How do I treat my Basil plant in order to keep it alive as long as possible?
Question:I have just bought (again) one of those little basil plants in a pot from the supermarket. Before I have tried to plant them in a larger pot and given them fertilizer, a good spot in the sun and plenty of water, but they have always died really quickly. What did I do wrong? I live in Greece by the way so it is very hot and sunny, maybe I need to keep it out of the sun?? Does anyone know how I should treat my little plant?
Answers:
encourage it to eat well / take regular exercise / laugh lots / get the most out of life
I stuck mine in a pot rather haphazardly and only ever give it water. It's been growing strong for months now...
It said on the stick thing in it that you only water it when the leaves are starting to wilt.
Yes, keep out of the sun, and place it in the shade and plenty of water. They dont ever seem to last forever. I think you need a new one every year. Also they are very easy to grow from seed.
by it a box of chocolates
Don't get the ones from the supermarket. Get proper ones from Gardening centres, they are a lot stronger and are a lot easier to raise into a larger plant. Supermarket ones are just grown to be eaten immediately, not cultivated.
i live in central america. i just put a tiny cutting of basil in a pretty big pot. it is in the full sun. it has been raining in the evenings. the basil has had more than plenty water...but is doing well.
usually it is over watering that kills plants. second would be over fertilizing. it is doubtful that yours receives to much sun.
transplant yours to a decent size pot. water really well. put it outside in a shady spot...and gradually bring it into the full sun. keep the soil moist, but not soggy. you may have to water daily, but more likely once a week will be fine. you can check to see if the plant needs water by picking the pot up and seeing if it is heavy (water is heavy) r light. you can also check by sticking your finger in the pot about an inch. if the soil is cool, then it is moist...and no need to water. after a couple of weeks you will have a good idea how often you will need to water your basil.
when your plant blooms, pinch off the blossoms to keep the basil putting out new growth. once it blooms and sets seed, it will stop producing.
hope this helps.
Boccaccio had a lot to say about this. Also check at John Keats' poem Isabella (The Pot of Basil).
Isabella has dung up the head of her murdered lover:
Then in a silken scarf,- sweet with the dews
Of precious flowers pluck'd in Araby,
And divine liquids come with odorous ooze
Through the cold serpent-pipe refreshfully,-
She wrapp'd it up; and for its tomb did choose
A garden-pot, wherein she laid it by,
And cover'd it with mould, and o'er it set
Sweet Basil, which her tears kept ever wet.
And so she ever fed it with thin tears,
Whence thick, and green, and beautiful it grew,
So that it smelt more balmy than its peers
Of Basil-tufts in Florence; for it drew
Nurture besides, and life, from human fears,
From the fast mouldering head there shut from view:
So that the jewel, safely casketed,
Came forth, and in perfumed leafits spread.
Think poetically and your basil will surely grow.
basil plants do not do well at all in a pot. plant it out side in a partial sun/shade area,and it will do wonders for you.and they do not like alot of water.water a couple times a week,but don;t soak it. i'm sure you will be happy with the results.they are not perennial,so protect them from the winter cold,or buy a new one in the spring.nursery's are a better place to buy them,because they haven't been handled alot,and won't be as susceptible to disease,as the ones in the stores
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