Agricultural production
The greenhouse cultivation of our basil
Jenuary 18, 2020
Basil is our most important production. We have been growing it since 1967 and since then we have never stopped taking care of this precious plant with passion. Over the years we have grown as farmers, learning and improving cultivation techniques. This passion and total dedication to the production of our basil led us to join the consortium of genoese basil PDOs
In this article we will explain in particular how our precious basil is grown in greenhouses, even during the winter season.
How our basil is produced
In the collective imagination basil is linked to summer. Its bright green color and its scent, in fact, inevitably remind us of the warmer season. However, if grown in a greenhouse, basil can be consumed throughout the year.
This because our plant needs a minimum temperature of around 16-18 degrees to develop. Its roots suffer from humidity stagnation and its leaves prefer warm air. For this reason we grow basil in greenhouses, at a constant temperature between 20 and 22 degrees. The temperature of our greenhouses is regulated by heating, shading and insulation systems.
Greenhouse preparation
The first phase of cultivation of basil is to prepare the field inside the greenhouse. With a tractor we move the soil several times in order to make it soft, while with a roller we proceed to its levelling. The soil must be flat so that the distribution of the seedlings is homogeneous.
At this point we can proceed to sow manually our basil. In this phase we are careful that inside the greenhouse there is a distance between a row and the other that makes it easier for us to harvest the plants, which will also be done manually.
Irrigation
Even the irrigation of our basil in the greenhouse is manual. This happens especially when the plant is small and during the winter season, in order to avoid water stagnation. During the warmer months, however, and when the plant is taller, we prefer to use automatic systems, varying the flow according to temperature and degree of sunshine.
Harvesting and packaging
The basil seedlings are harvested manually after about twenty days during the winter season, and after ten, fifteen days in summer. Once the suitable size is reached, the plant is extracted complete with roots.
This video shows the harvest of basil that will be packaged for sale.
We can now proceed with the packaging. We divide our seedlings into smaller or larger bunches as needed. To preserve the freshness of the product and avoid dehydration, we use inert food paper.
The distribution of our product
Our basil is sold to restaurants, pizzerias, kiosks and beach bars in our area during the summer, while in winter we focus on production for intermediaries in Genoa and Turin, which distribute our product at various supermarkets.
The cultivation of basil is not a simple source of income for us. It is a source of pride, a constant stimulus that drives us to improve ourselves. The scent of its leaves speaks to us of home, and the sacrifice that this work entails is rewarded by the bond with a territory that becomes closer and closer as the years go by.
For this reason we work hard to ensure the direct sale of our basil to anyone who wants to buy our product from our company.
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