Lemon Basil

[Hdinkleman]

I have some lemon basil plants.
planning on selling them for 10$ a piece.

has anyone grown basil?
if so what ph? i have been using bottled ro water and completely organic supersoil plus microbes, but i am going to have to start using tap water, which has chlorine and i want to actually adjust to the correct ph when that is added.

is it the same in soil 6-7?
would 6.5 be good for lemon basil?

 

[TorturedSoul]

If it's chlorine in your water - as opposed to chloramine, which is more difficult to get rid of - you can leave it in an open-top container overnight, leave it in an open-top container in the direct sunlight for a shorter period of time, or even just pour a rather small amount of H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide), say a cap full per gallon into the water and, as long as the water's pH is above 7.0, the chlorine issue will be taken care of quickly (at a pH of 8.5, it happens more or less instantaneously). This chemical process also has the additional benefit of boosting the dissolved oxygen level in the water a bit.

The only recommendations I've seen for basil in regards to soil pH are that it can grow in a wide range - between 5.1 and 8.5 - but does best within the range of 5.5 to 6.5. Again, that's when growing in soil. If you're growing basil in a hydroponic setup, the best pH is in the range of 6.5 to 6.8 (and mix your nutrients so that the solution's EC is between 1.0 to 1.4, somewhat milder when growing in hotter temperatures).

I was thinking about growing a plant in a simple passive hydroponic setup (hempy), but ended up going with soil and about the same ratio of perlite as I use with most other plants. I'm just growing it as a houseplant, so I probably won't pay much attention to numbers - just give it a little something when it looks like it needs it, lol.

I'd be interested in reading about how it goes for you. Please return to this thread and let us know (thanks).

 

[Hdinkleman]

so far i have not been phing the nutes at all.
just been using RO water with small amount of nutes and letting the supersoil microbes handle the ph adjustment.
guess i am going to ph to 6.0 if i have to use tap water.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I never adjusted the pH of anything before I started growing cannabis, and Mom still doesn't. The pH of our municipal water supply is above 8, lol. Which, I suppose, demonstrates that plants are tougher than we give them credit for (and that soil does provide a buffer against "bad" pH feedings/watering).

But in your case, wishing to sell basil (plants), yes, I'd probably try to get things close to optimum. With luck, it won't require a great deal of adjustment. I've read about things like total alkalinity and such - not nearly enough to teach others, lol, and barely enough to even grasp some of the concepts - and it turns out that, in a healthy soil environment, pH doesn't seem to be the only thing (might not even be "much of a thing," so to speak).

I should page an expert, or maybe she's just a highly knowledgeable amateur. Whatever the actual designation, she seems to know what she's talking about, for sure. @Emilya , could you come school us, please?

 

[Emilya Green]

I have some lemon basil plants.
planning on selling them for 10$ a piece.

has anyone grown basil?
if so what ph? i have been using bottled ro water and completely organic supersoil plus microbes, but i am going to have to start using tap water, which has chlorine and i want to actually adjust to the correct ph when that is added.

is it the same in soil 6-7?
would 6.5 be good for lemon basil?

I have no idea what pH it takes to grow basil and it could be different than our plants, like an orchid that likes a more acidic soil. At any rate, you really don't have to worry about this, and worrying about it is going to mess with the growing system that you have chosen.
You are growing in an organic supersoil, with microbes. Tap water isnt so hard to deal with... just throw a vitamin c tab in a bathtub sized vat of water, and all of the chlorine and chloramine will drop to the bottom as sediment. Supplement your microbe population every 10 days or so with a product like Realgrower Recharge or Voodoo Juice or if you are a DIYer, a good actively aerated compost tea mixed with the elements needed for this stage of your grow.
The point is, the only time you need to adjust pH is when you are using a nutrient line that has its good stuff locked up in salt chelated bonds, that only break apart in solutions of the right pH. Since you are not using these nutes and relying on the soil and the microbes to feed your plant, do not under any circumstances mess with the water by adding acids or bases to adjust it to a number that is not required... that will kill microbes. It is hard enough to keep the microbes going and happy... don't make it harder by throwing in stuff that will kill off a percentage of them.
So, reflect on what you are doing...organic gardening. If you are using a product like voodoo juice or recharge, you could even use straight tap water complete with chlorine... it would take swimming pool strength to actually kill all the microbes and by recharging every 10 days, tap water is not going to hurt a thing in the long run.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Thank you for responding (and so quickly, too).

 

[Hdinkleman]

the plants are doing great, been watering it with my flowering nutes for a small auto i got in the same tent.