Young basil and sunlight

Question

I’m trying to start a small indoor pot of basil for my kitchen use which I have done numerous times before. The baby leaves (forget what they are called but are still rounded) have just protruded through the soil. My husband keeps taking my pot from our outdoor greenhouse and putting it on the deck rail in very HOT, dry, baking sunlight because he says it needs 6 hours of it a day. To me, the leaves look stressed and are yellowing (cooking?) in the extreme heat. Today it is 90 degrees on our deck. When I move the pot into my little greenhouse which gets filtered sunlight, he immediately moves it back into the direct sunlight. We are arguing over this, and although a small problem, I would like to know if such new little plants really do need to be placed in direct sunlight NOW, or if they should be allowed to grow a bit in less stressful surroundings and then put in the direct sun after they are a bit more mature. What say you?

Answer 1

You are th winner of this battle. The plant is too young to handle the strength of full sun, especially in scorching temps. It needs time to acclimate and grow strongr roots first. Once it is larger and has fully acclimated you can slowly introduce the plant to more sun. Still, any plant regardless of age needs occasional relief from the hot, baking sun. Also, make sure that the plant receives plenty of water.