Let’s Grow Sweet Basil – All the Secrets for Guaranteed Success 🌿🍅
- Tammy Johnson
- 16 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Written and edited by Tammy 30th August 2025
If there’s one herb that earns its keep and steals the show in summer, it’s sweet basil. Lush, fragrant, and downright bossy in the veggie patch. And let’s be honest, it was made to hang out with tomatoes. From the garden bed to the dinner plate, they’re the ultimate tag-team.
But even stars need a bit of pampering, basil can be a bit of a diva if it doesn’t get the conditions it loves. So, let’s go over some of the tips and tricks for growing sweet basil successfully, and have you blissfully picking fresh leaves all summer long!
How To Grow Sweet Basil🌱
Location, Location
Basil is a sun-lover. It needs at least 6–8 hours of direct sunlight each day to really thrive. Choose a warm, sheltered spot in your veggie patch, (perhaps close to your tomatoes) or like me, plant some up closer to the back door for quick picking in containers. If you’re in a cooler climate, growing basil in pots you can move into a warm, protected position is a great option.
Soil Secrets
Basil loves a rich, free-draining soil. Think loose, crumbly, and full of organic matter.
Work in a bag full of chockablok compost or well-rotted manure before planting.
A handful of pelletised organic fertiliser (like Rapid Raiser or Blood & Bone) will give it a great start.
Keep soil consistently moist but never soggy, basil hates “wet feet.”
💦Watering Wisely
Water deeply a couple of times a week rather than shallow daily sprinkles. Basil likes to stay evenly moist, but wet leaves can invite fungal disease. Always water at the base of the plant, not over the top.
🪲Pests
Basil can be a bit of a bug magnet at times, and whitefly seem to think it’s their personal buffet. If you notice clouds of the little critters lifting off when you brush past, that'll be white fly. Don't fret, cover it with some insect mesh or even some fine netting to keep them off the leaves, and for a natural spray, try mixing up a garlic or chilli solution in the kitchen. A quick spritz on the undersides of the leaves is often enough to send whitefly packing without leaving anything nasty behind. Another trick? Encourage ladybirds and lacewings into the garden, the beneficial bugs will happily do the clean-up job for you.
Pinch, Don’t Just Pick
This is the real secret to bushy basil. From the time your basil has 4–6 sets of leaves, pinch out the top growing tips regularly. This encourages side shoots and prevents it from growing tall and leggy going straight to flower. Harvest it often, the more you pick, the more it grows!
🌸Stop the Flowers
As pretty as the little white flowers look, once basil blooms, the leaves turn bitter. Pinch off flower buds as soon as you spot them. If you want to save some seeds, let one or two plants bloom at the very end of the season.
✨Companion Planting Magic
Basil isn’t just for the kitchen; it’s a clever little helper in the veggie patch too. Pop a clump beside your tomatoes and it’ll work as a living decoy, drawing some of the attention away from your prized crop. Then keep a separate patch (or pot) for picking, so you’ve always got fresh handfuls ready for pesto and salads. Practical and pretty, basil really earns its spot in the garden.
🌿 Quick Tips for Success
Basil thrives in warm weather, so don’t plant it out until frosts are past.
Grow a few small batches rather than one big planting. This way, if one plant bolts to seed, you’ll have backups ready.
Mulch around plants to keep soil moisture even and roots cool.
For endless basil, try striking a few cuttings in water, they’ll root easily and give you new plants for free.
💚Tams Tip: I keep my fresh herbs handy in pots right by the back door. As the summer heat really ramps up, I pop saucers beneath the pots, topped up with water so they maintain moisture and utilise what they need as they need it.
My basil always booms this way.
From Garden to Plate
There’s nothing like tearing fresh basil leaves straight into a salad, tossing them into pasta, or layering them with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella on a homemade pizza or bruschetta. If you’ve got a bumper harvest, blitz up a batch of pesto and freeze in small portions, to keep you going throughout the off season.
✨ With these simple tips, you’ll have an abundance of basil all summer long. Plant it, nurture it, and enjoy the endless taste of summer, because life really is better with basil and tomatoes on the plate!
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