Last updated on September 23rd, 2022 at 01:24 pm
Basil, one of the most popular culinary herbs, has a lot of varieties. One of the most popular varieties used, primarily as a flavor, is sweet basil or Genovese basil.
Basils can be grown both outdoors and indoors.
Growing sweet basil indoors is helpful, especially in cold weather, because it doesn’t do well. Growing sweet basil indoors is a procedure a cultivator can use for all kinds of basil. Growing basil indoors requires adequate sunlight, water, and a suitable climate.
We shall be treating everything related to this.
Can You Grow Sweet Basil Indoors?
Sweet basil, just like all plants, is best cultivated outside, in a formal garden, with all the natural factors available.
Can you grow sweet basil indoors?
Yes, sweet basil can be grown indoors, as long as the conditions required for its growth are provided.
Growing basil indoors may not be the same as growing basil outdoors. However, basil grown indoors can have the same quality as basil grown outdoors.
Growing basil in your house requires much attention because you have to provide the bad with everything it can not access outside.
How Do You Care for a Basil Plant Indoors?
Growing a basil plant indoors may seem easy, but it is very demanding. The reason is that the basil is totally under your control. If anything should go wrong with the basil, you will blame no natural factor.
| So, how do you care for a basil plant indoors? |
|---|
| 1. Ensure that the plant gets enough sunlight. |
| 2. Ensure that the plant gets enough water. |
| 3. Avoid overwatering the plant to prevent root rot. |
| 4. Prune the plants occasionally to prevent overcrowding. |
| 5. Inspect the leaves for chlorosis (chlorosis often signifies a lack of nutrients, disease infection, and other negativities). |
| 6. Cut off infected leaves. |
There are many other ways to care for basil plants grown indoors. However, these are a few significant ways to care for basil and ensure it grows healthy indoors.
Does Basil Need Direct Sunlight?
Basils thrive in sunlight. The more sunlight basil receives, the more quality leaves it produces. Experts have proven this theory over and over again.
Yes, basil needs direct sunlight to grow. However, basil may get dehydrated if it is getting too much sunlight. Therefore, if you are growing your basil indoors, it is advisable to place the plant in a warm glass window so that excessive sun does not get directly to the plant.
Growing Sweet Basil Indoors?
Cultivating basil may turn out to be a fun experience for you if you follow specific steps.
For example, you don’t need previous gardening knowledge to grow your basil indoors with specific planting tips.
Below are eleven tips on growing sweet basil indoors.
1. Seeds
Start by acquiring quality sweet basil seeds. You can get basil seeds from nursery stores or gardening stores. You can also shop for sweet basil seeds online.
While acquiring the seeds, make sure you are given the exact species you desire to plant. Do not substitute a variety of basil for another if you want specific results.
Also, it is advisable to get seeds from which the majority will germinate. In other words, get quality basil seeds for quality products.
2. Use seedling trays or planting pots
It is better to use a clay planting pot when growing basil indoors. You can also use ceramic pots.
If you are only temporarily planting the basil indoors and hope to transplant it into a garden, you can also use a seedling tray.
When selecting a planting pot, use one with a lot of space. Basils love space when growing.
Therefore, the planting pot should be large enough to contain five, six, or seven basil plants. If you are using a tray, then the tray should have two or three basil plants.
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3. Soil filling and watering
When filling the planting pot with soil, don’t fill it to the brim. Also, ensure that the ground is suitable for sweet basil.
Sweet basil thrives inadequately porous soil. Soil that allows air through it and drains water properly.
After filling the pot with soil, water it lightly. Ensure that the soil is moist but not too damp.
4. Planting
Place a minimum of five and a maximum of seven seeds in a planting pot. Place a minimum of two and a maximum of three seeds in a seedling tray.
The extra seeds are just in case a few seeds don’t germinate.
After planting, sprinkle a little soil on the surface of the seeds and then sprinkle little water on the newly added soil.
Be careful not to flood the pot. Too much water is not suitable for basil plants. Neither is too little water.
5. Sunlight
Place the planting pot at a window that receives the most sunlight. If the spot you are positioning the pot usually becomes very cold at night, then the effect of the sun is almost useless.
Instead, pick a warm location with adequate sunlight. While you’re at it, rotate the pot once in a while. This action ensures that every part of the plant gets a feel of sunlight.
If you can’t provide enough natural light for the basil, you can use artificial light sources like fluorescent lights.
However, if you use an artificial light source, you must leave it on longer than the average hours of sunlight a basil plant needs.
Basil should receive an artificial light source for 10-14 hours daily.
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6. Water
As your plant grows, ensure you water it as often as is needed. However, avoid overwatering your plant.
Overwatering may cause the leaves of the basil roots to get rotten. Rotten roots do not help the plant in any way.
Use a spray bottle to get the right amount of water into the soil when required.
7. Fertilizer
Fertilizer is like food to sweet basil. Feed fertilizer to the plant after two weeks often. Pour the liquid fertilizer into the soil around the plant and not on the stem or the leaves.
That way, the fertilizer gets straight into the roots, spreading the effects across the plant.
Also, it saves you, the consumer, from any trouble with the chemicals when consuming the leaves.
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8. Pruning
It is essential to prune your little indoor basil garden. This process prevents overcrowding. When sweet basils are overly competing for space, nutrients, and sunlight, they don’t grow well.
Pruning some plants ensures quality space for the basils and thus healthy growth.
9. Inspection
You must inspect your basil plant once it starts developing. You should remove any damaged or unhealthy-looking leaf immediately after it is spotted and find the cause for the damage.
Once you find the cause, you should treat it. Observe your basil for pests too. You can easily remove pests by spraying water on them.
10. Harvesting
Sweet basils develop all year round. They keep producing until they die off. Once your basil grows two to three sets of leaves, it is ready for harvest.
Harvesting basil early encourages more growth in the basil plant.
11. Replanting
You can cut from fully grown basils to form another batch of basils in another pot. Sweet basils don’t only grow from seeds.
Replanting your basil once seeds and cuttings are available makes basil ready for you all year round.
Conclusion
Sweet basil is often the first basil that comes to mind when hearing the word ‘basil.’ Sweet basil is used for almost everything when cooking.
All basil cultivators know that the plant is always needed. Fortunately, if you follow the proper steps, you can have sweet basil, all grown indoors throughout the year.
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