• Everything other than hot peppers. Questions, discussion, and grow logs. Cannabis grow pics are only allowed when posted from a legal juridstiction.

Basil

dragonsfire

dragonsfire

Always loved basil, main ingredient in my salsas. As Ive mentioned, the Basil I grow inside under lights are stronger then what was outside. Thai is the one I like the most, nice strong flavor also have regular sweet and curly.
 
PB041982_ThaiBasil-1000_zpsn9drshng.jpg
 
thai basil is really cool looking but very clove flavored.  think ill go back to italian sweet, also seems more productive.  you want a really cool one, african blue basil is so cool and smells amazing almost better for desserts its so "spicy" i grow it just because the bees go ape shit over it.
 
 I love how easy it it is to grow .
 
For me I just stick in my dirt and let it do it's thing .
 
I have a 4 and half foot monster in my front flower  bed .
 
Throw it in every meal :) 
 
Basil is great, I have 4 varieties. I've noticed it is a great trap crop for caterpillars...they just love mine. I grew a very hardy Italian type this year--nothing better than chopped basil on pasta.
 
I think I had 5 varieties this year, the purple one did not do much, should try again inside since they do better, have to check my seeds. My Thai has a licorice after flavor. cant get enough :)
 
I'm an Italian sweet basil guy and make lots of pesto. Last year I had 6 plants. I also grew the small Greek basil but it was not worth the trouble for me. It grows round and about the size of a volley ball. Its more of an ornamental. I have one basil plant that grew larger than all of my pepper plants this year and its still producing. I'm going to take a few cuttings off of it and keep them inside until spring.
 
how does basil tolerate heat?
 
Im interested in doing some herbs(basil, rosemary, oregano, and maybe 2-3 others), but am concerned about the heat we get in Texas in the summer.
 
I grew Thai and Sweet basils for the last couple of years. Family didn't care for the Thai so I stopped that one. Gave up on the sweet this year because it was so hot they kept bolting. I could keep them going for a little while by snipping off the flower tops but it was a never ending battle. Might try again soon as the temps are finally stabilizing.
 
rjacobs said:
how does basil tolerate heat?
 
Im interested in doing some herbs(basil, rosemary, oregano, and maybe 2-3 others), but am concerned about the heat we get in Texas in the summer.
Click to expand...
They did good with a shade cloth.
 
I grew Red Freddy in a shallow pot in sun for 75% of the day. I had the plants crammed in there, maybe 14 in all. It got up to 117f in the shade so no telling how hot it was there in the sun, with the pot on concrete. Produced like a champ & still going, great strong basil taste. Bugs barely bothered it. I let some of it bolt to reseed itself.
 
Took a couple of pics of my Blooming Basil's, the Curly one is not blooming at it is sitting on the window sill. Taking a closer look at the sweet Basil flow I was shocked to see Aphids nestled inside, well I pulled the flower off fortunately.
Sweet Basil and Thai.
_B145249_SweetBasilFlower-1000_zpszou3vi4v.jpg

22992088956_9c9d87a8cf_b.jpg
 
Genovese.... For pesto and whatever.

Seven to eight cuttings. And, you can clip and clone vey easily by rooting the clipping in water. I try to clone it so as to never have to buy basil again but alas it doesn't quite work out. I get a few but can't keep up with usage. Let it flower and raise from seeds. Enjoy.
 
dragonsfire said:
Always loved basil, main ingredient in my salsas. As Ive mentioned, the Basil I grow inside under lights are stronger then what was outside. Thai is the one I like the most, nice strong flavor also have regular sweet and curly.
 
 
Click to expand...
 
Any problems growing it inside?  What lights do you use?  I was debating trying to grow some herbs in the off season (I live in CT) but was afraid it would be a waste.  I have an apollo 600 watt hps lamp. 
 
Nope, the lights work perfect for all the plants so far and its been 2 years. Got 2 of them, cheaper in us if you live their.
 
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B001UV6P9I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00


Very nice. What kind of light cycle do you use for them? Do you use those lights to start your peppers too?

I get nervous about running lamps indoors. My grow room is set up in the basement but I tend to be a bit of a worry wort when it comes to leaving them on... Something I need to get over : /
 
Don't put too much light on basil or it might get bitter. Same goes for drought.

Artificial light works like a charm though.
 
I have one clone from the mother plant last year and a few seeds I saved that I will be planting the end of January. I  picked up some nice purple sage yesterday that I'm looking forward to growing and a small Bay Laurel tree that I will keep in a container. I love fresh herbs from the garden. I'm going to try shallots this year too. I have garlic, chives and walla walla sweet onions already growing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top