Tips for gardeners: what can you plant basil next to in the garden, and what plants don’t go with it?

Benefits of growing basil in a greenhouse

Growing basil in a greenhouse is a popular way to obtain fresh herbs in a short time. Advantages of greenhouse planting:

• fast growth;
• the plant is rarely attacked by insects;
• protection against temperature changes;
• in heated greenhouses, greens can be grown all year round;
• friendly return of the harvest.

Basil is very sensitive to depleted soil, so to get a rich harvest it is necessary to prepare the greenhouse and soil in the fall. For this:

• I disinfect the greenhouse with antiseptic preparations.
• Remains of vegetation are removed from the beds.
• The top layer of soil is removed and humus, peat and sand are added for digging.
• In spring, the soil is loosened and treated with copper sulfate.
• Complex mineral fertilizers are added and beds are formed.

Important! Basil prefers to grow in well-fertilized, loose soil.

The distance between bushes should be at least 35 cm

What grows well after it?

After basil it is recommended to plant:

1. garlic;
2. onion;
3. potato;
4. zucchini;
5. parsley;
6. pumpkin;
7. squash.

Basil is an unpretentious and easy-to-grow crop that makes a good neighbor for most garden plants. Its bright aroma can repel not only insects, but also microbial pathogens, turning basil into a natural protector of garden beds.

Choosing basil seeds for planting

There are a large number of varieties. They all differ in size, taste, aroma and foliage color. All varieties grow well with each other and do not cross-pollinate, so several varieties can be planted in one bed. The most suitable for greenhouse cultivation are:

• Purple - a variety popular in the Caucasus. The spice is used as a seasoning for sauces, side dishes, and meat dishes. The plant forms a compact bush. The fragrant foliage comes in a variety of shades, from soft to deep purple.
• Lemon is a spreading bush with soft green leaves and a lemon aroma.
• Comfortable is a beautiful plant with bright emerald foliage. Thanks to its pleasant clove aroma, the seasoning is used in all cuisines of the world.

Purple foliage exudes a pleasant scent

The most popular varieties of basil:

• Clove is a large bush with an anise-clove aroma.
• Yerevan is a medium-sized bush. Its purple foliage has a minty-clove scent.
• Gourmand clove is a vigorous shrub with rich green foliage and a strong clove scent.
• Thai Queen is an ornamental variety. The unopened flowers resemble lilac inflorescences; the purple leaves exude a subtle anise-clove aroma.
• Baku - Brown-purple foliage has a scent of mint and cloves.

A powerful bush of the Gourmet clove variety requires careful care

The best varieties

There are a large number of types and varieties of basil. But for a greenhouse, since its area is small, and other plants will grow along with the spice, it is better to choose 2-3 high-yielding varieties with different tastes for planting.

Purple and green basil differ only in the color of the leaves and the sharpness of the aroma, so they grow equally well in a greenhouse.

Rules for growing basil in a greenhouse

In greenhouse conditions, basil grows much faster than in open ground. When arranging a bed for a plant, you need to know with whom it gets along and with whom it does not. Eggplants and tomatoes will be good neighbors for basil. The plant will not get along next to the following crops:

• dill;
• cucumbers;
• cruciferous;
• marjoram;
• rue.

Thai Queen attracts attention during flowering

Bad neighborhood

The following crops will be bad neighbors for it:

• Dill.
• Marjoram.
• Cabbage.
• Cucumbers.
• Radish.
• Ruta.
• Radish.

As a result, we can conclude that growing basil in a greenhouse is not at all difficult. Even novice gardeners get an excellent harvest; you just need to create suitable conditions for it: prepare the soil correctly, observe temperature and watering regimes, fertilize and loosen it in a timely manner. This royal herb is very responsive to attention and care and will certainly delight you with a bountiful harvest, its beauty and aroma. In a separate article you can learn when and how to harvest your basil.

If you decide to grow this aromatic plant, we suggest reading separate articles from which you will learn a lot of new and useful information about where to plant basil in order to get a good harvest and what are the features of cultivating this spice at home.

Rules for caring for basil in a greenhouse

To obtain a generous harvest, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for the plant. Rules for caring for basil:

• Temperature-humidity – the spice quickly grows green mass at a temperature of 23-28 degrees. If the temperature drops below +15, the plant stops growing and dies. Basil does not tolerate waterlogged air, so it is recommended to regularly ventilate the greenhouse without creating drafts.
• Irrigation - watering is carried out once every 7 days with settled warm water. To prevent sunburn on the leaves, it is better to irrigate in the early morning or after sunset. After each watering, weeds are removed and the soil is loosened.
• Top dressing - fertilizers are applied after each cutting. To do this, use a mineral complex, urea or diluted chicken manure.

Pests and diseases of basil

Basil is a whimsical plant. If you do not follow the rules of care, it can be affected by infectious diseases and insect pests:

• Black leg appears due to frequent watering, insufficient air supply to the roots, and increased acidity. The disease can be recognized by softened stems and curled leaves. For treatment, “Topaz” and “Fitosporin” are used.
• Gray mold often affects greenhouse basil. At the initial stage, dry brown-gray spots appear on the leaves. Without treatment, they become watery and covered with a gray coating. When the first signs of the disease appear, the plant is sprayed with onion infusion.
• Aphids feed on plant sap. As a result, basil stops developing, the leaves turn yellow, dry out and fall off. To combat the pest, folk remedies are used - infusion of hot pepper, wormwood, garlic.

What plants are best to plant with?

It is not necessary to allocate a separate bed for basil; it is permissible to plant it in beds with other crops, but on the south side.

Important! Low and medium-sized varieties cannot be planted together with tall plants that will shade the light-loving crop.

It is recommended to plant the spice next to plants that are richly fertilized with minerals, as well as crops that have a shallow but developed root system.

Plants that are good for the neighborhood

The best bed neighbors for fragrant grass are:

1. Pepper. Its trunks will not block sunlight, which is important for good basil growth. These crops must be planted at a distance of at least 15 cm.
2. Carrot. Its developed root system provides moisture to the roots of neighboring plants. You need to sow fragrant grass in rows along the carrot bed, keeping a distance of about 20 cm.
3. Cabbage and basil consume different microelements from the soil, so their proximity is favorable. It is recommended to plant the plant 2-3 seedlings between heads of cabbage.
4. Legumes . They have the property of attracting moisture from the soil, which is important for the quality growth of the spice. Crops should grow at a distance of at least 20 cm.
5. Salad. Its developed root system drains the soil, which enhances the growth of basil. When planting, it is necessary to take into account that lettuce grows strongly, so it is necessary to plant crops at a distance of at least 30 cm.
6. Onions do not take a lot of moisture from the soil, which has a positive effect on the taste of the spice. These crops can be planted in a checkerboard pattern.
7. Corn. It needs fertile soil, so such a neighborhood is beneficial. It tends to grow strongly, so it is necessary to sow the spice at a distance of at least 25-30 cm.
8. Zucchini. The proximity is favorable, since crops take various microelements from the soil, but you should not plant them close - keep a distance of at least 30 cm.
9. Celery. Its root system is able to attract additional moisture into the soil, which basil needs. These crops must be sown in parallel rows, maintaining a distance of at least 20 cm.

Planting basil to repel insects from other plants

The spice has a specific smell that pests do not like. Therefore, the plant has established itself as an effective remedy for combating the following insects:

• aphid;
• spider mite;
• greenhouse whitefly;
• thrips;
• whitefly;
• carrot aphid;
• psyllid;
• codling moth;
• bean moth;
• bean grain;
• chickpea fly.

Planting to protect against disease

Basil is able to protect neighboring crops from the following diseases:

• Alternaria blight;
• fusarium;
• black, gray and white rot;
• anthracnose;
• powdery mildew;
• dropsy;
• spotting;
• viral mosaic.

Harvesting

When the plant reaches 10-15 cm, it can be cut off above 2 or 3 true leaves. Next, the row spacing is loosened and mineral fertilizing is applied. After 3 weeks, new shoots will appear from the leaf axils. In a good hot summer, 3-4 crops can be harvested from one bush. Harvesting is carried out before flowering, since during the appearance of inflorescences the shoots become rough and the leaves lose their rich aroma.

The harvest is stored dried and frozen

Important! Basil can be stored dried or frozen.

Basil is a very fragrant, healthy plant. Growing it in a greenhouse is not difficult. If you follow the planting and care rules, you can harvest 3-4 crops per season. The spice goes perfectly with meat dishes; it is used to prepare sauces, salads and side dishes.