HI HI- wrote:

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ok we got a little coldness last night not too bad it was about 33ish no frost however. i checked my basil plants and they seem to be turning brown. i will say that a few days ago i noticed that something was eating the leaves from the middle. i sprin
kled some dust on them. will my basil now die? is it too late to save them?



Basil is *very* tender, so if it was a clear night, the radiation
cooling could drop the temperature at the leaf surface below the damage
threshold, even though the air temperature might be as high as 35F. It
depends on how large the plants are. If they are still seedlings, they
probably won't recover. If they are large plants, the top leaves will
shade the lower leaves and protect them. If it's only the upper leaves
that are turning brown, cut off the dead leaves and the plant will
recover.

It's still early in the year -- plenty of time to seed more basil.

Whatever is eating the leaves is a separate issue. Are they a lot of
small holes or a few large holes? I don't know the bug timing for
Atlanta, but the small holes might be flea beetles. They will disappear
with warmer weather. If the plant is healthy, it can outgrow bug damage
unless there are really a lot of them. I wouldn't dust the leaves since
they are the parts of the plant you are going to eat (unless you are
just growing it for the smell).