I have only ever grown sweet basil but that seedling doesn't look like a Basil to me.

Apart from doubting that it's Basil at all, the stem looks perfectly normal for any seedling of that age. You could increase light levels which might thicken it up a bit. If it falls over when you water firm the medium gently and water from the bottom.

Maybe someone who has grown Thai Basil from seed can comment on the id.

Thai basil seedlings look much the same as normal sweet basils. Thai basil generally has smaller, more pointy leaves and different coloration but has the same general basil look.

I doubt it is basil as well, but leave until you have a 100% ID as to what is is.

FataMorgana

I have grown Thai (Holy) Basil from seeds and it doesn't look like that. The stems of mine were always very strong. Where did you get your seeds?

If I had to id that seedling I'd be inclined towards something like dock. I suspect the Basil didn't germinate and this drifted in or was in the mix already.

Well I was comparing that to the Thai basil I started and it didn't look much the same. So I started poking around, and it turns out what *I* have coming up is actually the holy basil. Apparently I got the packets mixed up when I started them.

So its the Thai basil that didn't come up at all, and the holy basil did.

However I did find this picture of a Thai basil seedling:

It doesn't seem likely that yours is a Thai basil seedling - but what harm could it do to let it go a few more days and see what the new leaves look like?

As for spindly stems - often that is caused by low light at germination. I had some sweet basil where one cell germinated before all the others, just exactly when we got 3 days in a row of cloudy skies. It was very leggy and thin-stemmed compared to the seed that germinated a little later when it was sunny again.

Another thing that can cause it is if the seed was planted a little too shallowly. I've seen something similar with seed that gets washed UP out of the medium when you are top watering.

Either case is not the end of the world. With better lighting, if that was the problem, the stem will grow thicker as the plant grows. Otherwise it thickens up over time.

It also seems you've used a fairly coarse mixture for your potting medium - I'm not sure, my eyes are not great any more, but I think I see large chunks of bark in the mix. I always start seeds in finer medium than I would grow them in later, say a peat-medium vermiculite mix, or peat-and the finest stuff sifted out of pine fines (usually up to 1/2" in size, sifted through window screen to remove the fines which I then use for seedlings, the larger stuff being for container plants).

BTW it shouldn't take a month for basil seed of any variety to germinate. I usually don't pay THAT much attention, but it seems to me all my basil (sweet, Thai, and Holy) that was GOING to germinate did so in a week to 10 days. My guess is you lost all your seed and that is some kind of weed that blew in.

What was your seed starting method? Where did you have the plants sitting?

Here is a link that might be useful: More pics of thai basil

This post was edited by zensojourner on Sun, Oct 26, 14 at 14:27

Zackey, holy basil and thai basil are two very different plants - different species in fact. Thai basil is a Ocimum basilicum variety. Holy basil is Ocimum tenuiflorum (aka Ocimum sanctum). I've grown both and they do look very different.

FataMorgana

More light, less water (soggy soils impair root function and make it difficult for the plant to move water and the nutrients dissolved in the water - so a sickly plant results), and put a fan on them so the stem flexes, which stimulates lignin production. Lignin strengthens cell walls and is a primary component of wood (secondary to cellulose). Also, lightly scuffing the stem with a sharp tool (you don't need to damage the stem) will produce a thigmomorphogenic response. The scuffing stimulates the formation of ethylene, which in turn stimulates the formation of lignin, so you get a sturdier plant.

I'd go more light, less water, and put a fan on them. Make 'damp', not wet, your operational word for soil moisture levels. You want the soil only about as damp as a sponge that's thoroughly wrung out. Your soil choice will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on what kind of opportunity (culturally speaking) you will be able to provide your plants to realize their genetic potential. Let me know if you want to chase that thought.

Al

Thanks all for your input. Based on pictures, I don't think it was a basil, and it unfortunately didn't make it anyway.

I started them in a compost mixture that I got from a hill that we recently dug up at the farm. Its a very fertile mixture, but maybe a tad to thin, gonna mix it with some other potting soil the next time around. The seeds were given to me by a friend, but I think that thing was already in the mixture or blew in. In any event, I'm gonna give it another try and will report back.

Thanks again all.