A great plant to grow in your herb garden is basil. A beautiful species, ‘Dark Opal' basil lends both flavor and color to culinary creations. No other herb is so exuberant and bountiful as basil. When you would pick from your herb garden, a few fronds of parsley and dill, or a sprig of rosemary and thyme, you would pick an armload of basil. And it is a good thing because you will find this herb to be extremely useful!
Start growing basil, an annual indoors four to six weeks before you intend to set the plants out. Once the herb is planted, mulch around it only when the soil has thoroughly warmed up. It is best to wait until night temperatures are above 55°F. Though it tolerates a wide range of pH (4.5 to 6.5), basil does best in fertile soil. Although some gardeners insist that the flavor is better if basil isn't fertilized, and grows healthier if it's fed at planting time, and again during the season, perhaps after a heavy picking. Supplemental irrigation has the potential to double the yield.
Like most herbs, basil has few pests. Try using a barrier of copper flashing if slugs become a problem on new transplants. Spun bonded polyester row covers will easily ward off Japanese beetles.
Fusarium wilt of basil, a devastating disease, reached North America via infected seed in the 1990s. Symptoms include sudden wilting and leaf drop, accompanied by dark streaks on the stems, usually in weather above 80°F. If you notice these symptoms, take the necessary precautions so your whole garden doesn’t become infected. Quickly dig up the infected plant, along with all soil around the roots, and discard it. Avoid moving soil that was near the diseased plant onto your tools or tiller. Consider growing your basil in containers. There is a fusarium-resistant variety, called ‘Nufar’ that is an alternative to grow if severe problems develop. Practicing good garden sanitation helps control most disease and infection.
In cool, wet weather, or in winter greenhouse production, basil is susceptible to a few bacterial rots that show up on stems or leaf clusters. When planting basil, space out the plants so they can easily dry out after being watered, and plant in well-drained soil to avoid rot.
