The picture doesn't do justice but when I hold my indoor grown basil leaves they feel thick and leathery versus the store bought which feel delicate and light. The taste is also different with mine being bitter and sharp versus pleasant for the store bought.
What is causing this and what can I do to improve?
by abdul10000
7 Comments
Perhaps environmental conditions, variety, or available nutrients.
I would lean more toward variety, but basil are not my favorite. They hate me.
probably genetics? could also be lighting, ferts, PH, medium and a host of other things. Maybe try cloning the cut of basil you like and see if that solves the problem. Theres tons of different varieties of basil so it could just be one specific type you really like more than others.
Because you aren’t growing it on a commercial farm. Basil is needy until it isn’t. Could be a light issue.
I got this too and figure it’s more than likely genetics. Personally I like the fibrous strains. They survive the oven better and give a satisfying crunch when chopped in a salad.
Possibly a non optimal phenotype of the same cultivar?
Is it getting enough light and nutrient? Basil is fast growing and need an EC of 1.4-1.5 for lush big leaves and in order to produce big leaves, you need 25-30 DLI to provide enough photosynthesis. I find not enough light causes the leaves to be leathery and the taste is very strong vs delicate. I don’t know if it’s the lighting or not, but your leaves look more yellowish vs the bright green so, are you providing enough nitrogen and iron?
Different strain? Different growing conditions?
Experiment with different seeds and different growing conditions, until you get what you want.
Presumably the store bought are grown much faster and are much younger. Try to make it grow faster. Basil loves light. Try to double the light intensity and add cooling ventilation. Then try doubling the light again. Just a guess.