Modern cooking is unthinkable without spices and seasonings. Therefore, more and more often on the plots of land one can see various spicy herbs, including basil.
However, as many have already seen, this culture is quite capricious, and coping with it is not as easy as it seems.
The already uneasy procedure of picking can turn into a catastrophe even for an experienced gardener, if you do not take into account all the subtleties and nuances. The article will tell you how to properly pick a basil.
What is a picking?
Pick picking is called seedling sprouts from the total capacity of the individual. This procedure is accompanied by shortening the main root of the plant by a third of the length.
Reference. For trimming the root, a special tool is used - a pointed peg (in French - "pique"), this determined the name of this agricultural procedure.
What does she give?
Besides the fact that each plant receives a separate capacity, which provides it with the necessary space for growth and development, the pick has a number of advantages:
- The ability to make a rejection. Weak and diseased sprouts can be immediately sorted. The strongest and most resilient seedlings will fall into separate tanks, which in the future will give a good and rich harvest.
- The fight against disease. Sick sprouts that you discard will not be able to infect healthy ones, which means you will save most of your crop.
- Yield increase. Shortening the main root, which involves picking, gives an impetus to the growth of lateral and adventitious roots. The extensive root system, in turn, nourishes the crop better, respectively, increases the yield of basil.
When to produce after sprouting seedlings?
Dive basil is recommended when two true (note, not cotyledon!) Leaves appear.
It is very important not to miss this moment. After all, if you carry out the procedure later, then the seedlings in the total capacity will be intertwined with roots, and you will not succeed in transplanting seedlings without damage.
Also it is unsafe to pick picking before the appearance of real leaves. The explanation is simple. Truncation of the root in this case becomes a serious stress for the plant, and, as a result, it can die.
How to exercise?
The soil
The soil when planting basil in separate containers should consist of the following components: 1 part of sand + 4 parts of peat + 2 parts of humus. Or you can take one-third of the garden land, peat and humus.
Be sure to sift the resulting soil mixture to avoid soil lumpiness. Then steam it in a water bath or heat it in the oven for an hour. Heat treatment will eliminate all sorts of diseases, as well as weed seeds.
Capacity Selection
The pot should have good drainage, because watering must be done once a day. If the fluid stagnates, your plant may die.
The procedure itself: how to produce and can it be buried?
The basil picking itself is carried out like in many other cultures.:
- the soil in tanks is stamped;
- then a depression is made in the center, where the seedling with the root shortened by a third is placed.
Try not to cut the root more than the required. In this case, the seedling will be weak and is likely to die soon. In addition, it is not recommended to bury young basil: the depth of planting should be the same as the depth of germination. And do not forget to water the planted sprouts!
How to care after?
After picking, it is recommended to put the seedlings in a cooler place. In general, further care consists of watering (for this we use only warm water!), Fertilizing and nipping shoots.
Immediately after picking seedlings need to feed. To do this, the best fit complex nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (at the rate of 10 grams of fertilizer per 1 liter of water). Then basil is fertilized every two weeks.- Do not forget that nitrogen stimulates leaf growth, and phosphorus and potassium have a positive effect on the content of essential oils in greens. At the beginning of its growth, basil develops rather moderately, therefore it is not worthwhile to “customize” it and fertilize it endlessly. An overabundance can turn out to be much worse than the mineral hunger strike of a seedling.
- As for the pinching of basil, it is recommended to hold it when the 5-6th real leaf appears. So the greens will not be stretched, but will start to branch better and give a good harvest.
Immediately after picking seedlings need to feed. To do this, the best fit complex nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (at the rate of 10 grams of fertilizer per 1 liter of water). Then basil is fertilized every two weeks.2 weeks before planting begin to harden the seedlings in the fresh air. The temperature of hardening basil should not be below + 5 ... + 10 ° С.
If you approach the process of picking basil wisely, taking into account all the recommendations, the plant will reward you for your hard work with an excellent harvest. And your dishes seasoned with fresh fragrant basil will have a unique taste!
