馃尶 Basil 路 January
Whether January works depends on which corner of the country you鈥檙e standing in. Here鈥檚 the per-city read, sowing, transplanting and harvesting, plus the spacing, the timing and the family-of-four maths.
Days to harvest
25-35 days to first harvest; ongoing
Spacing
20 cm
Cities sowing in January
4
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide
Family of 4
2-4 plants is sufficient for fresh use; plant 6+ if making pesto regularly
January in summer is one of twelve windows the Australian year offers, and whether you can plant basil this month depends on which corner of the country you're standing in. Below is the per-city read: where basil is being sown from seed, where it's going in as seedlings, and where it's already being harvested.
Sowing basil from seed in January: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide. Transplanting basil seedlings in January: Hobart. Harvesting basil in January: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra.
Across Australia's climate zones, basil keeps to tropical, year-round (reduce watering in wet season); subtropical, august-march; temperate, september-february; cool, october-january; arid, august-february. January sits inside that window for the cool zone. The longer version, including the climate-zone-by-zone breakdown, lives on the Basil growing guide.
Basil is a warm-season annual herb that collapses at the first frost and sulks in cold soil. In Australian raised beds, it is best planted as a companion to tomatoes and capsicum after the soil has warmed in spring. Sow seed 5mm deep direct into the bed, or start indoors 4 weeks before transplanting.
If you're planting basil this January, the bed prep is the same as any other month: a 30 cm-deep raised bed worked through with compost, spacing of 20 cm between plants, and full sun (6+ hours daily). The crop takes 25-35 days to first harvest; ongoing, which means a January planting will be ready around February. Use the raised bed calculator to size the bed and the companion planting guide to fill it out.
For a household of four, 2-4 plants is sufficient for fresh use; plant 6+ if making pesto regularly Expected yield is Ongoing, a single plant can produce 300-500g over a season with regular harvesting.
The January basil read changes city by city. The list above is the high-level signal; for the exact dates and bed-by-bed planting plan, the Plant Planner basil module reads your postcode and your bed dimensions and does the rest of the maths.
Whether January works for basil depends on your climate zone. The planting windows are: tropical, year-round (reduce watering in wet season); subtropical, august-march; temperate, september-february; cool, october-january; arid, august-february. In January specifically, the broad rules suggest it's a planting month in the cool zone.
Basil takes 25-35 days to first harvest; ongoing. A January planting will be ready around February. Harvest basil by pinching off the top pair of leaves and the stem tip, just above a set of leaves. This encourages two new shoots to form, doubling the harvest points. Harvest in the morning when essential oil concentration is highest. For large harvests, cut stems to a third of the plant's height.
2-4 plants is sufficient for fresh use; plant 6+ if making pesto regularly Yield expectation: Ongoing, a single plant can produce 300-500g over a season with regular harvesting.
Full sun (6+ hours daily). Moderate, water at the base; basil hates wet foliage. Soil pH 6.0-7.0. Spacing 20 cm between plants, 30 cm between rows.
The planner reads your postcode and your bed, picks the right window, and emails the reminders the weekend before each task.
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