Sorry to leave you hanging... After two late March posts meant to amp you up about planting a window box for your kitchen (Part I: Planning Your Windowbox and Part II: Supplies), we've been radio silent on the subject of gardening.
But right about now is a great time to actually plant your box. Nurseries and farmers' markets are beginning to stock all the plants you might want (some might not have basil yet, just be patient!) and the evening temps are warming.
In the post about Part II: Supplies we got you situated with everything you need to plant: containers, soil, seeds and seedlings. What you need to know about planting is easy:
• Spacing Small seedlings (2"' pots) should have about 3" in between them. As they grow, they will definitely spread into each others domain, but of course, you'll be trimming often, so things will stay tidy and no one will steal light from anyone else. Seeds can be planted a little closer since you don't know if all will come up and the emerging seedlings can be thinned at a later date.
• Depth: Seedlings should be planted a shade deeper that they are planted in whatever container they came in. In other words, dig a hole, and make sure the existing soil level is buried, slightly, by the new soil level, without any mounding. Make sure seedlings are moist and the roots are loosened with your fingers before planting. Seeds should be planted at the depths suggested on the seed packet. The bigger the seed, the deeper the hole. For herbs, mostly this means very shallow (1/4") planting. Seeds need light to germinate, so in general, the closer to the surface, the better.
After planting WATER. But don't over-water. If it looks like mud, it's too wet. If it looks like sand, it's too dry.
Remember that much of gardening is learned by doing, not just reading. So go plunge your hands into the dirt, and if you have questions we haven't answered yet, just ask. Happy spring!
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i bought basil and rosemary seeds about a month ago, and planted them 1.5 weeks ago.
all of my internet research pointed to rosemary being incredibly difficult to germinate.
wouldn't you know it, a week later, all rosemary AND all basil seeds had sprouted! nothing fancy for me - plastic pots, cheap-ish soil, and seeds from lowe's (bought the basil seeds because they did not have the plants). and in my experience, i put the pots just UNDER the windowsill - so they stayed warm, but not in sunlight - and covered in grocery bags.
now my question(s) - 5 rosemary sprouts in a 6-8" pot, and all 8 basil seeds sprouted in a 10-12" pot. how many is it safe to keep in each? my best guess is 2 rosemary and 3 basil, but anyone with more experience know? they're barely 2" tall now - when to pull the extra plants out and give them away to friends?
Um, you might not like this answer, but you need to snip out your extra plants (just leave the roots behind) so you don't disturb the one you're keeping. Pulling them out will usually mess up the neighboring plant's root system.
Rosemary is planted in some places (like mine) as a landscaping bush. Under the right conditions, it can get pretty huge. I don't know how much you'll be cooking with it, but I'd only keep one in the pot. For the basil, it can grow riotously as well, so I'd keep just one, or at the max, two.
regards,
trillium
Just to add to trillium's great guidelines...
When you snip back those seedlings, which should ideally be after the first true leaves (i.e., not the baby leaves that come up first) form, you'll want to pick the most vigorous seedling to save. And that vigorous seedling will not be the tallest, it will be the one with the thickest stem and most stout, healthy growth habit.
I would try to keep two of the basils growing and, possibly, move one to another pot. This will allow your plants to spread out, a requirement if you want a bushy, pesto-producing basil plant. With rosemary, you never need quite as much, so one should be plenty.
I just started my indoor agriculture this past spring and am loving it. I have one box of spring mix lettuce (perfect for impromptu salads). My other box is full of herbs: tarragon, thyme, oregeno, basil and pretty parsley.
in addition to adding savory flavors to my meals my window boxes have brought life into my apartment
http://producejigsaw.blogspot.com/2006/04/indoor-agriculture.html