system, so do not worry if your soil is not very fertile. If you decide to grow your basil in the garden, then the roots will go and find what the plant needs. Therefore, even if the soil is not the best, you can still grow lots of basil. He also copes with a small amount of water and may even perform well in partial shade. However, it will be much better and have a much stronger flavor if you can grow it in the sun.
Although you can grow basil anywhere, he likes warm weather, lots of sunshine, lots of food, as mentioned, and lots of water. Also make sure he has plenty of room for his roots. The only thing basil cannot survive is frost, so if you live in colder climates, for example, you should consider growing it indoors or as an annual growth. While strong, established plants can process cool periods, basil production usually requires warmer weather. Use your opinion about when to plant, for example, if you live in a tropical zone, you can grow it all year round.
Of course, you can germinate and grow basil seeds indoors, but be careful - the lack of sunshine in winter means that they probably will not turn into large healthy plants. It is best to collect them very early and germinate more.
Sweet basil: best grown from seed as an annual
Bush Basil / Perennials (all other varieties): easiest to grow from cuttings
As for the harvest, the most important thing to remember is often to choose your own basil! If you do not do this, they can go to an early seed and be a little leggy plant. Also, be sure to pick up flower heads to stop flowering. This is done so that the basil plants do not use all their energy to produce seeds, and not tasty leaves!
This is especially true if you have only a few basilica - it is recommended to avoid blooming as long as possible. As soon as a basil plant goes to a flower and puts all its energy into flowers and seeds, it dies.
As soon as a mature plant begins to look a little weak, which ultimately will be, just pull it up and plant it in its place. Thus, there should always be fresh, fragrant basil when you need it!
If you have a garden and you want to grow a new piece of basil somewhere, whether for pest control reasons or simply to enjoy the smell and appearance, then cut some dry flower thorns from the old plant, wipe them and crunch between your hands and throw them on the ground where you want basil to grow. Very simple.
If you want more information about growing your own herb garden, I recommend great free resources at http://www.homeherbggards.info.
Good luck!
