Growing Basil
Basil is the fastest win in the garden — a few weeks from seed to your first pesto, and it just keeps giving if you treat it right.
Sun
Full sun, 6+ hours
Soil
Moist, well-drained, pH 6.0–7.0
Spacing
10–12 in. apart
Harvest
50–65 days, then ongoing
Planting
Direct-sow after all frost danger has passed and soil has warmed — basil hates cold soil and will just sulk. If you want a head start, start indoors 4–6 weeks earlier. Thin or transplant to about 10 inches apart so plants get good airflow.
Watering & feeding
Keep soil consistently moist but never soggy. Basil doesn’t need much feeding — one light feed at planting is usually enough for the whole season. The real secret is pinching: once the plant has 6–8 leaves, pinch the top back to just above a leaf pair to force it to branch out instead of bolting.
Harvest
Harvest from the top down, always cutting above a leaf pair, and never take more than a third of the plant at once. The moment you see flower buds forming, pinch them off — letting basil flower turns the leaves bitter fast. Picked regularly, one plant will keep producing right up to first frost.