Here's why your basil isn't growing and is getting small leaves (and how to fix it!)
If your basil is stunted and producing smaller and smaller leaves, it's not too late to fix the problem. Here's the most likely problem & a few easy solutions to get your herb garden back on track!
More Stories
Basil is the most popular herb for our summer garden and without a doubt the best bang for your buck. One plant can give you everything a chef needs to add an herby twist to any dish all summer long; however, sometimes even the best plant parents can end up with basil that stops growing.
Today I'm helping Erin Colton with her basil plant. She's doing everything right: watering the plant daily, giving it the proper sunlight, and clipping off the flowers to keep the plant from spending energy on blooming. But her basil plant is producing tiny leaves that fold up and grow slowly.
The most likely problem - your basil is crowded.
The most common reason why basil is stunted is because it's too crowded. Sometimes you'll find basil plants for sale with a lot of plants in the container. It makes it attractive to sell at the nursery, but when you bring it home, you have to split some of those plants up. Otherwise the roots will compete for water and nutrients and choke each other out.
Ideally you want about 3 basil plant in a 1 foot tall and wide container. Basil is a surprisingly heavy feeder, especially when it's growing rapidly in containers. As the plant produces more foliage, it quickly uses up the nutrients in potting soil. Nitrogen is especially important because it fuels leafy growth. When supplies run low, new leaves become smaller, growth slows, and older leaves may begin to fade from deep green to a lighter shade.
How to fix it
Split your basil plants up so you only have 3 -5 plants in a group. Make sure you're giving your basil an organic potting soil. It's important to use a potting mix in containers instead of garden soil because potting mix is formulated to drain better.
Plant your basil in a plastic container with holes on the bottom. Clay containers dry out too fast and containers made of concrete or stone don't dry out fast enough. Basil loves water, but shouldn't be allowed to sit in water.
Other Care Tips
It's important to harvest your basil regularly. Prune the stems back to a set of healthy leaves. Two branches will emerge from there giving you a fuller plant. Pruning will also delay flowering. When a basil flowers, it'll stop focusing it's energy on making tasty leaves.
You should also regularly check for pests. Basil is susceptible to aphids which look like tiny circular specs (usually clustered by leaf veins, on new growth, and under the leaves). They are also susceptible to broad mites which are microscopic, but their damage is noticeable usually appearing as crinkly leaves and brown spots.
Basil needs to be regularly fertilized. I use fish emulsion which is an organic fertilizer that won't burn your plants if you overuse it. I fertilize my basil plants once every 2 weeks.
