Grow Basil at Home
It is just very easy and simple to grow Basil at home. As long as your environment has enough sunlight and the level of temperature is good, you can grow your favorite herb at home. The Basil herb is one of the most popular herbs because of its tasty and fragrant leaves. When raw, you can add it to salads and sandwiches. Basil can also be used in cooking your favorite pasta sauce and other cooked dishes.
If you are going to grow Basil herb using pots, you must ensure that your pot bases have pretty good drainage and if needed, you could place coarse grave underneath it. However, if you are going to grow basil at your garden outside, make sure that the compost or soil where you will plant it is moisten. If not, you must first water it profusely before sowing to successfully grow basil.
Keep in mind that your Basil must not be exposed to the spring last frost so if you are planning to grow them outside, plant them in the late March for much better growth of Basil. But, if you are going to grow basil inside your home, you can plant them anytime you want just be sure that you will place your potted Basil herbs where there is sufficient sunlight and good temperature level.
When sowing the seeds of the Basil outside your garden, be sure to sow them thinly. And if you are going to grow basil in pots, be sure that only few Basil seeds are sowed in each pot. After sowing, cover them with soil (about 1/2 centimeter) and firm them gently. The germination of the Basil seeds can only take a week so once your Basil seedlings have developed at least two pairs of leaves, you can then start thinning the weakest seedlings in each of your pot.
Every day, for about 6-8 hours, the Basil should be able to receive a good amount of sunlight so it is better if you can plant them outside or inside a sunny windowsill or containers. However, if you are going to plant them in your garden, place them in the area where the cold winds cannot reach your plants. Basil herbs also grow well in a well cultivated and fertile soil where the air circulation is good.
If you are going to grow Basil in pots or containers, make sure that once a month you will be adding a small amount of fertilizer to make them healthier. You should also water them once a week. However, when watering, avoid showering the stems and leaves of basil and if there will be any flower that will come out, pinched them out immediately. As a result, your Basil herbs’ flavor can be well preserved and the leaves, which we commonly use will grow bigger and healthier.
Once your Basil grow, you can now harvest the top most leaves you are about to use and just keep the leftover leaves frozen for later use. Remember that the leaves can be used dried or fresh.
Tim is an experienced herb gardener and loves to grow herbs. To learn more about grow basil [http://www.herbgardeningplace.com/grow-basil] as well as other great herb gardening, planting, growing and using techniques check out his dedicated herb growing and care website [http://www.herbgardeningplace.com/]
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