I am now having problems with my Basil. They were growing great until one day I noticed that one of my Basil leaves had turned grey like the leaf had dried out. I snipped off all the grey leaves and the next day more appeared. This has happened in all three of my Basil plants. I give my plants plently of sunlight and dont over water them. What is causing this is happen and what can I do to stop it.

 

Hi dys199.

We make $7.00 per pound for fresh early morning picked Basil, we have also been extra careful to save our own seeds from year to year. There has been a nation wide blight in our Basil seeds, & you can't tell, till it starts showing signs of blight.

Time now for you to find some new plants, from source A,B,C & pull & burn the infected ones you have now. You can still pull the flowers from your healthy new Basil, & have a good harvest, then let them go in late Summer & collect the seeds for next year.

This blight has been going on for a long time now, so you will have to get used to saving your own seed from now on. Don't plant the new Basil in the same spot, plant the different plants as far away from each other as possable. If they sicken pull & burn ASAP.

Pesto forever good words to live by.

This is what we have advised other growers & it works, you just can't trust the seeds anymore, so you have to find plants without the blight. Once you have a healthy gene pool, you can not just get the blight out of thin air, this is one that we bring in from over seas & now it's rampant in the US.

 

This is my first post. I just typed a question but I lost it. Hopefully, it doesn't show up double. I planted basil in the garden about 10 days ago. All but two plants were grown in my greenhouse. The greenhouse basil is very pale whereas the commercial basil looks great. The leaves on the greenhouse basil doesn't look healthy either, kinda curled. Is it missing something? Thanks

 

Hi meadowslady Welcome to DIYs Garden Forum

Are the plants the same type?
What have you been feeding yours?

Have you checked the tips for Aphids?
Let's start here, & you let me know if
you can think of anything else.

 

Hi! Yes they are the same variety. In the greenhouse, when they were about 6 weeks old they got a dose of Miracle Gro and then yesterday a dose of fish emulsion. I checked the leaves this afternoon and can see any aphids but will continue to monitor the leaves.

 

We use a 50/50 mix of Fish emulsion & liquid Kelp. Both in the planting hole & biweekly Foaliar feeding.
However with Basil we have been using our own seeds, for a very long time. Their is a world Wide blight in some Basil seeds today, & this may or may not be the problem.

Not buying our taking others Basil plants, I must admit i'm not up to date on this Basil problem. I will do some searches & we will take it from their. I wish you had a Picture you could e-mail me.

 

I found this link it describes when how & what to look for when dealing with Basil problems. At least now we have a way to rule in or out, the blight.



http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-125.html

Let us know what you think & let's hope it a simple cure. Even now as the Farm slowly winds down, we still depend on our Organic Basil sales. We never grew it in the same place twice & kept it a little on the dry side. Last year was so wet In NC we just watched it rot I do wish I had of transplanted it to the Green house. Who knew we would replenish a 6 year Drought in one Spring & Summer :P

 

That website was very informative, Marturo. The fulsarium wilt pathogen sounds like just what the basil is doing. Looks like I'll have to take them out. I have another flat started in the greenhouse from different seeds. Maybe I'll get some good ones from that. Thanks a lot for all the posts.

 

It's never a happy moment when we see our plants die. However the ever optimistic Farmer in us all pulls through. I Know the heart sick feelings of plant loss being an Organic Farmer since 1972 & now as an Organic Gardener.

Well meadowslady as any good Gardener you grew a back up crop & we will think postive thoughts for the new Basil

Please keep us aprised of how things are going, & feel free to help others with your Garden Wisdom as well. It's always nice to DIY, but sometimes we need a little help from our Friends.