FiveStar said:
Mines already flowering, and there is practically no leaves, if I cut the flowers now, any chance they will resume giving me tasty basil leaves? Or do i depend on the wee little basil sprouts sitting right under it in the garden?
Growing basil inside?
- Thread starter LGHT
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Mines already flowering, and there is practically no leaves, if I cut the flowers now, any chance they will resume giving me tasty basil leaves? Or do i depend on the wee little basil sprouts sitting right under it in the garden?
I'd say you've still got a chance. If you top the flowers off, it will definitely go vegetative again and start making leaves. I ran into the problem of early flowering with all my basil starts this year. They were under 24 hour flourescents, and they started flowering when they were just a few inches tall. I think these guys must be very photoperiod dependant. Regardless, it's better to cut those flowers off. If they just branch and flower again, you've done all you can. The babies will be giants faster than you can imagine.
Pretty much as soon as this plant was put into the ground it began to flower, and I used up all the leaves from what it had, I never have had good luck with basil, maybe thats why! Never really did any research into it..
Thanks, fivestar, im gonna trim it tomorrow and collect some more babies, treat them with extrraaa love.
Thanks, fivestar, im gonna trim it tomorrow and collect some more babies, treat them with extrraaa love.
When it comes to basil, your favorite tool is a scissors. Every time a bud attempts to form, cut the stem it is on off. Yes, the new shoots will start to bud - cut the top off them. By the end of summer, you will have a huge bush and have lots and lots of leaves you can pick every other day or so.
Mike
Mike
Once you let it flower i'd say its too late. Even if you pinch it off and new growth starts the leaves won't be as flavorul.
I got one of these for Christmas as well, my herbs were growing faster in soil so i decided to soup it up a little. Small $6 air pump and $1.29 airstone and within days the root and vegetative growth increased drastically.
Skydiver said:Got some basil growing in my aerogarden atm. It may not be the best vehicle in the world for germinating pepper seeds, but I have a nice supply of basil, dill, chives, and oregano.
I got one of these for Christmas as well, my herbs were growing faster in soil so i decided to soup it up a little. Small $6 air pump and $1.29 airstone and within days the root and vegetative growth increased drastically.
I grow a lot of basil. It is best to trim the flowers, but my plants start to produce leaves again after the flowers are removed. I have one Thai basil plant that is more than two years old and it has flowered, gone to seed, etc... but still provides plenty of leaves for cooking.
Regarding indoor basil, I keep a plant alive under a single 26W CFL during the winter and it will produce enough leaves for some cooking every couple of weeks. More CFL or some HID light would be tons of basil, and probably overkill for me.
If it was me, I'd always prefer to grow it outside, even in the shade as opposed to running an HID, especially a 1000 watter.
Regarding indoor basil, I keep a plant alive under a single 26W CFL during the winter and it will produce enough leaves for some cooking every couple of weeks. More CFL or some HID light would be tons of basil, and probably overkill for me.
If it was me, I'd always prefer to grow it outside, even in the shade as opposed to running an HID, especially a 1000 watter.
I harvested just over 13 oz. of leaves - nothing but leaves, as I cut off everything below where the edible part starts this evening, putting me up to 20 oz since Thursday. But... I have not begun to get to all the plants, and that's not even including the eight I transplanted about three weeks ago. I really believe I will have more than 2.5 pounds of leaves I can harvest per week in a few weeks. I'm selling them for about $1 per ounce, a bit more than produce companies charge, but they include stems in their offerings.
Mike
Mike
Cool Wiz!
I don't get the weighing though. Is there some sort of competitiion?
I grab a leaf when I am out at the garden and just munch.
When we grill some chicken, I grab 10 or so leaves, julienne, and toss them on.
Not telling you what to do, I just don't get it!
I don't get the weighing though. Is there some sort of competitiion?
I grab a leaf when I am out at the garden and just munch.
When we grill some chicken, I grab 10 or so leaves, julienne, and toss them on.
Not telling you what to do, I just don't get it!
cheezydemon said:Cool Wiz!
I don't get the weighing though. Is there some sort of competitiion?
I grab a leaf when I am out at the garden and just munch.
When we grill some chicken, I grab 10 or so leaves, julienne, and toss them on.
Not telling you what to do, I just don't get it!
I think he may be selling them to local restaurants.
Duh! I should have guessed too.
Are all of your pepper exploits working too wiz?
Are all of your pepper exploits working too wiz?
Cheezy,
The peppers are the poor stepchild of the garden. They are doing OK, but nothing like the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes or the couple of cucumber plants I have. With the exception of the bananas, they are the only plants in the garden that are not blooming (potatoes and carrots excepted!) But they are nice and green, just short!
Mike
The peppers are the poor stepchild of the garden. They are doing OK, but nothing like the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes or the couple of cucumber plants I have. With the exception of the bananas, they are the only plants in the garden that are not blooming (potatoes and carrots excepted!) But they are nice and green, just short!
Mike
I've sold 2 pounds (32 ounces since it was 8, 12 and 12) of basil so far, and have close to another 12 ounces I need to get ready. They guy is paying $1/oz. for it but instead of cash, it is a credit toward food. He was paying $12/lb. from his commercial supplier, but it included some stems and buds which are useless for his purposes. The set-up seems to be working for both of us. I've paid for my seed, containers and potting mix several times over and the space in the garden isn't needed for anything else.
My concern is if I can keep growing the stuff another 3.5 months. It's trying to bolt now, even though I keep cutting the tops off.
Mike
My concern is if I can keep growing the stuff another 3.5 months. It's trying to bolt now, even though I keep cutting the tops off.
Mike