Characteristics
| Plant information | |
|---|---|
| year-round | |
| Heavy feeder | |
| Ocimum basilicum | |
| 30-40 cm | |
| annual | |
| Green | |
| For seasoning salads, sauces and tomato dishes | |
Planting instructions on the envelope
Emily thrives best in very sunny and warm locations. She loves sheltered spots without wind and heavy rain, as she suffers from waterlogging just as much as from dryness. Harvesting of the leaves should only be done at the shoot tips so that Emily maintains her bushy appearance and always looks good on your balconies or in the garden.
Detailed planting instructions: Basil "Genoveser Emily"
The classic "Emily" basil is ideal for novice urban gardeners, as you can enjoy your first harvest just eight weeks after sowing. But since basil, also known as the king of herbs, is a child of the south, you have to keep a few things in mind when growing it in this country. Don't be discouraged if your last supermarket basil pot looked like it had been run over by a bus after less than a week. These plants are often raised quickly and carelessly and are exposed to harsh conditions on their way to your windowsill. You will do better.
Prepare your planting pot as described in our instructions, i.e., half nutrient-rich potting soil and half nutrient-poor seedling soil. Make sure that your substrate is loose enough so that waterlogging cannot form. When in doubt, it is better to mix in a little sand. In early April, you can then sow on your warmest windowsill without direct sunlight. But be careful! Basil is a so-called light germinator, which means that you must not cover the small seeds with soil under any circumstances. Simply distribute 5-10 of the black seeds on the surface in your pot and press them down lightly. Then water them, taking care not to wash away the basil seeds. For your basil to begin germinating, the room temperature should be between 20°C and 25°C.
If you keep the soil nice and moist (not too wet, otherwise mold can form), the first cotyledons will appear after 1-2 weeks. It is very important that you always water basil from below, never over the leaves, because the fine water droplets focus the sunlight and lead to nasty burns on the leaf surface. In addition, basil is a real lover of warmth, so please, no shock therapy with ice-cold water! After the famous "Ice Saints," your basil can move outdoors. It is best to acclimate it to its new environment on your balcony in partial shade before exposing it to the great outdoors.
When your delicate seedlings have become a tuft full of tasty leaves, it's finally time to harvest. Contrary to all habits, you should not just pluck the leaves off your basil; instead, cut off entire stems just above a leaf group, and it will continue to sprout.
Who hasn't had a basil pot that ended up just being a barren forest of green stems? To prevent this, you must remove the shoots regularly. The more often you do this, the bushier your basil will become.
