How to Grow Basil -Growing Basil Indoors

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By delrond

Growing Basil Indoors in Few Simple Steps

It is not hard to find an herb gardener who firmly believes that growing basil indoors is a tedious task. While it is true that you will have to face certain problems when pursuing the idea of growing basil, you can still accomplish your goal if you pay attention to few important steps. As you know you can cook a number of dishes with basil, you will be able to cook all of them if you have this herb in your home. And of course, if you follow these simple steps, you will always have fresh supply of basil. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you are a novice gardener with limited yard space or you have some experience growing basil, you can make things easier by following these simple steps.

5 Step Guide to Growing Basil Indoors

Step 1: Go get the supplies, including containers and pots of different sizes. Also get gardening tools, soil, fertilizer, gloves, and of course, seeds of basil. You can find soil in your home, but it is also quite simple to buy commercial soil. Visit a nursery and ask them for supplies required for growing basil indoors. All this is available at reasonable price, but you can save your money if you opt for the gardening kits.

Step 2: Educate yourself about the process of growing basil. Your local nursery can help you in this regard. Use some additional resources, including the internet to get complete information about planting basil.


Step 3: Location is extremely important when you think of growing this herb inside your home. You need to choose a location where you can keep pots and containers in such a way that they get enough sunlight. Although water is essential, you should not go overboard with the idea of watering this herb. Excessive watering can damage the roots. Just water it to the extent that you feel some moisture on the soil.


Step 4: Pay attention to the pH level, which should be between 6.5 and 7.5. If you are interested in growing basil indoors, you need to ensure that the pH level is correct, and this requires pH tests once a month. For this, you can use tester kits, which are available at nurseries and garden centers.


Step 5: When you are ready to harvest the basil leaves, you should go for the single leaves. Don’t pluck the paired ones. This is important and you should always bear this in mind when harvesting.

Is it hard?

The fact of the matter is that though growing basil indoors require your attention, it is not nearly as difficult as many people think. You don’t need to have experience under your belt to grow basil in home. But, of course, you need to be attentive, as there are few factors that can affect the growth of this herb. When everything’s done, you can have fresh supply of this herb to cook delicious food. Just keep in mind that if you are growing basil indoors to get it for cooking, you should only use organic fertilizer.

You might also enjoy my hupage - growing basil from seed

Comments

blark profile image

blark 23 months ago

Nice hub on indoor planting. If you're unable to find a good spot by a window for your plants, I recommend using compact fluorescent light bulbs to emulate the light of the sun. Plants can't tell the difference, and thrive just as well under CFLs as under the sun!

RTalloni profile image

RTalloni Level 8 Commenter 21 months ago

Hmmm, thanks for the encouragement. I should give indoor herb gardening a try...

Dr Ken Romeo profile image

Dr Ken Romeo 21 months ago

We tried growing basil indoors this Summer but the taste was weak compared with our outdoor plants. We assumed that it was the depth of the root of the basil plant, but I'll check the pH level of the soil. I never thought of that.

Thanks

Patsybell profile image

Patsybell Level 1 Commenter 21 months ago

I've never had much success with indoor basil. But you have motivated me to try again. Thanks.

Lesley D profile image

Lesley D 20 months ago

Another bonus to growing basil indoors is the wonderful aroma!

laughing loon profile image

laughing loon 20 months ago

Great hub. I read it and then looked over my own very sad looking indoor basil plant. I believe that the main obstacle to growing herbs indoors is that you have to harvest them quite often to keep their size small and maintain the health of the plant.

I do love the way it smells when I move it around.

Louis Taylor profile image

Louis Taylor 20 months ago

Great! The sunniest windowsill in your home will do the trick most of the time. I just use the cheapest compost on the market and the basil plants always grow just fine. Sometimes the aroma is very strong when i forget to water for a few days :)

andrea collier 13 months ago

Thanks for the advice I am new to gardening and trying out a few different herbs Basil being one of them.

sacredlilac profile image

sacredlilac Level 1 Commenter 2 months ago

I've tried to grow basil several times, but I've never heard about testing the pH before. Great tip! Thanks!

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