Overwhelmed with my Sweet Basil seedlings, what to do next?

Houston, TX

Okay guys this is where my ignorance of this plant is showing; I need some advice on what to do next. I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of plants in such a small container, read on, it will make sense. :)

It's my first time trying to grow some Sweet Basil, using a tiny 8"x8" cake tin, I scattered some seed not knowing what to expect and left it to grow on the backstairs.

I also made the mistake of listening to the advice of someone who claimed they had no luck growing Basil here in Houston; now I'm not sure why that is because my first experience of the plant is that it grows fiercely and germinates quickly here in H-town. In fact it loves the climate, seems to be quite a hardy plant which doesn't need much attention. Quite possibly this is the easiest thing I have ever grown! Anyway this 'advice' I expect had something to do with my hap-hazard even careless sowing of the seeds.

As you can see from the picture I have a lot of seedlings, and now need to thin them out. At ants eye-level, it's like a tiny forest in there. Realistically this is way over the amount of plants that I will want or need for my garden, so I'm open to suggestions on how I should plant the ones that I keep for myself. What should I expect of this plant, and what size of crop can I expect from a few plants.

I'm contemplating building a little raised bed in wooden borders for these. Otherwise I'll be planting them alongside my tomatoes. Advice please. :)

Thumbnail by DavidinTX
Dublin, CA(Zone 9a)

Here are a couple articles on transplanting seedlings that may help you:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1135/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/862/

Also, I wouldn't completely ignore the person who told you they had trouble growing basil in Houston--it's of course possible that they just have a much browner thumb than yours, but getting seeds to germinate is only the first step in a long journey. The real trick will be getting them to live through your long hot humid Houston summer--I expect that may be more challenging than getting them to sprout in the spring when the weather's nice and mild. I couldn't tell you one way or the other whether to expect trouble with the basil down the road, but it might not hurt to talk to your friend again and find out the problems they had so you can keep your eye out and hopefully end up with a better result.

Houston, TX

Quote from ecrane3 :
Here are a couple articles on transplanting seedlings that may help you:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1135/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/862/

Also, I wouldn't completely ignore the person who told you they had trouble growing basil in Houston--it's of course possible that they just have a much browner thumb than yours, but getting seeds to germinate is only the first step in a long journey. The real trick will be getting them to live through your long hot humid Houston summer--I expect that may be more challenging than getting them to sprout in the spring when the weather's nice and mild. I couldn't tell you one way or the other whether to expect trouble with the basil down the road, but it might not hurt to talk to your friend again and find out the problems they had so you can keep your eye out and hopefully end up with a better result.


Very true the humidity and strong sun in Houston has hindered some of my other plants in the past, probably more damaging still are the freak heavy and windy storms that just appear on the Gulf coast often out-of-the-blue and wipe out a lot of hard work. I've taken some steps in my back garden to lessen that effect with higher fences this past year. I have a good feeling about these though. Can only wait and see how they progress. This is a new plant for me to experiment with and I'm quite excited at how it's growing so far. That first link is exactly what I did, I underestimated what I'd get in the end and planted the whole packet of seeds! :)

This message was edited Apr 23, 2010 8:32 AM

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