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The basil occupies an honorable place amongst spicy plants, because its rich smell can not be compared with anything. Sprigs of spicy grass - an indispensable addition to salads and other dishes. Many gardeners use basil also as a decorative flower bed decoration. Compact low bushes with a variety of shapes and colors of the leaves look good as a curb. In addition, during blooming, the smell of small white flowers flies with insects that are pollinators for the garden, but pests from it, on the contrary, run up.
To grow such useful on all sides of the grass is not very troublesome business. Basil is a one-year-old plant, and multiplies perfectly by the seed method. Depending on when you need to get the first harvest of fragrant leaves, you can plant basil with seeds:
- on seedlings;
- in the open ground.
Growing of sprouts of basil
To sow seeds for seedlings should be started in the first days of April. To seed quickly sprouted, they must be previously soaked for 3 hours. In pots or low containers to lay drainage and fill mixed in equal parts with soil from:
- peat;
- humus;
- garden lands.
Before sowing seeds, moisten the substrate with a solution consisting of potassium sulfate, superphosphate, urea and potassium chloride. For 5 liters of water you need to take on, h. l. of each drug.
Form shallow grooves and lay out the seeds in them, observing the spacing of the rows of about 4 cm. To create a moist microclimate, the pots should be covered with a film and placed in a warm place with a temperature of at least 25 degrees Celsius. Until the seeds get through, the film should be periodically lifted for ventilation, and when the seedlings are ascending (after 5-7 days), the shelter is completely removed.
Pikirovku in individual cups can be done when forming at the bush on 1-2 present leaflets, and when they grow no less than five - pinch the tops for bushiness.
Since the basil is very thermophilic, planting seedlings in the open ground should be carried out at the very end of May. To lush bushes lacking space for development, leave the distance between them to 40 cm.
Sowing seeds in open ground
If the task is not to get an early harvest, in early June, you can sow the seeds immediately on the garden. The essential oils that enter the seeds inhibit their germination, therefore it is recommended that the wells be siped with a growth stimulant (for example, 1 ampoule of Zircon for 5 liters of water) to accelerate the germination. The very seedbed after sowing is covered with a film and not removed, until shoots appear.
Care of planting basil
Spicy grass very much loves not only heat, but also water and fertilizing. It is necessary to regularly water the basil, while ensuring that moisture does not stagnate in the beds, otherwise the roots of the plant can be rotten.
With regard to fertilizer, once a month it is necessary to carry out nitrogen supplementation of the basil to stimulate the active build-up of green mass. If collection of seeds is not planned, peduncles should be removed. So on the bush, young and tasty side shoots will form and they can be removed several times during the season.
