Growing Sweet Basil

Latest Update 7th April 2020.

Sweet Basil

• Sweet Basil is easy to grow as an annual and provides my tomatoes with protection against insect pests.  As a culinary herb I use it to flavour tomatoes, but I like it most in Pesto.
• Similar to most herbs it is very rich in minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre.
• Grown from Australian organic seeds its usually pest free in my garden.
• The leaves are at their tastiest harvested before the plants starts to flower.
• I store surplus basil in small bottles dried and ground to a course powder, but to preserve its flavour best, it can be pureed with water and frozen for later use in soups and casseroles.

Details.

• Variety:                                                        Sweet basil
• Family:                                                         Lamiaceae. (Mint).
• Garden bed type:                                           Garden Ecobed.
• Recommended soil pH:                                  5.5 - 6.5.
• Minimum sun per day:                                   3 hours.
• Weeks to harvest:                                         10-12 weeks.
• Plant size:                                                    Up to 600 x 600mm.
• Plant spacings (centres):                               500mm.
• Good companions:                                        Tomatoes, capsicum, apricots and parsley.
• Climate:                                                       Warm temperate.
• Geographic hemisphere:                                Southern. 

Nutrition

• This food is low in saturated fat, and very low in sodium and cholesterol. 
• It is a good source of protein, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), riboflavin and niacin, and a very good source of dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese
• More from nutrition data.self.com.

Growing Conditions.

• Basil needs full sun, although broad leaf varieties will tolerate semi shade.
• It is frost tender, but even in warmer climates it is usually grown as an annual.
• It prefers well-drained soil, and grows best if the soil is kept moist.

Soil Preparation.

• In September, remove organic litter and old mulch from the selected space in an Ecobed.  Add a 60mm layer of homemade compost and cover with 50mm of straw mulch.
• Leave the bed for 4 weeks to build up worm and microbial activity.

Growing Instructions.

• Sow basil seeds in August on the surface of an organic seed growing mix in a mini pot.
• Soak the mini pot for an hour in a tray containing 10mm of water (preferably rainwater).  The water will move up into the soil without flooding it.
• Sink the mini pot up to its rim in a propagator.  This will keep the soil moist until the seedlings are ready to transplant.  Protect the seedlings from frost. 
• After 4 weeks transplant the seedlings individually into organic potting mix in jiffy pots and returned them to the propagator.
• After a further 4 weeks clear some spaces in the mulch in the selected bed and plant the seedlings, still in their jiffy pots, 500mm apart .
• Cover the exposed soil with mulch once the sweet basil is established. 
• Apply a foliar spray of aerated compost tea every 4 weeks when the other edible plants are sprayed.

Harvesting and Storage 

• Sweet basil can be harvested from December till May.
• Handle basil carefully to avoid bruising and blackening the leaves. Harvest a few leaves at a time when the plants are big enough.  Take a few from each plant to stimulate new leaf growth without stripping any plant bare.
• Remove flowers unless you are seed saving.  The leaves lose their flavour as the plant diverts its energy and nutrients to developing flowers and seeds. 
• You can air-dry basil in small, loose bunches of leaves, but it retains its flavour best when frozen.
• To freeze basil, puree washed leaves in a blender or food processor, adding water as needed to make a thick pourable paste. 
• Pour the puree into ice-cube trays and freeze, then pop them out and store them in labelled freezer bags to use as needed in sauces, soups, and pesto. 
• Pesto  Pesto is a creamy mixture of basil puree, chopped garlic, grated cheese,roasted chopped pine nuts and olive oil.  Once made, it will keep for a long time in the refrigerator with a thin layer of olive oil on top.

Organic Pest Control.

• Slugs and snails.  
  

• Basil needs protection against slugs and snails, so use self adhesive copper tape around the base of the Ecobed to keep them out.

• Greenhouse Whitefly. 

• Aerated compost tea improves the plants resistance to whitefly damage.

• Exclusion netting is very effective against whitefly, but they are very small and will occasionally breach your defences, so you will need to check your crop regularly.  
• Control any infestations by spraying your crop thoroughly with organic horticultural oil (Eco-oil in Australia).
• Spray again in a few days to ensure second generation whitefly do not survive.

• Aphids (greenfly). 
• Use the same method described above for whitefly.
• General.
• Repeated foliar sprays of aerated compost tea should deter most airborne pests and diseases.
• Proper soil preparation and regular applications of home made compost should control soil borne pests.