Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey gang,
I have a 16,000 gallon system. Th lettuce that I am growing is really good, but the basil is very bitter. It is bitter when it is 3 weeks in the system, and never gets better. What might the problem be?

The system was turned on in June, so this is a pretty new system, but it seems stable now..
My pH is running 7.2, my nitrites and nitrates are all down on the scale.
Water temp is 80f and I have a 40% shade cloth over the greenhouse.
Everything is growing great, but I just hate my basil, or it hates me, perhaps.

Here is a video of the system from 3 weeks ago.



Any help is appreciated.

Richard

http://www.easttexasaquaponics.com

Sorry I don’t know what causing the basil issue.
Nice system can you do a video on your seed starting I would love to see it.

Hi Richard,

I like the greenhouse setup

I'm not certain what's going on either. I've grown several different types of basil (Genovese, Thai, Spicy Globe, Lemon, and Sweet)(but not in the quantity you are) and never had this problem. I keep the plants trimmed back so that they don't get a chance to form flowers. Online most comments are listing allowing them to form flowers or go to seed as one possible cause of bitterness. Another is the variety.

This is one of the better summaries I've found and has a couple of additional suggestions - http://homeguides.sfgate.com/basil-bitter-92851.html

+1 to Scotty you shouldn't let them flower or really start showing signs,if they do they need to be cut back,cool storage of harvested Basil will also cause the essential oils to break down causing it to taste bitter.

Sorry I don’t know what causing the basil issue.