Your comments and tips

05 Sep 22, Vin (South Africa - Dry summer sub-tropical climate)

Try get hold of Asian basil. It's easy to grow from seed and the bees love it!

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25 Sep 19, Niko (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate)

Good day Johan A great and easy to maintain alternative is lavender. It is easy to grow require very little water and the bees just love it

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15 Mar 12, Anonymus (USA - Zone 10a climate)

I have had no problem seeding basil indoors. They come up easily. My plants grow fine. But after I pinch of all the god leaves, it produces a little more then stoppes producing altgether. What did I do wrong? Everone says to just keep pinching to help encourage new growth. That doesn't work for me. The plant just dies before producing god regrwth.

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30 Mar 14, Steve Lohn (USA - Zone 9b climate)

The only reason you should pinch basil is if it starts to get leggy. Let it grow and take the top leaves for your recipes. I plant lots of it and let it go to seed. The seeds restart themselves in the same pot.

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20 Aug 12, (USA - Zone 9b climate)

Don't pinch or cut the leaves off. Instead use scissors to cut the *stem* just below the pair of leaves you intend to harvest. Then, in the kitchen, pick the leaves off the stem while washing them.

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20 Aug 12, (USA - Zone 9b climate)

I had the same problem at first. Most instructions aren't very clear on the details. The trick is to wait until there are 3-5 sets of true leaves on the seedling. Then, only cut off the top pair of leaves. Also don't pinch or trim until it is transplanted or in its final pot for growing. For the second "pinch," wait until the suckers (like on tomatoes) have 2-3 new sets of leaves, at least. Always use scissors or shears, btw. A good rule of thumb is to never remove more than 1/3 of a plant's leaves at a time, if you want it to keep growing. Once I figured out how to trim my basil plants, they went nuts within a couple of months. Now I have more basil than I can handle!

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17 Feb 12, Dion (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

When Basil is producing leaves on mass, I make up a big batch of simple pesto - normally using just basil, roasted almonds, lemon juice, and olive oil (plus maybe garlic, chilli, or cheese). It keeps very well in the freezer in take away containers, and it means I can bust out a Spaghetti Pesto in about 10 minutes. I would advise strongly against drying basil as it really tastes terrible - as does dried parsley and coriander. These herbs are really meant to be eaten fresh.

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29 Jan 12, Kate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

My Basil isnt growing at all this year

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13 Apr 14, JD Ferry (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Morning sun, good drainage, warm soil temps.

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26 Jan 15, Anthony (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Mine neither, although the basil I have transplanted has done well, but from seeds .. it has done no good.

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