Trouble with my Basil growing indoors

Discussion in 'Herb Gardening' started by annstar, Mar 28, 2011.

  1. annstar

    annstar New Seed

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    i have some normal basil growing on my window sill. I live in a flat so don't have a garden and this was one of the few plants i can grow. I've found it was growing well for about 4 weeks but is now beginning to deteriorate. Any ideas as to why? it is watered and has sunlight as is by the window.




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  3. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Overwatering and too little sun are the first two things that come to mind. Is it an east or west window where it will get full sun? Cut back on the watering until the top inch or so of the soil is dry...and don't let the pot sit in standing water.

    Your post was buried at the end of another one so I moved it out on it's own to get more views and helpful answers for it.
     
  4. fish_4_all

    fish_4_all In Flower

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    Maybe I have been over watering it.
     
  5. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    basil

    I find basil very hard to grow. The plant is very susceptible to viruses. Does yours have brown streaks on the stem? if so it probably has already been infected with one. If not try not to overwater the plant, too much is worse than too little. You might want to check for aphids underneath the leaves also, they like to hide and suck the life right out of your plant. If you find any, spray them off with a strong spray of water or a dose of soapy water should do the trick. Good luck.
     
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  6. fish_4_all

    fish_4_all In Flower

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    Well the lemon basil died and the regular basil is not doing well at all. I think I might have made the soil too rich using mostly worm castings and coconut coir but who knows. Maybe there wasn't enough other stuff in it. time to restart with a more balanced medium and see if that does the trick.
     
  7. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Hiya Annstar,

    I think that Basil can be a difficult plant under the best of conditions. I have done a bit of reading about the plant and it seems to have a somewhat infamous reputation, in terms of difficulty.
    I have some that has just germinated on my windowsill.
    I have had varying degrees of success in the past and I have noticed that I should get it into the garden as soon as I can and if I just lift the basil out of it's cell and plant it just like that that it seems to do better.

    Now, last year I pricked out each basil plantlet one by one and replanted them in larger containers. Many perished, but the ones that did survive, went on to become strong plants that made it to the lottie. Once transplanted in the lottie again there was a percentage that just went limp and perished.

    The folks on here that have responded to your inquiry have good suggestions for you and perhaps one or moe of them will help you.

    The only thing that I can offer is that it seems that the Basil plants that have survived long enough to be harvested for the table were ones that were not allowed to have too much sun.
    I have no idea if that is normal or good...but it was my experience.

    There are an enormous amount of different types of basil to grow and apparently some are easier than others...and there is a variety of flavours as well. I hope that you will not give up on these and will keep trying to find a sort that works well for you.

    Good luck!
     
  8. daisybeans

    daisybeans Hardy Maple

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    Interesting.... In contrast to others' comments, I grow basil every year, various types, in a large planter outside and I find that it likes lots of sun and heat, wilts if it gets too dry, and you have to trim it back regularly to keep it from going to seed. For me, it's been consistently carefree.... Almost seems like luck of the draw here, huh?
     
  9. annstar

    annstar New Seed

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    Thanks for all your replies; the basil is still alive but starting to deteriorate now. I water it not too often - only when the leaves start to droop and the soil is dry. It is on a windowsill with sun, but not much air - maybe this is part of the problem? i think it may also be a bit big for it's post; i'll try to take a photo to show you soon
     
  10. carolyn

    carolyn Strong Ash

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    My basil has really had a slow start this year. Just doesn't seem to want to take off. Saturday when I was in the greenhouse working on other things, i saw my gerberas needed sprayed for mildew, so I got out my copper spray and sprayed the basil as i went through the house. Today I can't believe how nicely the basil has taken off since Saturday. Must have helped as it looks so much better. Maybe it would help anyone else get theirs to do better, also. The copper is not expensive and is considered organic if anyone is worried about that. I keep a 2 gal sprayer of the solution just for the garden and greenhouse.
     

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