Basil is an annual plant with an average height of up to 50 cm. Its aerial part contains essential oil, which has a pleasant taste and aroma. Basil leaves contain the highest amount of oil (up to 1%).
Basil is a beautiful plant, an excellent healer and spice, and we will talk about the secrets of its cultivation in this article.
Growing Basil
Depending on the variety of basil, its leaves can be dark green, bright green, and even green-purple. The leaves of different varieties of basil differ from each other not only in color, but also in shape: in one they are flat, in the second they have an elegant carved edge, and in others they are generally corrugated. The leaves can be small or large, wide or small, but it is because of their wonderful aroma that basil is grown.
Basil begins to bloom in late July, early August. By this time, a large amount of essential oil accumulates in its leaves, thanks to which they become even more fragrant. This is exactly the most favorable period for harvesting basil.
Many gardeners think that growing basil is worth it only because of its fragrant leaves, but this is not at all the case - there is another reason. When basil blooms, its small, white flowers will attract a large number of pollinating insects to your garden, and the wonderful aroma repels many insect pests.
Planting basil
Like most herbs, basil loves open sunny areas with fertile water and breathable soil - this is where it should be planted. On heavy and constantly wet soils, the culture develops extremely poorly, gets sick, and eventually dies.
When choosing a site where you plan to plant basil, keep in mind that it cannot be grown for several years in one place, this can lead to a massive disease. Basil can be returned to its original place of cultivation no earlier than after 5 years.
Basil reacts quite sensitively to a decrease in temperature, practically does not tolerate frosts, in connection with this, its seedlings can be planted in open ground no earlier than June.
For fertilizer under the culture, 2 kg of compost, pus or peat are applied per square meter.
Seedlings are planted in the soil at a distance of 30 cm between beds, a distance of 15-20 cm is set between plants. It is recommended to plant seedlings on a cloudy day and after planting, be sure to water abundantly.
Basil Care
The main thing when caring for this marvelous plant is its timely watering and fertilizer. It is necessary to water the basil as the soil dries up, and it should be fertilized once a month, using nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate the growth of the green mass of the crop.
The first dressing of basil is done 12 days after planting the seedlings in the ground. To fertilize the soil, take 12 liters of water, dissolve 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska in it, the approximate consumption of the resulting solution is 3-4 liters per 1 m².
Important: Basil is very thermophilic, so young immature plants should be covered with foil or agrofibre for the first 2 weeks after planting.
If during the daytime the air temperature is above +20 °C, then the film can be removed.
Following this article, you were able to make sure that growing basil is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, and there are much more advantages in growing it.
Adam Walk