Basil under attack

kilroyscarnival · September 18, 2019

I feel like I'm resigning myself to keeping my sweet basil indoors. At my old place, the apartment, I took a two-buck leggy basil plant from Trader Joes, cut and rooted the tops, lather-rinse-repeat, until I had a dozen or so nicely bushy basil plants. On my back step I couldn't grow much more than that and a small box of salad greens. Then along came this black-and-yellow couple of Southeastern lubber grasshoppers which systematically ate the basil to a stump and tried to live off my much hardier Cuban oregano.

Here at the new place, I started over with some basil a few months back, and also had discovered a surviving woody stalk of it that had been planted with my patio tomato in a container. Within the past week I went from discovering that I had what looked like a piece of white fluff on the underside of a few leaves, to a full-scale assault by what seemed to be ants. As it turns out, I guess ants preying on white wooly aphids to gather their honeydew. And the ants were covering the stems of the basil with black potting soil.

So, I mixed up a spray bottle full of mild dish soap (the Seventh Generation type) and water, and sprayed, then picked up some neem oil and applied a solution with that Sunday. I think that for now the battle has been won, but wonder whether I need to keep applying. The basil look a bit sad, as I took off a lot of leaves in cleaning it up, but there is new growth at the crown, and after I let that go for a bit I can dead-head it and see if I get new growth. But, wow, it made me wonder what I'm in for with the tomatoes.

Another thing I might try doing is putting my basil containers within a moat so the ants at least don't get across to it. My sweetie's house has always been battling an ant problem, so makes sense that it extends to the back yard. At least they aren't fire ants!

For now, I'm keeping the two new basil pots I started from seed -- Lettuce Leaf Basil and a Red Rubin -- inside and in the windowsill.

September 18, 2019	#1
kilroyscarnival Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 614	Basil under attack I feel like I'm resigning myself to keeping my sweet basil indoors. At my old place, the apartment, I took a two-buck leggy basil plant from Trader Joes, cut and rooted the tops, lather-rinse-repeat, until I had a dozen or so nicely bushy basil plants. On my back step I couldn't grow much more than that and a small box of salad greens. Then along came this black-and-yellow couple of Southeastern lubber grasshoppers which systematically ate the basil to a stump and tried to live off my much hardier Cuban oregano. Here at the new place, I started over with some basil a few months back, and also had discovered a surviving woody stalk of it that had been planted with my patio tomato in a container. Within the past week I went from discovering that I had what looked like a piece of white fluff on the underside of a few leaves, to a full-scale assault by what seemed to be ants. As it turns out, I guess ants preying on white wooly aphids to gather their honeydew. And the ants were covering the stems of the basil with black potting soil. So, I mixed up a spray bottle full of mild dish soap (the Seventh Generation type) and water, and sprayed, then picked up some neem oil and applied a solution with that Sunday. I think that for now the battle has been won, but wonder whether I need to keep applying. The basil look a bit sad, as I took off a lot of leaves in cleaning it up, but there is new growth at the crown, and after I let that go for a bit I can dead-head it and see if I get new growth. But, wow, it made me wonder what I'm in for with the tomatoes. Another thing I might try doing is putting my basil containers within a moat so the ants at least don't get across to it. My sweetie's house has always been battling an ant problem, so makes sense that it extends to the back yard. At least they aren't fire ants! For now, I'm keeping the two new basil pots I started from seed -- Lettuce Leaf Basil and a Red Rubin -- inside and in the windowsill.