Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Best Value in Basil Plants

Early in the season we typically grow basil by scattering a pinch of basil seed in the middle of a three inch pot and when they are two or three inches tall we transfer them to a five inch pot and bring them to market. For a couple of weeks we have these multiple plant pots and then we switch over to mostly single plants five inch pots that are 4-5inches tall. So what is the best value in basil plants?


First you need to understand that our goal is to not just sell starter plants, but to sell a jumbo sized herb that is ready to harvest when you get it home. So to do this before the plants are large enough you have to seed multiple plants, later when the plants are larger you don't need the help of multiple plants.

So now back to answering the question about the best value in basil plants...

The three inch pot with 10-15 basil plants that are under an inch tall is the best value if you are willing to spend 15 minutes to separate the plants into their own individual pots. This is the ideal size to separate the plants with minimum transplant shock. Leave the plants in their own pots for 7-10 days in a sunny sheltered  spot on the porch or deck. After this period of hardening off and reestablishment, the plants are ready to go into the garden and you will have a season long supply of basil.

You can get plants like this from us for several weeks in the spring, typically through Memorial day.

We plant several flats of basil weekly for plants to sell and we will plant about 500 plants in the field for fresh basil all summer long.

If you want to make pesto, stop by our market stall in July, August and September. We sell a gallon bag of basil for the same price as spinach!

No comments:

Post a Comment