By Franco3588
Guangzhou,
China 
Hi All,
This may be a duplicate of what I already asked, but I am not sure.
I have some questions. I always want good success so maybe some questions maybe make me sound as a real novice - but I am in China anyway, ahah.
I live in Guangzhou (Canton) China and we are now going into our rainy season and it has been raining now for a few days.
I planted basil and parsley a few weeks ago and they are doing great. Basil ("Big leaf" and "Sweet" - what's difference?)is about 6 inches (about 15 cms) with huge leaves and the parsley is about 4 inches (about 10 cms) with "regular leaves (Italian "flat leaf").
Question1 is - should I cut off the "huge leaves" on the basil? They seem to be shadowing the under branches growth. Second question is - should I continue watering them as I was before the rain? (I was watering them daily or sometimes every other day). The plants look good and also I haven't thinned them out yet (I hate to thin them out). I also planted Oregano, but it hasn't sprouted (yet?).
Thanks for any suggestions.
Franco
2 May, 2011
Answers
The main difference between "big-leaf" and sweet basil is the size of the leaves, though the big-leaf kind is often milder flavored than the basic sweet basil.
I agree with Steragram: there is no problem with leaving the lower leaves on the basil. If it needs the leaves out of the way, it will simply drop them, itself.
One caveat with letting the rain do your watering, is that it takes at least one and a half cm of rain to water well a 15 cm deep pot, and even then, leaves or windblown debris may have diverted too much of the rainfall. Best to know how much the pots weigh when dry, and when wet, and pick them up when deciding whether or not to water.
3 May, 2011
Thank you for your comments and suggetions.
Sounds like I should just water them a little (because I don't think they are really getting enough of the rain water).
Thanks again...
Franco
3 May, 2011
I wouldn't cut off the big leaves - unless you want to use them in your cooking of course. There is no point in watering if the compost is already wet with the rain, but anything in pots needs watching in case it does get dry. Enjoy your herbs!
2 May, 2011