Eating outside becomes much less appealing when you know you’ll be swatting bugs away while you dine (gross). While researching this problem, I found two plants that claim to repel mosquitos naturally: basil and rosemary.

I love rosemary. I love basil. I hate mosquitos. Mosquitos hate both rosemary and basil. It feels like a confusing math problem, but it is really quite simple: plant basil and rosemary to “mosquito-proof” your urban garden.

You can start your basil from seeds, or you could pick up a medium-sized organic basil at your local garden center. If you are container gardening, you will need a medium sized planter and organic soil.

About Basil

Basil likes warm locations & needs full sun (6+ hours a day)
One plant can grow to be 1-2 feet tall
A bushy plant, basil needs space to grow
If you are companion planting, basil grows wonderfully with tomato!

I started my urban basil from seeds. Today, I transplanted my basil babies outside for the first time! Here is how I got here:

My Basil Progress

Planting Urban Basil

I used “jiffy pods” to plant my organic basil seeds
I planted 2-3 seeds in each pod and started seeing sprouts after a week or so
After outgrowing their pods, I replanted the basil into tin cans using organic garden soil
I continued watering, and kept the basil inside on a sunny windowsill for 6 weeks
Next, I moved some of my basil outside and replanted it in window boxes. I kept some of the "tin can basil" inside (basil grows well in both locations)