Just realized my basil wasn't growing because of the wrong pot color

I kept wondering why my balcony basil was so leggy and sad compared to my neighbor's plants, then I read on a gardening blog that dark plastic pots can heat up roots too much in direct sun. I had been using a black container on my south-facing balcony in Austin, so the soil temp was probably cooking the roots all afternoon. Has anyone else seen a big difference switching to lighter colored pots or fabric grow bags?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseywest10d ago

Gotta disagree here, my black pots in full Texas sun grow monster basil every summer. Pretty sure the heat thing is overblown unless you're watering wrong or your dirt is garbage.

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karen_martin8d ago

@caseywest Heat loving it up there in Texas maybe, but black pots turn into little ovens here in the PNW summers if you blink twice and forget the water once... one dry spell and your basil is toast faster than you can say "compost pile.