About a while ago we recruited 5 of you to be our at home testers, agreeing to be the guinea pigs for new and up-and-coming plant pods we are considering launching! Our testers grow potential new plant pods around the world in different climates and locations with different light and temperature levels, helping us find the plants that can withstand any environmental conditions and be brought to all of you promising the highest yield and growth. With their help, we have tested and launched Rosemary, Dill, Black Pansy and Red Sweet Pepper.
Our five testers are now starting to test Lemon Basil- which has a fragrant lemon scent. It is used in cooking (soup, pasta, stew and steamed or grilled dishes and pesto).
Basil likes to be cut! You can start trimming your plants approximately one month after planting. Every time a branch has 3-5 pair of leaves, repeat pruning the branches back to their first set of (true)leaves.
Our testers post weekly updates with photos in our Gardeners forum so all of you can see and share any helpful tips and see what new plant we are testing! So, if you’re interested in staying up to date, check back!
Hi everyone. Let me roll out the first post of this blog. I.clicked mine on 4th July and it has been 11 days. All germinated very beautifully. Singapore is my region and room temperature here at home is around 28°C average.
Hi everyone,
I planted the Lemon Basil in the July 1, and it has been growing really well. This week i even added the light extension because it was already touching the light. Here is a picture of Day 7 and Day 14.
It is amazing how fast it is growing .
Hello!
The lemon basil is growing quite fast!
I’ve planted mine around the 5th of July, here it is now at the 14th day.
Hoping the very warm Italian weather won’t stop it!
Yesterday was Day 21 and the Lemon Basil is growing non stop. I used it in one or two dishes but they grow faster than i can eat it seams. Should i harvest them all or add another light extension?
I notice that the tallest ones are having a bit of difficulty to stand up, they are a bit unstable but i believe that might be because of the speed of grow
I would recommend to cut the stems back strongly and not add another lamp arm. As you mentioned, they are having difficulties to stand up. Also, cutting back will delay flowering and changing the taste to bitter.
Day 24 today is 28th July. Lemon basil growing very lush. Will trim again for the second time to allow other smaller lemon basil to catch up with the rest. In my SG9 I grew Thai basil and sweet basil to see the difference in growth. It’s my own little experiment
Its Day 29, and as suggested i have been cutting the tallest ones, and to not add another extension to the light, but honestly they are growing faster than i can keep up. I have been storage them in the freezer because they are very sensitive. If i cut them and leave 10min in the counter they are withered, so the freezer was the way i found to make them last, but even so 2 days max. They are really sensitive
I have been away , but it is Day 43 today, and when i return the lemon basil had overpower the light as you can see, and i have some brown leaves because they are touching the light, this is normal. but i also notice that the lower ones are also turning brown without no reason. they do not seem that normal brown of grow but burn.
I’ve been away for quite a while. A colleague has been helping me on filling the tank and adjusting the light. Came back and there’s exciting development! One of the plant has blossomed!
It would be good time to harvest. Just cut it back to the firsth or second pair of true leaves and lower the lamp. Basil likes cutting and it helps to produce even more leaves and plant lasts longer.
Basil bottom leaves do not get enough light and that is why bottom leaves also start turning brown.
Constant pruning is good to your plant- it stays more compact and healthy.
Its Day 50 and this week there isnt many developments.
I have been pruning so far and it looks that they are getting stronger and more stable to stand alone.
Day 50. Lemon mint stem are stronger because I trim them once a week. Last week I made baked salmon with lemon basil butter sauce and it was delicious.
