This is how I grew my herbs for sale in market packs

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

How To Grow Basil From Seed
To Market Packs

Whether you are growing for
market, for personal use, or as a fundraiser, growing basil had been one of my
most profitable herbs that I grew when I was in the business of growing and
selling herbs. I opened my nursery mid April, but I didn’t offer my basil
plants for sale until the week before Mothers Day, because it was generally too
cold for basil to be planted in my zone 6. Our frost date is May 15th, and I
always placed a sign by the basil telling people to wait until the 15th to
plant.

For years I seeded my herbs
in 72’s(72 plugs/flat),and planted them in 3″ pots, until I realized that
everyone else was doing this, and I needed to be different, and offer my
customers a better product. I started to grow in 273’s(273 plugs/flat),and
transplant in 6 packs.

I seeded my basil on 3/01 and
transplanted on 3/26. In each cell I seed 10-15 seeds. The basil will germinate
in 3 days. I always seed heavy, because I like to see the packs look full and
lush. They will not be overcrowded, and don’t need to be separated. After
planting the whole plug, the plant will grow full and bushy. People bought my
herbs over others because they felt they were getting more for their money. I
grew all my seed herbs this way. Basil was the only one that I sold in a 6
pack, all the other herbs I grew from seed were grown in 128’s(128 plugs/flat),
and were sold in 4 packs.

Hardy herbs that I took
cuttings from the previous year were sold one per 3″ pots. In my large
greenhouse I had a small greenhouse from Growers Supply, that I used as an incubation
chamber. I filled the small greenhouse with 5 tier plastic shelving that I
bought from Home Depot, where I could fit 65 flats at a time, and if I used
plastic domes on top of the flat I could get over 100 flats at a time, by
putting one on top of the other. This allowed me to keep my large greenhouse
cool, and with the aid of a small heater, I was able to keep the small
greenhouse 65-70EF. A friend of mine would partition his greenhouse by
tucking plastic around the frame and letting it drape like a curtain. When I
first started growing I used a table on top of a table, covered with plastic,
and put my small heater on the floor.

Once seeds start to
germinate, I knew what it felt like to be a baker. While one flat was coming
out, another one was going in, until I had two greenhouses filled top to
bottom. Most important is to have a fan going 24/7. I hope this
information can help any grower who is thinking about adding herbs to his or
her selection. My suggestion is to start with Genovese basil, and add more
herbs as you feel comfortable. Culinary herbs are always in high demand.