Transplanting and growing basil at home
Basil is one of the spices that is successfully cultivated not only in the open field, but also at home. Knowing the rules for planting and growing a plant in a pot will help you achieve the desired result and get a rich harvest of spicy greens. In this article, we will tell you how to grow basil on a windowsill: how to plant with seeds, root cuttings, transplant adult bushes and what are the nuances of care.
The content of the article
How to grow basil at home
Basil grows well in loose, light and fertile soil with good moisture permeability, aeration and medium to neutral acidity (pH 6.5-7.2).
At home, you can use a ready-made substrate intended for seedlings, or prepare a soil mixture yourself by mixing one part of humus and two parts of peat or coconut fiber. Suitable for this and a mixture of garden soil and vermicompost, taken in a ratio of 1: 4.
Before use, the soil is disinfected: for 40-60 minutes it is calcined in an oven at a temperature of at least + 180 ° C, scalded with boiling water, poured with potassium permanganate or a solution of "Fitosporin".
The choice of capacity depends on the type of cultivation. If we are talking about sowing to a permanent place, use pots with a depth of at least 10-15 cm; for growing seedlings, special containers with cells are suitable.
Reference. The most suitable varieties of basil for transplanting and growing at home: Mint, Clove aroma, Baku, Spoon-like, Marquis, Dwarf, Troll, Lemon, Small-leaved, Puchkovoi, Yerevan.
Seat selection
Basil is a light-loving plant, so containers with it are placed in the most illuminated places, protected from drafts and cold winds. The best option is the sills of the southwestern or southeastern windows.
The minimum daylight hours should be 12, and ideally 14-16 hours. In autumn and winter, when there is not enough natural light, fluorescent or phytolamps are used, placing them 10-12 cm from the plantings.
The containers in which the basil grows are periodically unfurled in relation to the light source for uniform illumination of the bushes.
Indoor conditions
As a thermophilic plant, basil grows well at a temperature of + 22 ... + 25 ° C, the minimum temperature indicator is + 18 ... + 20 ° C.
The culture prefers high humidity, therefore, in the summer and in the autumn-winter period, during the heating season, the leaves of the plant are sprayed with water at room temperature twice a day. To combat the dryness of the air, pots with basil are placed in a container with damp pebbles or expanded clay and containers with water are placed nearby.
Important! Growing basil in unfavorable conditions leads to drying and curling of the leaves, loss of aroma and beneficial properties of the plant.
Basil planting methods
At home, basil is grown in three ways: from seeds, by rooting cuttings, or by transplanting an adult bush from open ground in a pot.
Transplant from the garden
To protect the plant from frost, at the beginning of autumn it is dug up from the garden and planted in a pot for further cultivation.
Transplant process:
- Prepare a container with a volume of 2-3 liters.
- A drainage layer about 3 cm thick from expanded clay or broken brick is poured onto the bottom.
- Pour soil on top, make a depression in it and pour settled water at room temperature into it.
- Water the bush selected in the garden to make the soil softer, and dig it out of the soil together with a lump of earth.
- Carefully, without damaging the root system, they transfer the bush to the pot.
- Fill the voids with earth and tamp it.
After transplanting, remove all damaged parts of the plant, water it and place it in a well-lit, warm room.
Growing from seeds at home
Germinating basil seeds is not a very simple matter, because they are covered with a hard and dense shell that slows down germination. Therefore, before sowing planting material is soaked for a day in warm (+ 35 ... + 40 ° C) water, then dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes and dried on a paper towel.
How to sow basil in a pot:
- Drainage is laid on the bottom of the prepared container, a layer of soil mixture is poured on top so that 3-4 cm remain to the edges, the surface is leveled and the ground is watered.
- Seeds are sown every 2-2.5 cm, deepening by 1 cm.
- The container is covered with plastic wrap and removed to a warm (+ 20 ... + 25 ° C) bright place.
- The film is periodically removed to ventilate landing.
- Before sprouting, watering is not carried out so as not to wash the seeds. Instead, the soil surface is sprayed with warm (+ 30 ° C) water.
Seedlings appear in 7-15 days. At this time, the shelter is removed, and the temperature in the room is reduced to + 17 ... + 20 ° C in order to prevent the sprouts from pulling out.
In case of thickening, the seedlings are gradually thinned out, alternately removing the weakest shoots until the distance between them reaches 7-10 cm.
When the height of the seedlings is 5-7 cm, about 2-4 cm of soil is poured into the container to strengthen the shoots.
Reference. Food maturity of plants occurs in 40-60 days.
In summer, plants are watered and sprayed every 1-2 days, in winter - twice a week. Fertilizers are applied monthly, the air temperature is maintained within + 20 ... + 25 ° C.
Growing from cuttings
Cutting is an easy way to ensure fast production of basil greens. To do this, cut off the top of the stem and lateral shoots from an adult bush with a sharp knife so that the length of the cutting is at least 5 cm.
For rooting, the planting material is placed in a container with water or wet soil. In the first case, the roots appear after 7-10 days, after which the cuttings are planted in loose soil; in the second - after 2-3 weeks. As the plants grow, they are transplanted into larger containers by transshipment.
Basil care in a pot
For basil to enjoy a rich harvest of juicy spicy leaves, it is important to provide it with proper care. In addition to long-term lighting, comfortable temperature and high humidity, the plant needs regular watering, fertilization, pruning and protection from diseases and pests.
Watering and feeding
Basil is a moisture-loving plant, insufficient watering leads to a loss of leaf turgor. In this case, excessive moisture causes the development of root rot.
Watering is carried out as needed, when the substrate dries out to a depth of 1-2 cm (on average, every 1-2 days), using settled or filtered water at room temperature.
After watering, about once every 2-3 days, the soil is loosened. This prevents the formation of dry crust on the surface and improves the access of moisture and oxygen to the roots.
Top dressing is applied once a month using universal complex fertilizers (Agricola, Agrolife, Energen, Rost). The introduction of liquid dressings is combined with watering, dry granules are scattered over wet ground.
Reference. The optimal time for fertilizing is after trimming the bushes.
Pinching and trimming
Without pruning and pinching, basil forms 1 straight stem and yields poor yield. It is important not to forget about the need for crown formation in order to stimulate the formation of side shoots.
When the plants form 6-8 true leaves and reach a height of 15-18 cm, pinching is carried out.Young shoots are also shortened when their length reaches 10-12 cm. When peduncles appear, they are immediately removed.
Prevention of diseases and pests
Despite good immunity to diseases and pests, basil can infect:
| Disease, pest | Signs | Treatment, prevention |
| Blackleg | The fungus affects the root collar. The stem and its base become soft and thin, turn black. The bush turns yellow and dies. | Affected plants are dug up together with an earthen clod and destroyed. The soil is watered with potassium permanganate or fungicidal preparations ("Fitosporin", "Tiovit", "Jet" or "Topaz"). |
| Fusarium | Dark, almost black spots appear on the leaves. Over time, the leaf plates turn completely black, dry and curl. | At an early stage of the disease and for prophylaxis, plants and the substrate are sprayed with a decoction of onion peels. In the later stages, all the affected parts of the basil are removed, the bush is treated with fungicides, such as Topaz, Trichovit or Gamair. |
| Gray rot | First, on the lower ones, and over time on all the leaves, dry spots of gray-brown color appear, which later begin to get wet and become covered with a gray down. | |
| Aphid | Leaves and bushes dry, shoots do not develop. Sugar discharge and dark bloom are noticeable on the surface of the plant. | Plants are treated with insecticidal preparations: "Karbofos", "Bankol", "Akarin" or "Aktellik". |
| Meadow, or field, bug | The leaf plates are deformed, covered with whitish spots, gradually acquire a brown color and die off. |
Conclusion
Growing basil at home - it's not difficult. The main thing is to choose a suitable container and soil, provide the plant with optimal temperature conditions, monitor the level of humidity and the length of daylight hours and regularly water it, preventing the soil from drying out. The indisputable advantage of cultivating basil on the windowsill is the ability to receive fresh herbs throughout the year.