They do look parched. Like a good soaking and draining, would liven them up. Try 1/3 Rd of like that then give it an overnight. Also poke your finger down a couple inches, in a dry one. It’s just an experiment going from outdoors to under artificial lights.
MeNoPickle
That light is going to catch it on fire eventually
Ratstail91
“7.8/10, not enough water.”
Burnie_9
Overwatered maybe. Or maybe too much light intensity. Hard to tell. It’ll drink less indoors vs outdoor in the more fluctuating environment
spaetzlechick
Did you “reverse harden” the plants when you brought them in? Were they outside getting 6 hours of fall sun and then were shot into 12+ hours of artificial light?
Were they transplanted at the same time?
Gurukitty
It’s too cold and humid
forwormsbravepercy
Basil is very easy to start and grows fast once established. I don’t see a reason to overwinter it.
Birchbarks
Cold basement? Too close to the light, give em a little space and maybe less like if you’re over 16hrs
reefer_roulette
There is an app that will measure the light. It’s Photone.
They will never look as good inside as they did/do inside.
As for watering, stiff stems and droopy leaves = overwatering. Droopy stems and leaves = under watering. Your pots look wet.
If brought in from outside, beware of pests that travel in with them. I wouldn’t put these next to anythign else. They get their own space.
yaabbeeddoo
It looks cold. Basil likes those hot summer days. The garage just ain’t the same!!
Lara1327
Too close to the light is my guess. I would give them more space and see what happens.
MaximumHall1905
I see you keep saying it’s on heat mats that’s for the root zone. Leaf temp is what everyone is asking about. Basil is not a cold hardy plant so anything below 60f is gonna droop the leafs.
This is a guess without knowing your PPFD or your light but your lights look a little close. I use this app called photon to get an estimate at PPFD it’s not exact but it’s free and gets you an idea.
Lastly I use the knuckle trick to determine if a root zone is thirsty again not an exact measurement but gets you close. Stick a finger in the soil up to your 2nd knuckle if it’s dry at the first knuckle it needs water if it’s wet wait for it to dry out.
I see other people trying to talk you out of this but you seem set on doing it and half the fun of growing plants is seeing what you can do and still get a harvest. Keep it up!
jam2market
I’ve tried growing basil indoors a few times and it never works for me. I just grow it outside in the summer and call it good.
DrunkPole
Don’t forget to setup a fan for airflow, no wind indoors.
stormywoofer
They will go through a transition period too with the big change in conditions(if these were outdoors before)
HorzaDonwraith
I just let them go to seed at the end of the season and ensure a few of the pods make it to the ground. The following year i week have a few weeks basil plants growing. I’ll transplant them to more favorable locations for the growing season.
WineDineCpl
Looks very close to the light. We have our basil outdoors in indirect light and it grows like a weed. Perhaps we have mutant basil, but I would try a little more distance from the light.
Honest_Mammoth2771
Check if the water is too hard.
Also, take out of pot and crumble up the soil. Maybe replace with some fresh soil.
I would definitely let them soak an hour to absorb the water.
Ohio_Grown
Why tho?
400footceiling
I’d let those go and start some new from seed under the lights closer to spring planting for your area. Basil grows pretty fast.
augustinthegarden
Basil doesn’t want you to overwinter it. It wants to germinate, spend the summer growing, flower, set seed, and die.
We try to “trick” it into living longer than it wants by pinching off the flowers, but if you’ve had that since the summer you truly are dealing with mutton dressed as lamb here. Let the poor things die. They don’t want to live anymore.
If you want basil in the winter, just start some seeds and grow new plants under those lights.
barfbutler
Basil likes the outdoors.
BE_MORE_DOG
There’s no point overwintering basil. It’ll just go to seed/flower once you out it out next year. They aren’t long lived plants.
MassConsumer1984
Start new ones from seed. These plants are just too old and past their life cycle.
lejardin8Hill
Might be better to start new plants from seed under the grow lights. Whenever I have tried to overwinter my basil it’s gone down to white fly or other pests that like the indoors.
Desertratk
Those lights look super close for a mature plant. My grow lights want to be 24-30 inches away from a mature plant. Though all lights are different, see what your manual tells you.
Ya, that’s too hot for the root zone. Even in the hottest part of summer the ground gets water to cool the roots. The plant itself loves the heat, just not quite that hot for the roots.
Mission-Cloud360
Those babies look so thirsty!
sunberrygeri
Basil can get root bound very quickly. Check one and if it’s very rooty, consider light root pruning and up potting to fresh soil with a light fertilizer
CompetitiveTree2014
I think the lights are too close- based on how the leaves are folding up. And, are you remembering to turn them off at night/half the day?
35 Comments
How is the temperature?
How often are you watering them?
Overwatering? Underwatering? Stress perhaps?
It’s tired boss 😂
They do look parched. Like a good soaking and draining, would liven them up. Try 1/3 Rd of like that then give it an overnight. Also poke your finger down a couple inches, in a dry one. It’s just an experiment going from outdoors to under artificial lights.
That light is going to catch it on fire eventually
“7.8/10, not enough water.”
Overwatered maybe. Or maybe too much light intensity. Hard to tell. It’ll drink less indoors vs outdoor in the more fluctuating environment
Did you “reverse harden” the plants when you brought them in? Were they outside getting 6 hours of fall sun and then were shot into 12+ hours of artificial light?
Were they transplanted at the same time?
It’s too cold and humid
Basil is very easy to start and grows fast once established. I don’t see a reason to overwinter it.
Cold basement? Too close to the light, give em a little space and maybe less like if you’re over 16hrs
There is an app that will measure the light. It’s Photone.
They will never look as good inside as they did/do inside.
As for watering, stiff stems and droopy leaves = overwatering. Droopy stems and leaves = under watering. Your pots look wet.
If brought in from outside, beware of pests that travel in with them. I wouldn’t put these next to anythign else. They get their own space.
It looks cold. Basil likes those hot summer days. The garage just ain’t the same!!
Too close to the light is my guess. I would give them more space and see what happens.
I see you keep saying it’s on heat mats that’s for the root zone. Leaf temp is what everyone is asking about. Basil is not a cold hardy plant so anything below 60f is gonna droop the leafs.
This is a guess without knowing your PPFD or your light but your lights look a little close. I use this app called photon to get an estimate at PPFD it’s not exact but it’s free and gets you an idea.
Lastly I use the knuckle trick to determine if a root zone is thirsty again not an exact measurement but gets you close. Stick a finger in the soil up to your 2nd knuckle if it’s dry at the first knuckle it needs water if it’s wet wait for it to dry out.
I see other people trying to talk you out of this but you seem set on doing it and half the fun of growing plants is seeing what you can do and still get a harvest. Keep it up!
I’ve tried growing basil indoors a few times and it never works for me. I just grow it outside in the summer and call it good.
Don’t forget to setup a fan for airflow, no wind indoors.
They will go through a transition period too with the big change in conditions(if these were outdoors before)
I just let them go to seed at the end of the season and ensure a few of the pods make it to the ground. The following year i week have a few weeks basil plants growing. I’ll transplant them to more favorable locations for the growing season.
Looks very close to the light. We have our basil outdoors in indirect light and it grows like a weed. Perhaps we have mutant basil, but I would try a little more distance from the light.
Check if the water is too hard.
Also, take out of pot and crumble up the soil. Maybe replace with some fresh soil.
I would definitely let them soak an hour to absorb the water.
Why tho?
I’d let those go and start some new from seed under the lights closer to spring planting for your area. Basil grows pretty fast.
Basil doesn’t want you to overwinter it. It wants to germinate, spend the summer growing, flower, set seed, and die.
We try to “trick” it into living longer than it wants by pinching off the flowers, but if you’ve had that since the summer you truly are dealing with mutton dressed as lamb here. Let the poor things die. They don’t want to live anymore.
If you want basil in the winter, just start some seeds and grow new plants under those lights.
Basil likes the outdoors.
There’s no point overwintering basil. It’ll just go to seed/flower once you out it out next year. They aren’t long lived plants.
Start new ones from seed. These plants are just too old and past their life cycle.
Might be better to start new plants from seed under the grow lights. Whenever I have tried to overwinter my basil it’s gone down to white fly or other pests that like the indoors.
Those lights look super close for a mature plant. My grow lights want to be 24-30 inches away from a mature plant. Though all lights are different, see what your manual tells you.
https://preview.redd.it/a98nsikysv4g1.jpeg?width=1138&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c60a303da8ae082cb53b3a2bc41366b48bd91092
Basil is an annual. It wants to die
Too warm, basil likes cooler temps
Ya, that’s too hot for the root zone. Even in the hottest part of summer the ground gets water to cool the roots. The plant itself loves the heat, just not quite that hot for the roots.
Those babies look so thirsty!
Basil can get root bound very quickly. Check one and if it’s very rooty, consider light root pruning and up potting to fresh soil with a light fertilizer
I think the lights are too close- based on how the leaves are folding up. And, are you remembering to turn them off at night/half the day?