Contents of the article:
Basil is one of the most beloved and popular spices that came to us from distant India. Despite the fact that the birthplace of the plant is a country with a warm climate, it can be grown in almost any region. In the southern areas, spice can be sown directly in open ground, whereas in the northern and middle lane to plant seedlings. Growing from seeds, as well as caring for a plant, is quite simple. Let us see how the basil is planted on seedlings at home.
Culture Description
Basil is known and loved by many for its spicy taste and bright aroma. It grows lush bush of medium size, sometimes reaching almost a meter height. Being a southern plant, loves heat and the sun, does not tolerate cold. A loose soil with good drainage properties is best for planting so that water does not stagnate. Optimally - chernozem and suspension.
Basil, grown in Russia, is an annual plant. Its root system does not lie deep, and the spice, along with the roots, is easily removed from the garden bed and transplanted into the pot. Planting basil for seedlings at home will not be difficult, even for a novice gardener.
Regardless of the type of basil, the time when planting basil on seedlings is the same: March.
Flowering occurs in August, at the place of white or pink small flowers, later appear small black fruits. The plant during flowering attracts insect pollinators, being a honey plant. Therefore, it is often still planted in order to attract them.
Planting seeds on seedlings
If you want to get strong plants, you need to know how to plant basil on seedlings correctly. It is necessary to sow seeds in the second half of March, two months before planting in the ground. By transplanting to the beds, the spice is ready 35-30 days after the shoots appeared.
Prepare containers for planting seeds, on the bottom of which you must put a layer of drainage material. The seeds themselves before sowing basil seedlings need to soak in water for at least three hours to remove the essential oil, which will not allow them to germinate. Buy ready-made or make yourself earthy mixture for planting basil. It should be loose and consist of:
- rotted compost( 2 parts);Peat
- ( 4 parts);
- washed sand( 1 piece).
Be sure to sift the resulting composition. After steaming it in a water bath to destroy the fungal spores and weed seeds that could be in the compost or humus. A mixture purchased in a store for seedlings can be shed with a solution of potassium permanganate or an antifungal agent, for example, Fitosporin.
How to plant basil on seedlings:
- put the earth mixture into prepared containers;
- seal it so that the centimeter remains to the edge;
- make small grooves and put seeds in them to a depth of no more than one centimeter;
- again slightly compacted soil on top and gently pour.
Seeds should not be on the ground surface.
After this, cover the containers with a film, plastic bag or glass and put them in a warm, illuminated place. This is necessary in order to create a greenhouse effect inside, which will allow shoots to appear faster. At this seeding basil seedlings completed, it now remains to wait for seedlings. 
Seedlings care and picking
Seedlings sprout after ten days at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. When basil has risen, the covering material must be removed. In order for the young shoots not to stretch, the cultivation of basil from seeds to seedlings occurs at a temperature of no more than 20 degrees. It is not allowed to overmoisten the soil, the water in the pan after watering should not stagnate. Otherwise, the defeat of a black leg, due to which all shoots may die, is likely.
Seeds After the basil has a pair of true leaves, you can swoop down. To do this, use the same mixture as when sowing, with the addition of two tablespoons of ash and a tablespoon of mineral fertilizer per 5 liters of soil. Fill the seedling containers with this compound, make indentations into which the seedlings are placed, carefully spreading the roots in the hole. Sprinkle with earth and compact.
Often the question arises whether basil can be buried during a pick. No, this is a mistake, after picking, the seedlings should remain at the same depth of planting as the seedlings.
The main care of the seedlings is regular watering with warm water. When the fifth leaf appears on the seedlings, it is pinched to prevent stretching and to provoke the growth of foliage. Next, seedlings are regularly watered with warm water until planting in open ground. Planted in the beds of basil can be in May. 
That's all the rules of planting basil on seedlings at home, following which you will receive strong, healthy seedlings of your favorite spices.
