Basil Problems - Dying Leaves and Little Black Insects

[Russel Sprout]

Hi all

I have four indoor basil plants which I've had since the summer. I've got a couple of problems with them, which could well be totally unrelated.

The first is that every now and then a stalk of three seems to give up and all the leaves on it curl up and die. Some leaves are also getting discoloured. Here are some photos:










The second problem is little black flying insects. I don't know if they are actually causing a problem, but they certainly seem to like hanging about the basil plants. Are they problematic or a sign of a problem? Again, some photos:



Huge thanks

Max

[Russel Sprout]

A couple more photos of the bugs:

[jackarmy]

Hard to tell but could they be these ?, plenty of pics online

Black Gnat Facts & Control: How to Get Rid of Black Gnats

fotos below

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fu...NsM%253A%253Bo

[Jungle Jane]

Good camera photos,could be fungus gnats,they're nothing serious just a pest,squash daily etc. Watering from below helps,they lay eggs in the top inch of compost or something like that,if the top of the soils dry,they'll find it really difficult. You could pinch out a couple of tips & put them in water it'll grow new roots,then pot them up,I did last year but they won't grow much really in the winter,but it helps preserve what good leaves there are,then you can get rid of the massive pot outside-the gnats wouldn't be happy or start some more seeds? When your basil gets to about 15cm do you pinch out the tip to make it bushier like with peppers & peas I think?

[mothhawk]

Basil can get fusarium wilt. if that's what it is, there's no hope - chuck plant and soil and start afresh.



https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edi...l-diseases.htm

[Russel Sprout]

Hi all

My apologies - I forgot to get back to you all to say thank you for the replies.

I looked up images of fungus gnats and they do indeed look exactly the same. So it seems that's what I have. And I'm wondering if I might have over watered at some point (could that account for the gnats AND the unhappy leaves?)

I've given the plants a good clean up, removed the dodgy bits, etc. Will see how it goes...

I do have a couple of other questions.

1. How long should I expect an indoor basil plant to live?

2. Should I be feeding them and if so what would anyone recommend? I'm not currently feeding.

When your basil gets to about 15cm do you pinch out the tip to make it bushier like with peppers & peas I think?

I do pinch them out but at a fair bit higher than 15cm (do you mean 15cm from the soil? Is that how short they should be?). Tbh, I tend to pinch them when I see they are starting to go to seed at the head. Should I be doing so before that stage?

Many thanks

Max

[Jungle Jane]

Yes it makes a bushier plant,about 15cm from the soil,when the plant has 6 or 8 leaves you'll see a couple of healthy leaf nodes coming out the stem,if you cut just above that it'll send out two new stems & keep growing taller,then keep taking cuttings. Mine get an high nitrogen feed or a seaweed feed about once a month for their leaves. They're still alive right now but they're not thriving they're just hanging in there,il compost them on my soil in the spring & sow more seeds. The plants I overwintered last year didn't grow very well in the spring,growth wasn't happening,so new seeds is best,but that's just my experience,other people might have had better luck?

[Russel Sprout]

Hi all

I thought I’d write back with an update…. After giving the plants a good trim, removing the dead leaves etc from the top of the compost, and pinching the tips, the gnats seem to have disappeared. And they seem happier. So thank you for those tips

The plant photographed above is still going but not looking great. I should have mentioned however that this was the worst of my basil plants. Here’s a photo of the one which is doing the best out of the few that I have. It was grown from a cutting in the summer (probably around July time at a guess). Not brilliant, but not bad considering our thermostat rarely goes above 15C!



I was thinking of putting a topping on the compost to keep the gnats from returning… Would that be a good idea and if so could I use pistachio shells?

when the plant has 6 or 8 leaves you'll see a couple of healthy leaf nodes coming out the stem,if you cut just above that it'll send out two new stems & keep growing taller,then keep taking cuttings.

Please could I just clarify this? So when the two new stems start to grow, the plant will obviously get taller then 15cm. Should I allow the plant to get taller? Or is the idea that once these have grown enough they can be cut, returning the plant to around 15cmtall, and at the same time giving me two new cuttings to propagate?

Many thanks for all the help

Max

PS – does anyone know why my photos in the first few posts have disappeared?

[Jungle Jane]

That plant there looks good! Yes allow the plant to grow a little taller & then pinch the tips on both stems,there's a video here that shows the way
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=369GsAJyDqQ

[Russel Sprout]

Many thanks Jungle Jane, for the tips, the links and the kind words!