The Scoop on Basil?

SpanishAmada

I have a basil plant that has grown up to about a foot and has a second stalk that is about 5 inches.  I water when the dirt becomes dry, and it is indoors, but receive the afternoon Florida sun for about 5 hours.  I am not a gardening expert at all, but I really want to learn more about herbs since I want to grow my own.  The leaves keep browning and shedding, and I don't understand why.

 Any tips on how to prevent this? 

Dr.Loretta

Has it bloomed at all? You need to cut back blooms to keep the stems from getting woody and the plant going to seed. That might be part of it, or just a natural browning of a few leaves.

ddumire

Keep the soil moist.  Basil needs a fair amount.  I wouldn't let it dry out as much.  It also might not be getting enough sun since basil needs a fair amount, though I'm jealous you can even manage to get that much in your house!  I can't grow anything indoors without a grow light, even house plants!

As pp mentioned you need to pinch basil back to keep it bushy and prevent it from going to seed.  Any flowers should be promptly pinched off.

nital

basil does like lots of water, and does great with a lot of sun.  mine are planted outside and get watered daily and get full sun (i'm in zone 8).  they're about 3 feet tall and bushy (about 2 feet in diameter).

also, make sure you're pruning it properly.  you don't just want to pull leaves off when you use them.  pinching off the tops encourages them to become bushier, producing more leaves.

SpanishAmada

Wow. Thank you all.  Silly me, I thought the flowers were good signs.  And I just followed the instructions about the water. So now I know to pluck flowers, keep it moist, and pinch the tops off.  This should help.  Thank you so much!

CollegeGrrl219

Yes, pinch the tops off.

Since you're in Florida, you could probably plant some outside. I have some outside, but they don't survive past frost.