How to Grow Basil

Today I am going to show you exactly how to grow basil as well as how to prune it. Once you buy your first basil plant, you will never have to do so again. Best of all, you can plant make new basil plants and give them as a holiday or housewarming gift!

Although there are several herbs that you can plant in your herb garden, the easiest, tastiest and most popular herb has got to be basil.

Use it for pesto or add it to any dish, the uses of this herb is multifold.

And did you know that it is also VERY easy to grow?

That's right, there are actually a couple of ways to propagate a basil plants.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF EATING BASIL?

Basil is used for stomach spasms, loss of appetite, intestinal gas, kidney conditions, fluid retention, head colds, warts, and worm infections. It is also used to treat snake and insect bites. Women sometimes use basil before and after childbirth to promote blood circulation, and also to start the flow of breast milk.

HOW DO YOU GROW BASIL FROM SEED?

If you want to plant basil from seed, there are a couple of key points you need to know in order to be successful.

When it comes to planting basil seeds, basil seeds need to be planted in an area where they will get six to eight hours of sunshine daily.

The soil should have a neutral pH so that they have the best chance of growing.

HOW DO YOU PLANT BASIL SEEDS?

Plant basil seeds in a row and cover with about ¼-inch (6+ ml.) of soil.

Once the plants grow to a few inches in height, thin them out to 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm.) apart.

If you are growing your basil indoors, make sure that your pot is in an area that gets daily sunshine. As for watering, make sure you water your basil every 7-10 days.

HOW DO YOU PROPAGATE BASIL FROM CUTTINGS?

If you already have a grown basil plant, you can easily propagate more basil from the original plants cuttings.

In fact, propagating basil is a great way to share your basil with your friends or to give as the perfect gift.

All you need to do is take a 4-inch (10 cm.) basil cutting right below a leaf node. Remove the leaves off the basil cutting about 2 inches (5 cm.) from the end. Make sure the basil cutting is a piece that has not yet flowered

STEPS ON HOW TO PROPAGATE BASIL:

STEP 1  – TAKE CUTTINGS FROM A HEALTHY PLANT (NOT FLOWERING)

• From a mature basil plant, select a stem that doesn’t have any seed stock or a crown and that is at least three to four inches (10 cm) long.
• Next, take the cutting from the basil plant - you want to cut just below where there are leaves coming off the stem
• With a pair of scissors, carefully cut the stem at an angle of 45 degrees just (about a quarter of an inch or a half-centimetre) just below a leaf.

Don’t make your cuttings to long either, because in my experience extra long cuttings won’t root well or, if they root, you will get a long tall plant instead of a beautiful bushy one.

I will always take a couple of cuttings, just to make sure that I will always have a couple of them rooting.

STEP 2 – PUT CUTTING IN WATER IN A BRIGHT SPOT

• fill a small glass jar or glass with water
• place the basil cuttings in the water, making sure that the leaf nodes are underwater
• place the glass or jar in a window sill that gets a lot of sunshine

STEP 3 - WAIT AND WATCH THE ROOTS START TO FORM

• everyday, check your plant and change the water (if you miss a day, don't worry about it but do try and get fresh water in daily)
• roots will begin to form in about 1 week

this recipe

STEP 4 - TRANSPLANT THE BASIL TO A POT

• after two to three weeks, the basil cutting should have grown a real set of roots of about 2 inches long (5 cm).
• put the rooted cuttings into a pot with soil or directly into the ground, covering with soil to above the root level
• make sure that they have enough water the first couple of days to adjust to the new growing medium

HOW LONG WILL A BASIL PLANT LIVE?

Basil is an annual plant which means that during its life cycle of one year, it will grow from seed, it will bloom (flower), produce seeds and afterwards, it will finally die.

DO I HAVE TO PLACE MY BASIL IN THE GROUND OR IN A POT OR CAN I LEAVE IT TO GROW IN WATER?

Interesting question.

Some people keep growing their basil in water and never transplant the cutting.

As long as you refresh the water regularly, this can work.

WHY IS THE STEM TURNING BROWN AND ROTTING?

The brown colour usually is the first sign of stem rot.

This very often starts at the cut end. Refresh the water more often to prevent continued rotting of the stem, and gently rub off the trotted parts of the stem, while rinsing the stem under running water.

WHY DID MY BASIL CUTTING DIE AFTER TRANSFERRING IT INTO SOIL?

This is indeed a common problem that has been mentioned by multiple herb gardeners. 

Here are 2 of the most common reasons:

1. THE WRONG SOIL MIX

Very often the basil cutting will die off when it is transplanted in a soil mix that is cloggy, not well-drained.

Make sure you use a potting mix that is designed to encourage root growth.

2. DAMAGED ROOTS

Remember that the roots of the basil cutting and also the smaller root hairs, which are what actually absorb water and nutrients, are very fragile.

Start with putting some soil mix in the bottom of the pot. Next, hold the cutting upright and fill the rest of the pot with soil mix, by sprinkling the soil into the pot with my fingers.

Do not press the soil hard into the pot and around the plant. Add water to let the soil settle in the pot and to get the roots and roots hairs in contact with water and soil.

Let the water drain through the holes in the bottom.

TIPS AND TRICKS TO PROPAGATING BASIL:

Your basil cutting can then be placed in a glass of water on the windowsill where it can get good sunlight.

I think it is also a plus to have the top leaves out of the bottle, so that they have access to a fresh airflow all the time.

Use a clear glass so you can watch your basil propagation grow roots.

Change the water every few days until you see root growth, then leave your basil propagation roots to grow to about 2 inches (5 cm.) or so.

This can take two to four weeks.

If you leave a part of the stem below the leaf node, it often start rotting, what has a negative influence on the plant and the water.

Don’t make your cuttings to long either, because in my experience extra long cuttings won’t root well or, if they root, you will get a long tall plant instead of a beautiful bushy one.

Once the roots on your basil cutting are 2 inches (5 cm.) or longer, you can plant the cutting in a pot indoors. Put the planter in a place where the plant will get direct sunlight. Basil propagation is a great way to share your basil. Now that you know how to propagate basil, you can take new plantings and give them as gifts to friends or offer them to new neighbors as housewarming gifts.

HOW SHOULD YOU PRUNE A BASIL PLANT TO KEEP IT GROWING STRONG AND BUSHY?

The leaves that you should remove are those growing on the top of the plant.

Yes, they’re smaller and won’t make nearly as much Caprese salad as those big leaves on the bottom, but there’s a good reason to pick off the leaves from the top of the plant.

Every time you prune the leaves from the top of the basil plant, it allows the plant to create two new branches from the spot that you picked.

Those two new branches will create new sets of leaves, and when you prune them again, they’ll create two new branches again.

Pruning this way allows the plant to grow outward instead of only upward. It will grow exponentially bigger every time you prune the plant. 

Alternatively, if you were pruning the plant the wrong way, it would continue to grow leaves from the one central branch, but would eventually turn woody, skimpy, sparse, and ultimately die. 

THE STEPS TO PRUNING A BASIL PLANT:

• Identify the spot on the branch where you can clearly see new tiny leaves forming.
• Cut the branch just above those tiny leaves, making sure not to disturb the leaves themselves - make sure you use sharp scissors for a clean cut
• Repeat this process with all branches that have tiny leaves growing.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Tips For Propagating Basil https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/basil/propagating-basil.htm

Looking for more Homemade Gift Ideas?

• Make some DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract and bottle it in some cute and adorable jars
• Make some homemade Sugar-free Hot Pepper Onion Jam and combine it with some homemade Almond Flax Seed Crackers (Whole30, LC, GF)
• Make a homemade Keto Gift basket with some different cheese, Italian meats and a jar of Keto Maple Bacon Jam - A quick and easy sugar-free recipe!
• Place some Keto Candied Bacon in a cute and festive jar
• Wrap some Homemade Jerky with a cute and decorative bow or for the guy in your life, place it in a pint glass for the perfect gift for any guy!
• Buy some small containers, decorate them with holiday fanfare and stuff them with some Keto Edible Cookie Dough