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Basil growing extremely slow...am I just being impatient?

zara.modelzara.model Posts: 21
in Fruit & veg
I started some basil seeds 1 month ago and they still only have their codelytons and don't seem to be budging past that, it's like they're stuck!  I have them growing in a large kitchen window sill. For some reason I thought basil grew fairly quickly, or is my impatience deceiving me? 
Thanks very much 🙂

Posts

  • war garden 572war garden 572 Posts: 664
    yes your impatient and the temperature might be to low. 
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    What soil do you have them in?  I know people have had some trouble with several brands this year.  Maybe prick out a few into a mix of your own garden soil plus bagged compost?  See if they make some more progress.  In the meantime, if you just want some basil for cooking - buy up a pot of ready grown from the grocery store and divide that between several pots (too many plants in one tiny pot otherwise), and give each bunch a prune off the top (for your pasta) so they start to bush out more.  
    Utah, USA.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I suspect that decreasing daylight hours may be a factor. 

    To have basil to use in the winter I would try to keep established spring-sown  plants going, rather than start them off in the autumn. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Every year I sow a few basil seeds every few weeks during spring and summer and grow them in my greenhouse. Some in pots, but most I plant in the greenhouse border.
    Those sown between March and July grow quickly into big plants.
    Most recently I sowed some about a month ago and whilst they grew well initially, their growth has now stalled and they're not looking very healthy. I suspect they will slowly die now. The plants still growing in the g/house border are much healthier, but they will also stop growing soon.
    As said above it's linked to decreasing hours of daylight and temperatures.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • diggersjodiggersjo Posts: 172

    I’ve never found growing from seeds worth it for us, so I buy a living plant from the supermarket. Rather than split it (which I must try) I cut off 10cm+ from the top of one or two of the main stems, strip them down like cuttings and pop them in a glass or jar of water to root. The stripped leaves are used for the cooking/eating… Once the cuttings roots are long enough I plant them in a pot and leave them on the windowsill this time of year. The cutting themselves provide more cuttings in spring and summer months – we use a lot of basil.


    Yorkshire, ex Italy and North East coast. Growing too old for it!
  • zara.modelzara.model Posts: 21
    diggersjo said:

    I’ve never found growing from seeds worth it for us, so I buy a living plant from the supermarket. Rather than split it (which I must try) I cut off 10cm+ from the top of one or two of the main stems, strip them down like cuttings and pop them in a glass or jar of water to root. The stripped leaves are used for the cooking/eating… Once the cuttings roots are long enough I plant them in a pot and leave them on the windowsill this time of year. The cutting themselves provide more cuttings in spring and summer months – we use a lot of basil.


    Thanks, that's a really good idea! I bought a plant yesterday and took some cuttings, so fingers crossed they root! It's just weird, I've grown basil from seed in the past and it's done really well, but it was probably in the summer! Yet the seed packet says you can grow it all year round indoors! 🤔 I guess I maybe need a grow light at this time of year for seeds. Thanks again 🙂
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    In theory yes, you could grow it all year round, but only if you have the right conditions for it to thrive. Sowing beyond summer won't really be viable unless you have enough heat, and then light later on  :)

    I don't sow any beyond July/early August because it simply isn't suitable for it here, even indoors. My indoor temps are mostly around 16 or 17 degrees just now, which is mild for the time of year, unless there's some sun in the morning. Even then, it's only the kitchen that gets a bit warmer because of the aspect. 
    Easier to grow plenty through the main season and freeze it, or buy a couple of plants as said, split them and grow them on. They aren't single plants anyway that you buy, as basil doesn't suit being pricked out as individual seedlings. Always better split into clumps for growing on. I wouldn't have thought buying and using grow lights would be worth it.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



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