Loading…
4
Just realized the window box crowd is killing their basil with kindness
I keep seeing people on here say you need to feed your balcony herbs every single week, and that is just wrong for basil. I have been growing it in two 14 inch railing planters on my third floor spot in Portland for four years now, and the year I followed that advice I got tall, weak stems and leaves that tasted like nothing. Too much nitrogen makes the plant put all its energy into growing fast and tall instead of making the oils that give it any flavor. Now I mix one slow release scoop into the soil when I plant in May and that is it for the whole season. The plants stay bushier, the stems hold up in wind, and the leaves smell like actual basil when I brush past them. So when people post a sad leggy plant and ask what fertilizer to add, that is usually the opposite of what it needs.
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
skyler_kim15d ago
Man, I don't know, I feed mine every couple weeks and they do fine. Maybe Portland dirt is just built different, but I've had weak stems come from not enough light way more than from food. Cutting back some is fair, but skipping it all season seems like a stretch.
4