Basil is a kind of annual herb. The leaves are being used in salads and other dishes. Many people grow this herb, and when basils grow well, they can be harvested much faster.
Knowing the basil growing stages will give an idea of how to grow them, what are things to do to help the plant grow, and how long before you can harvest basils.
Basil Growing Stages
Stage 1. Seed
Basils are producing seeds. A single plant can produce a lot of seeds. The seeds of basil are very small, a little bit oval in shape, and brown to black in color. Commonly basils are being propagated from seeds but they can also be propagated from cuttings.
Basil plants will grow if the seeds are high-quality. High-quality seeds have more chance to germinate than those old stock seeds. Look for quality seeds and if they are, there is a high percentage for those basil seeds to germinate.
Stage 2. Germination
After sowing the seeds in the soil, they will take about 5 to 10 days to germinate. A tiny root and two tiny leaves will come out from each seed. The seeds will be developed and become plants. A lot of tiny plants will emerge on the soil after a few days.
A tiny basil plant will have a few roots, leaves, and a very thin stem. During this stage, the plant doesn’t need much sunlight and they are better to be placed in a shaded area. There are times that some of those basil seeds may take longer to germinate depending on the seeds’ quality, weather, varieties, and other factors.
Stage 3. Seedling
After a few days, those germinated seeds will become seedlings. Basil seedlings will have a few cm in height, has more but soft and short roots, and a few tiny leaves grow on the plant. During this period the plant needs more water and sunlight.
The water and sunlight will help the basil seedlings to become more mature and grow more leaves and a thicker stem. Improving the soil by adding fertilizer will also help the seedlings grow better.
Stage 4. Vegetative Growth
After a few weeks of growing basils, they will continue to grow taller, grow more roots, have a thicker stem, and grow a lot of leaves. Once they become mature they can be harvested. It will take about 6 to 8 weeks to grow basils and harvest them.
In order for basil plants to achieve maturity, they need more water, and sunlight to grow at that level. Keeping them hydrated and getting sunlight will make them grow and thrive.
Stage 5. Budding
After a few weeks if basil plants are not harvested they will continue to grow and sooner flower buds will grow on the plant. The bud is a part of the basil plant that sooner becomes a flower.
This bud will grow on the top of the plant. At first, the buds are small but after a few days and weeks, they continue to grow bigger. The stalk where they are growing also grows longer.
Stage 6. Flowering
Those buds will eventually become flowers. The basil plant produces small, white, or purple flowers depending on the variety. They are growing on a long stalk on the top of the plant.
It will take a few weeks for the flowers to grow and mature. Once the flowers are mature, pollination can happen. Although basil plants are self-pollinating, they can still be pollinated by bees.
Stage 7. Pollination
The basils are self-pollinating and they have male and female flowers. Pollinators like bees actually help pollinates the flowers. Usually, hand pollination is not done on this plant and most gardeners just rely on bee pollination.
Bees will move that pollen from the male flower to the female flower. The pollen sticks to the bee’s body and when they land on the female flower, the pollen is transferred. When many flowers are pollinated many seeds can be produced.
Stage 8. Seeding
Once the basil flowers are pollinated, seeds will be formed. When many flowers are pollinated there will be more seeds on the plant. There will be 2-4 seeds per petal but sometimes it can be lesser or sometimes greater.
The seeds of basil are ready to harvest once the flowers become brown and dry. You can collect a lot of seeds from each plant and you can use those seeds to grow many basils in your garden. To get the seeds, you need to slowly open each petal and you will see the basil seeds inside of it.
The Life Cycle Of Basil Plant: Basil Growing Stages
The life cycle of a basil plant starts from a seed, the seed germinates, becomes a basil seedling, becomes mature, grows flowers, and produces seeds. Those are the stages of basil growth.
After those phases when the plant is very old it will slowly stop growing and dries up. The plant will be mixed and the soil.