How to Plant Fresh Basil

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a lovely herb with a variety of potential uses in and around the home. You can add it to kitchen gardens, use it as a border plant, put it in containers, mingle it into hanging baskets or grow it in raised beds. The herb comes in three basic colors - bright green, dark green and purple, and bears white or purple flowers. Planting fresh basil means you'll have aromatic leaves for spicing up recipes, adding to potpourri or using as a garnish. It's a hardy herb that's fairly easy to grow.

Potting soil
Hoe
Compost
Basil seedlings

Instructions

- 1
  Wait to sow fresh basil plants until the threat of the last frost is over. In temperate zones, late March is usually a good time. Before putting seedlings into the ground, clear the ground of any weeds or other roots. Make sure the garden or pot for the basil gets at least 6 hours of sun daily and has wind protection for the best growth.
- 2
  Check the garden soil to make sure it has adequate drainage. Turning the soil with a hoe helps. Compost the soil before planting the basil.
- 3
  Place the young basil plant into the soil up to the spot where the first leaves appeared. Keep the plants between 9-inches and 12-inches apart.
- 4
  Pinch back any flowers that appear on the basil plants as they grow. This prevents the plant from going to seed. Once more leaves start appearing, you can harvest at will, so long as you leave the newest vegetation on the plant stem. If you want to enjoy fresh basil during colder months, move the plant indoors to a sunny window. This extends the plant's growing season for many months and sometimes until the following spring.

How to Pick and Store Fresh Basil

How to Grow Basil in Florida

Growing Basil