I love basil. Fresh basil pesto. With tomato & mozzarella. Just the smell of it puts my soul at ease. So when the weather started getting cooler, I was not yet ready to say good-bye to my baby (they grow so fast, don't they?).
I'd heard and read all about salvaging your herbs and creating even more babies, but had never tried it myself. So as the the leaves began to turn and I could sense Jack Frost making his arrival soon, I decided to embark upon...The Great Basil Experiment!
1. I started by breaking my off some of the branches. I tore some and cut some (to see if there was a difference in the success rate) right where the branch meets the main stem.
2. Once I had my mini-basil clones, I filled a bunch of plastic containers (I knew I was hanging on to those old salsa containers for a reason!) and Tupperware with warm water. Believe it or not, the temperature of the water does matter. With the exception of bulbs, most plants don't take kindly to cold water. I then placed them on my windowsill to ensure they'd receive plenty of sunlight.
3. It's been about three weeks since then. Today, I decided to see how they were faring. I knew that they had to be doing okay because they continued to flower, but I hadn't yet examined their roots. This is what I saw:
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| After I took this picture I busted out laughing- doesn't it look like Mr. Basil is just lounging in a hot tub? |
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| Amazing, right?! |
4. I also did some routine maintenance. I changed the water (it was looking a little murky), took out all the dead and/or moldy leaves and trimmed the flowers. Another tip, the flowers on basil don't do anything except look pretty and suck energy away from the leaves. If you want the best possible tasting basil, do yourself a favor and get rid of the flowers.
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| Before |
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| After |
5. In the next couple weeks, I plan to get some potting soil and hit up Goodwill for some cute jars, pots and/or mugs. I'm thinking Christmas presents! I'll upload some more pictures then.
In the mean time, enjoy a beautiful shot of my very last harvest of the season:
Basil is yummy! Love the idea of transplanting new plants. New follower from blogaholic, look forward to your future posts! You can find me at
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Stop by my blog when you get the chance :)
I love gardening and use basil in a lot of my Italian dishes. I am a new follower from Blogaholic's. I have a book review blog and review all genres..including faith based books. Please stop by and check them out. The coffee is always on : http://kimbathecaffeinatedbookreviewer.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteBasil is my absolute FAVORITE. I tried to grow a basil plant this year, but the Florida sun is much too hot and I didn't do enough research on caring for it. Needless to say it withered and died before producing any more leaves than it came with. These tips are beyond helpful! <3
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