Rejuvenating basil

[Pete from Boston]

We planted a lot of basil (way too much) close together this year, with the intent of thinning them once they got going. Well, fast-forward to today, and we never really got around to that thinning until this week, so the plants aren't doing as well as they should.

My question:

Is there anything in particular I could/should be doing for them to give them a boost now that their living conditions have improved? I feed the plants diluted fish fertilizer, water regularly, and they're in bright sun most of the day. Just wondering if there's anything basil likes with which I could help it realize its potential.

[OmManiPadmeOmelet]

Talk to them and play them classical music..... ;-) Seriously.

Also make sure the soil they were planted in is loose and well drained so the poor abused roots can take hold. Don't over-fertilize.

Expect about a 50% morbidity rate tho'.

Good luck!

[William L. Rose]

All I can tell you is what I see. I'm no expert. I've been growing basil for about twelve years and I seem to be the most successful when they are in pot with some shade. Not constant shade, but shade a couple of time a day (a half hour's to an hour's duration) Mine are now about two feet tall and about a foot and a half in diameter. I water them about once a day (until the pot runs) and fish emulsion a couple a time during the season. Good luck.

[sueb]

Did you thin them? If not, go ahead. The remaining plants should appreciate it, but it will take a while for them to branch out.

Basil plants don't last that long anyway. Once they start to flower, there's not much you can do.

Susan B.

[Claire Petersky]

So, you pinch 'em back when they start to flower, to keep 'em going. They can grow to be the size of small bushes under the right conditions.

[Penelope Periwinkle]

Heat, sunlight, and regular watering makes for happy basil. Don't over fertilize.

Go ahead and pinch the growing tip off even if it's not trying to flower, and the plants will branch more.

Penelope

[Penelope Periwinkle]

Penelope

[nilsandreas]

I can't wait until I get some flowering basil again. The flowers are ever so sweet tasting, and taste wonderful in a sanwich with cheeses like gruyere, masdammer, leerdammer and jarlsberg cheese.

[William L. Rose]

Amen sister. Besides all that "dammer" cheese, if you want the basil to stand-up to the garlic in your pesto, pick the floowers first and make up the difference with the leaves. Bella-bella. It would be a little awkward with bruschetta though, not impossible, just awkward. Pesto, green salad, and melon, followed by a cheese plate (if your cardiologist allows) make for a great meal (al fresco if possible), especially on a hot day . Chardonnay (or other dry white) with the pesto, red with the cheese (If the cheese is really funky(gruyere, limberger, a really good camenbert), make it a Pinot, he said parenthetically.). What ever you do, use the basil flowers. They are too pungent to toss.