Basil is a plant that is ideal for growing at home. The culture grows at any time of the year and is not whimsical. Therefore, even a beginner will cope with its cultivation. In our article, we want to talk about how to grow basil on the windowsill.
What is basil?
Basil is an indispensable spice used by people since ancient times. The plant is rich in essential oils, therefore, in addition to cooking, it is also used in natural cosmetics. In good conditions, it grows in greenhouses, in vegetable gardens, so you should not even doubt whether it is possible to grow basil on a windowsill.
Culture originated from India. Presumably the name of the plant goes back to the Greek basileus, which means king or king in translation. There are two different versions regarding the origin of culture. According to one of them, the basil was found near the place where Queen Elena once discovered the True Cross. According to another version, the plant was used to treat persons of royal families.
Basil has long been used for religious rituals in Orthodoxy (in the Balkans and Greece) and Hinduism. Ayurveda appreciates culture not only for its cosmetic, but also for its medicinal properties. There are many varieties of basil. In cooking, fragrant varieties are often used. All of them differ not only in appearance, but also in smell and taste.
Which variety would you prefer?
Basil attracts not only as a culinary supplement, but also as a medicinal plant. At home, it can be used as an interior decoration. Recently, the popularity of the plant has been increasing more and more. Therefore, thinking about how to grow basil on the windowsill, you should decide which variety you prefer to see on your balcony. We have already said that the plant is unpretentious. However, it should be understood that not every variety is suitable for growing at home. The most acceptable options may be the following types: spoon-shaped, Yerevan, Baku, marquis, clove aroma. These varieties are small-leaved, and therefore easier to cultivate at home. Large-leaved, on the other hand, need a sufficiently large number of trace elements that must be applied to the ground. Only experienced gardeners can handle such care. Therefore, novice housewives should pay attention to small-leaved varieties.
When a gardener already has experience in caring for simpler species, and understands how to grow basil onwindow sill, you can move on to other varieties.
Methods of growing crops
How to grow basil on a windowsill? There are three ways:
- Adult plant can be transplanted from the ground into a pot. This is what summer residents do, who grow crops in their garden plots in the summer. Young bushes that have not yet bloomed can be transplanted together with an earthen clod into a pot. However, the growing season of the plant is short, so it will bloom soon. And then you have to cut the shoots for planting young plants.
- Growing a plant from cuttings. To do this, the tops or side shoots are cut off and placed in water. This is necessary for them to take root. Next, the basil is transplanted into a pot, the first greens can be cut in two to three weeks. Such bushes can last you about three to four months, after which you need to renew the plant.
- Growing basil from seeds is the longest way. Good greenery will not be available soon. If you need a faster result, then it is better to use the second method.
Optimal time to grow basil
How to grow basil on a windowsill in winter? In principle, basil can be grown at any time of the year, including in winter. However, it should be understood that the plant belongs to light-loving and heat-loving crops, and therefore more effort will be required to maintain it during cold periods.
Some housewives wrap pots with basil in winter with polyethylene,to protect against drafts and increase the temperature regime. In addition, from October to March, in our climate, the basilica does not have enough sunlight, so the plants will have to be highlighted. This will help to increase daylight hours artificially. To simplify the care of the plant, many housewives prefer to sow the seeds in February, then the main period of active growth of the crop will fall just in time for a period with a sufficient length of daylight hours. And in the summer, basil will feel great on the window in the apartment.
How to grow basil from seed on a windowsill?
Before you start planting, you need to prepare the ground. You can take good soil from your summer cottage, or you can purchase a ready-made substrate. You can add a little peat to the soil from the garden to make it easier.
Sometimes basil is planted in a mixture of peat and humus (humus can be replaced with coconut fiber) in a ratio of 2:1. Before sowing, the seeds should be held for a couple of hours in a raspberry-colored potassium permanganate solution.
When talking about how to grow basil on a windowsill in an apartment, it is worth remembering that you need to pick up pots for plants for planting. There are two options here. You can sow the seeds in small containers (200 g), and later transplant the plants into larger pots. But in general, you can immediately use large boxes, this will save you from unnecessary trouble. Expanded clay should be placed at the bottom of the vessels as drainage. Seeds are sown in moist soil to a depth of not more than onecentimeters at a distance of 7-10 centimeters from each other. After that, the pots should be tightened with cling film and not removed until shoots appear. Further, in order to quickly grow basil at home on the windowsill, you should create optimal conditions. At a temperature of +22-28 degrees, the first sprouts will appear in five to eight days.
Care for young seedlings
As soon as young sprouts appear, you must immediately rearrange the pots in a well-lit and warm place. Plants need to be watered regularly. This should be done once a day, on the hottest summer days, you can moisten the soil in the morning and evening with water at room temperature. Periodically, basil can be sprayed with water, especially useful in summer.
To understand how to grow basil in a pot on a windowsill, you need to know that the plant is native to the subtropics. That is why culture needs an abundance of heat and light. In order for the plant to develop well and grow quickly on the windowsill, the air temperature should be at least +20 degrees, but +25 degrees is better, and the sun should shine for at least 4 hours a day.
Basil is very afraid of drafts. Adult bushes can loosen the soil once every three days. If the soil in pots is not very fertile, then periodically (no more than once a month) it should be fertilized. Any universal fertilizer based on gummates or organic compost is suitable as top dressing.
The first leaves can be cut off from the plant after 1.5 months. ATfurther, cutting off the greens, you need to leave at least three leaves on the stems. This is necessary so that new branches begin to form in the sinuses. When the basil grows up, you can pinch the top of it, then the bush will grow in breadth.
How to grow basil at home on the windowsill in winter?
If you decide to sow seeds in winter, then you will need more careful care to grow a good plant. On the one hand, the culture needs good watering, and on the other hand, excessive waterlogging can lead to diseases. Therefore, you need to be careful with water.
The most comfortable temperature for basil is +20-25 degrees. In winter, for a plant, daylight hours are not long enough for normal development, so it must be additionally highlighted. To do this, in the evening, you can turn on the lamp for 3-4 hours. Basil does not tolerate temperature changes and drafts.
Given these points, the culture can be grown at home and in the winter cold.
Diseases to which the plant is susceptible
Basil, like many other crops, is prone to various diseases. Of course, indoor plants get sick less than outdoor plants, but it’s still worth protecting yourself. The most common diseases that affect basil are fusarium and gray mold. So that your bushes are not struck by such ailments, you need to avoid overflow, since excessive moisture provokes an ailment. If the plant is still sick, then it is necessary to remove it in a timely manner.affected stems so that they do not infect he althy shoots.
How to harvest properly?
In order for the plant to grow well and continue to develop in the future, you need to be able to properly harvest. You should never pinch off the basil at the very root, this can harm the plant. In order to increase the life of the plant, it is necessary to remove flower stalks as soon as they appear. Basil should not be pinched at the root, as this can kill the entire plant. In general, you can remove the leaves, but you should leave 4-5 leaves, later new branches will begin to appear from their sinuses.
In order to less injure the bushes, it is better not to pinch off the foliage, but to cut it with scissors. Greens are easily removed by them, and the stems are not injured.
Knowing all the intricacies of the process, growing basil at home on the windowsill is quite simple. Therefore, every hostess can try her hand.
