Hmmm. I'd be very surpised to see scale on basil, at least the annual sort.

Which basil is it? And what sort of critters -- size, shape, color, location, etc.) do you see?

It's globe basil. (None on the Thai basil.) The critters are the hard-to-see, brownish, flat ovals that appear on stems and at bases of leaves. Same thing that attacks bay trees. And it surprised me, too, to see it on basil. I'm usually fighting white flies on basil.

Well, if it's truly scale, I'd start over. Annual basils are truly very easy from seed.

This is the organic forum, right? Okay, just wanted to check and make sure. Alcohol and soap dunking is out - not organic. In fact they are anti-organic.

Scale can be smothered by oil. If you can find your favorite organic oil and paint it on the scale with a cotton tipped stick you should be okay.

I'm curious about getting the scale in the first place. Are your herbs planted with a dash of compost? Are you fertilizing with organic fertilizer? I would suggest monthly feeding with used coffee grounds, corn meal, or flour. Are you spraying the foliage with anything? I would suggest foliar spraying every 2 weeks with liquid seaweed or milk diluted at 3 ounces per gallon of water. The fertilizer and spraying should keep the scale away. I also water my plants with diluted milk water every time I water.

What would be a good organic oil to have as a favorite?

As for how they got the scale. Not sure. They were growing in my garden and I brought them in...some rooted first in water, and some planted directly in potting soil. All are now in potting soil.

Since I'm new to "organic" (not that I ever purposefully used any of the commercial toxic stuff), I don't know about "anti-organic." So, please fill me in. Obviously, I have a lot to learn.

jean001 is worth her salt;Rogue the damn thing and start over.

well, KS;
the only other thing that crosses my mind is that it may be some form of oedema.Google: "oedema + basil."What is required is a good high powered magnifying loop...Hope this was helpful

My recent thought is the same as Pickwick's -- most likely it's edema. If so, not a problem.

It's easy to differentiate between scale and edema.

Scale can be easily lifted off the plant surface with a fingernail. Typically, the surface of scale is smooth.

Edema is part and parcel of the plant. It's a small cluster of cells which have enlarged beyond normal proportions, often turning tan to brown with time. Typically, the surface of edema is somewhat "pebbly" -- but *very* small pebbles the size of single cells. If you lift it off, the plant surface will be damaged.

If it's edema, the "problem" is environment. Thus, inconsequential to using the leaves for cooking, etc.

Because we're lacking a photo, I'd like to suggest another road to ID -- take a sample (even the entire plant if of reasonable size) to a knowledgeable person, perhaps your county's Extension Service or a large independent garden center.

Next, help the rest of us refine our own diagnostic skills by coming come back to tell us what the final ID is.

jean001: there was no doubt in my mind that your thinking parelleled mine given the chance...But if it is indeed a scale species; it is not worth saving.You definately have more patience than I,jean...Let's hope KS keeps us informed

Thanks for the info on edema. ("oedema + basil" turned up some interesting info, including medicinal used of basil.) I have seen edema on basil in the past, and I didn't know what it was. But this is really scale. It passes the removal-with-a fingernail-leaving-no-damage test. For now, I think I'll just keep inspecting and removing the critters. I'd still like a recommendation on an organic oil.

Okay, it passes the lifts-easily test.

But so does a certain scale look-a-like -- that is, the young of whiteflies.

And you did say you usually are fighting whiteflies on basil. So perhaps that's what you have again.

How about trying neem oil? Used inside on a specific pest, it's broad scale, non-selective properties won't be an issue.

What would be a good organic oil to have as a favorite?

Neem oil is a very popular organic oil used in horticulture pest control.

Since I'm new to "organic"..., I don't know about "anti-organic." So, please fill me in. Obviously, I have a lot to learn.

The idea with organic gardening is to feed the good microbes and provide them a good environment. Then they will keep everything in balance to feed the plants and protect them from sucking insects and disease. Killing them with alcohol is the opposite idea. Alcohol is an antiseptic. That means it kills "germs." Germs is a poorly used word meaning bacteria with no regard to whether the bacteria are beneficial or disease causing (pathogens). Beneficial bacteria far outnumber the pathogens but sometimes the balance between the good and bad gets out of whack allowing disease and pests to take over temporarily. When you use an antiseptic you are killing all the bacteria whether beneficial or not. Then after the beneficial bacteria disappear, the disease causing bacteria often grow back faster than the beneficial ones. This is called disease, and instead of be prevented by the alcohol, it was caused by it.

Thanks for the Neem oil recommendation and the "anti-organic" explanation. Makes a lot of sense, now that I understand the point. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

also KS; I hope you explored the google search deep enough to realize that "oedema" /"edema " are both used to define this physiological - environmental phenomenon.And here I might make an attempt rather privately understand Dchall's ideas of pot culture and plant nutrition and the difficulty in maintaining a holistic approach indoors and the risk assessment and consequent action plan we decide on an individual level to help reduce a crisis management situation carried forth through the winter months...

Pickwick,
Was my post too technical or are you just joshing with me? I know when I try to explain this stuff to my wife her eyes roll back in the sockets and she seems to drift off. My first wife was the one with the degree in horticulture. When she would start talking details of organic chemistry I would do the same thing (eyes rolling, etc.) and I would reply by telling her how an airplane flies. I am a former aerospace engineer who happened to be a rocket scientist at a couple of points in my career, so many a time I've been both on the giving and receiving side of a "too technical" discussion. At a different time in my life I was tasked to turn the requirements of doctors into what I called "baby talk" so that a building contractor could build the equipment and facilities the doctors' wanted. I try to bring more of that part of my life to the forums here. If I'm too techie, please ask for simpler explanations. I'm trying to be understood, not glossed over.

Happy New Year to y'all!!

Some Ethanol alchohol might be orgamic. Give your basil a drunk of whishjkey.

Hopefully that was a joke, envirocop c-;