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rod707

Basil & Dill Help

rod707
13 years ago

I'm about to plant this year's basil & dill and have a few questions after my crops of each the past 2 years had a few problems, which I want to avoid this year.

Basil -- when I plant my seedlings, they start out a deep green, but after a while, the leaves turn light green and stay that way. I haven't fed them in the past (didn't think herbs needed feeding). They keep producing, but the leaves usually look a bit on the thin side and they never get that deep rich green.

Dill -- 3 years ago, I planted dill in a terra cotta pot and it did just fine. The following year, I replanted in the same pot and all was good for about a week, then the plant started to yellow and a week later it had shriveled and died. Last year, the same thing happened with two different plantings. The pot is located adjacent to the lawn and gets plenty of water from the daily overspray when the sprinklers go off. I'm wondering if that's giving them too much water (though they did fine there 3 years ago). This year, I plan to put seeds in the pot, but I'm going to move it about 3-4 feet away and just water it periodically with the hose.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (2)

  • opal52
    13 years ago

    Basil needs feeding. Especially if you are growing it in containers. When I plant the seedlings, I add slow release fertilizer (I use Osmocote), and in addition I water with diluted water soluble fertilizer every couple of weeks. Others may have different experiences with fertilizers but I can say it works for me because I have big crops of deep green basil every year.

    I saw an episode on growing herbs on Victory Garden several years ago, where they pointed out it was a common misconception that herbs do not need to be fertilized.

    You could try an experiment and feed your basil in one pot and not the other. The difference should show up pretty quickly.

  • rod707
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Opal52 -- thanks for the suggestion. I thought about feeding it last year, but didn't, as I thought it wasn't necessary. So this year, I'll take your suggestion and fertilize my basil. Thanks again!