Growing Instructions: Basil

Growing Instructions

1 Feb

Written By Emma Webb

Organic Basil

A divine aromatic infusion: Sweet Basil makes for a perfect accompaniment for a host of cocktails.

Best sown indoors: Preferably on a south facing sunny windowsill. All year round.

Best sown/ planted outdoors: Once risk of frosts has passed.

Instructions

Soak two of the coir pellets in a bowl of water for approximately 5 minutes until they have expanded.
Remove the coir pellets from the water and then gently squeeze them to remove the excess water.
Crumble the coir pellets into your pot and gently press down until there is a 1 cm gap from the top of your pot.
Now your pot is ready for the seeds to be sown. Carefully scatter some seeds into your pot covered with 0.5 cm of soil.
Write the name of your plant on the wooden label stick and place it in the pot and place it on a sunny window and keep moist.
Your Sweet Basil plant may be kept on a sunny windowsill or moved outside. Once your plant reaches approximately 10 cm tall, if you wish to plant it outside it may be ready to begin the hardening off process-depending on the climate outside (see top tips). If you wish to continue growing your plant indoors, we recommend moving it to a larger pot once it has its 2nd set of leaves.
If your plant will continue the growing process outside-dig a hole that is slightly larger than the width of the pot. Carefully place the potted plant into the soil, using your hands to tuck the plant into its new bed, pressing down gently but firmly on the soil surrounding your plant. If you have more than 1 basil plant, they prefer to be planted 30-45 cm apart, and kept in a spot that receives full sun where it kept warm and in well-drained soil. In addition, Sweet Basil needs fertilizer to thrive. soil that is moist.

Top Tips:

Sweet Basil plants prefer to have their leaves removed by hand. Pinching gently at the base of the leaf to remove. Sweet Basil requires a great deal of sunlight optimum of 10 hours of light/sunlight or artificial. Water your Sweet Basil plant in the morning as it dislikes wet roots overnight.