How far apart should I plant basil?

20 cm apart in the row, with rows 30 cm apart. In a square foot garden, that's 4 per square.

What grows well with basil?

Tomato, Sweet pepper, Chilli, Aubergine.

Basil

Ocimum basilicum

In a typical UK garden, sow indoors early March to early May, sow outside early May to mid-June, plant out early May to mid-June, and harvest early June to mid-October.

When to sow, plant and harvest

Frost dates

Last frost around 20 April, first frost around 31 October.

Sow indoors: early March to early May
Sow outdoors: early May to mid-June
Plant out: early May to mid-June
Harvest: early June to mid-October

Spacing: 20 cm apart, rows 30 cm apart
Square foot: 4 per square (30 cm squares)
Sowing depth: 0.5 cm
Ready in: 21 to 35 days from planting out
Grows to: 40 cm
Hardiness: Tender: killed by any frost
Sun: Full sun
Crops for: About 12 weeks

Growing tip

Pinch out flowering tips to keep plants bushy, and water in the morning, not the evening.

Neighbours

Grows well with

Herbs are one crop rotation group. Try not to grow them where any of the family grew in the last two or three years. How crop rotation works

Guides

How to grow

Basil hates the cold, so give it warmth, sun and regular pinching

Sow basil indoors from about 6 weeks before your last frost, and plant it out or sow it outside from 2 weeks after the last frost, once nights are warm. Pinch out the tips to keep it bushy, pick regularly, and remove flowers. Plants crop until just before the first autumn frost.

More herbs

Where these figures come from

Every crop in VegLog was checked against published growing advice. Dates are worked out from average frost dates, so they shift with your garden. For basil, we used:

Grow basil with VegLog

Add basil to a bed and VegLog reminds you when to sow, plant out and pick, timed to your own town's frost dates.