Basil is one of the easiest plants to grow. They only take about a month or so to get them to a size to put outside. A packet of seeds will get you scads of plants. Did you harden it off. Plants grown in a greenhouse have to be hardened off the same as those grown under lights. I would say your plant has a touch of sunburn. For the next week cover it with a pot in the heat of the day and let it get used to the UV rays.

If your plant is fully grown then I would start some seeds when you have room because that plant won't last the growing season.

When I bought the plant (it's about 6 inches tall), it was sitting in full sun, out with a bunch of other plants. So I figured it must have been hardened off. I bought a spearamint plant the same day, and it's doing fine. Can I direct seed after the frost date then, if I need a new batch?

I have never direct seeded Basil so I don't know. I start mine in my greenhouse. Try doing them in a pot instead of the ground. It will be easier to control the moisture

I reread your post. How much compost did you put in and how heavy was the potting soil? That might be the culprit instead of the sun. Too much compost will burn the roots and heavy soil will hold too much water.

I hope you controlled the mint or have it in a pot. Mint can become very invasive.

I think it is too much compost.

It should bounce back in a bit.

I keep mine pinched back pretty good to keep getting new 'fresh' leaves.

Cheers

Keriann~

Did you put it outside? Basil is more like peppers and tomatoes than, say, lettuce - it likes the warmth. It's too early in my zone to put it out (at least unprotected), so I'm guessing it's too early in yours.

Hmmm... good points. I would say that about 1/4 or less of the 10 inch pot was compost. Too much? And the soil wasn't too bad. Both the basil and the spearamint are in pots. But I hadn't thought of the heat issue. I figured if they were selling them, they were okay as long as there wasn't a frost. That's what I get for buying them on a whim, and not doing my research. ;)Vegetables, I've done. But not herbs.

I will cross my fingers, maybe pinch off few leaves, and hope for the best. Thanks!

I direct sow and transplant basil. Easy plant to grow but if the soil is not warm, it takes a while to germinate.

oilpainter, I had my tomato seedlings in a GH and they were well hardened off, both against sun and wind. I do have a fan blowing 24/7.

Mike

Wordwiz - on the topic of tomatoes... I grew from seed this year, and everything was going great until about the 6th or 7th week. Nothing changed, they were still close to the light, but about half of them got super leggy and fell over. Foliage still looks great, but the stems are like licorice. So frustrating! All my peppers turned out fine. What did I do wrong with the tomatoes? I probably won't end up using them. What would happen if I snipped off the tops?

Thanks, Kim

Kim:

Tomatoes need lots of light, more so than anything else, and big enough containers.

They are also a plant that you can plant deeper in the soil. Do NOT snip off the tops. If you do the plant will stop growing and you'll get nothing. Just plant the stem deeper in the soil

Thanks, oilpainter!

You're welcome Kim:

Next year don't plant them so early. Your 6 or 7th week should be when you are hardening them off

What variety of tomatoes did you plant Kim

Some tomatoes are vining tomatoes and some are bush. If yours are vining then you need to stake them. Vining tomatoes grow very tall and need different treatment than bush tomatoes. If that's what you have send me an e-mail on my page or open a new post and I'll tell you what to do with them.

Oilpainter - I have two determinate varieties this year - Roma and Super Sweet 100. I did heirloom indeterminate varieties last year, but wanted to try something more containable this year. Since the leggy ones were extras, I may just end up scrapping the worst ones. I am using and have given away the best ones, and planted the so-so ones elsewhere just to see what they'll do.

Kim

Right on Kim.

You sure have learned a lot. I didn't know about determinate and indeterminate tomatoes for years after I started gardening. Of course computers and sites like this one make a big difference now, but they can't account for the gardeners zeal and you have that in spades

Personally, i would say u might be over watering them
but i really shouldn't be giving my opinion on plant issues
when it comes to gardening, i have an Armageddon-thumb ;)
but im learning!

Thanks, oilpainter! I AM pretty exicted about this whole gardening thing. :) And out of frustration/too little space, I did snip the tops off of a couple before you told me not to. I was interested to see what happened. A few tiny leaves formed just under the cut, but are way slower to grow. Like you said, probably couldn't get anything from them this year. So off to the compost they go.

Sharvil, ha! An Armageddom thumb... have never heard that one!

Kim