What's Wrong With My Basil?

[Alex Veidel]

Everything doesn't seem to be on the up and up when I'm checkin' out this basil plant in my system. The leaves are getting kinda glazed over and shriveling up into black/brown patches. Anybody know what the problem is?

[Bart]

Hi Alex, did you ever sort out what the issue is??

I seem to be haveing a similar challenge with the basil in my grow bed. The odd thing is there's a potted basil in soil three feet away that looks fine.

[Alex Veidel]

Nope, still haven't got a clue as to what the problem is.

[Roger]

Alex - Do you have any webbing anywhere on the plant leaves?  If so it could be spider mites.  However, I'm currently having problems with thrips and the damage to your leaves looks similar to what I'm seeing on some of my plants.  Look closely, do you see any long, slender, brown bugs crawling anywhere on the plant.  Remember to also look on the underside of the leaves.  Let me know.

[Alex Veidel]

I do have a spider mite problem with some of my other plants, they seem to be attracted to my squash and cucumber. However, there isn't any webbing on my basil, and the kind of damage looks different, mostly in color, with the dried up yellow color that my squash is getting being replaced with a darker tan/grey covered with little black spots. I'm currently treating my squash plants with some freshly brewed worm castings tea; seems to be helping. I checked my basil all over with a magnifying glass and didn't find any visible insects.

[Alex Veidel]

So I had to kill off my basil plants :( When I pulled them out, there seemed to be something wrong at the base of the plant, like it dried out or something and worked its way toward the leaves. All but one basil plant was affected.

[Bart]

That sucks Alex, have you seen this on any other plants in your system?
Do you add any anything to your system like KOH, FE or Mag.
Thanks for the update.

[Alex Veidel]

No, as of yet, I haven't added anything to my system and my other plants are fine.

[Rob Nash]

this     ^  ...is the link is for uploading pics.  

[Dennis Jay]

I had the same problem with my basil and lettuce. I think it's an airborne fungus. My problem was the humidity was too high in my greenhouse. I added a fan for air circulation, which someone here recommended, and haven't had the problem since with my latest crop.