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RE: Basil. If you have a window that gets a lot of light, it can be very easy for a basil plant to thrive in it. We spent around $15 setting this up in June --

RE: Basil. If you have a window that gets a lot of light, it can be very easy for a basil plant to thrive in it. We spent around $15 setting this up in June -- including the cost of a pot, soil, and basil starts. We've been eating basil since, in many meals. That's not free, but it's resulted in very low cast basil for us, always on hand. We also have rosemary and thyme growing in the window. A window with good light and space for plants can result in low cost, high quality herbs, with relatively low effort.

gnicholas 3y ago
What sort of soil do you use? We regularly buy and kill basil plants at TJ’s, and I think I’ve narrowed down the issue to the fact that they give you junky soil that won’t sustain the plant long (regardless of watering or sunlight).
- asimpletune 3y ago
  You need to break apart the basil and distribute it evenly in a larger pot. Supermarket basil has fertilizer that makes them grow super fast and look good on the shelves, but what you're buying is actually a bunch of little plants that will exhaust the nutrients unless they're broken up.
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    Interesting — how do you break the plant apart? It appears to have one “trunk” where it goes into the soil, so do you just pull off “branches”?
    - asimpletune 3y ago
      If there is really one trunk then you can't break it apart further. However, most basil plants sold at the grocery store are just a bunch of small ones grown closely together. To break it up, just prepare a bigger pot, with potting soil, and then remove the basil from its store-bought container and split it apart with your hands. You want to create a few even groups to go in the new, bigger pot. Ideally, there would be one plant per group, but you don't want to break them up too much and risk tearing the roots too much. I just did four quarters and it's worked fine. I have a huge basil thing now and I did it in a long, skinny rectangular pot.
dunham 3y ago
I usually put grocery store basil in a glass of water on the window sill until it gets roots, and then transplant it. Basil has a tough time in the winter (not enough light). It works with sage, rosemary, thyme, and mint. I've even done this with the thai basil that came with take out Pho. Carrot family plants like parsley and cilantro will not get roots. I also have rosemary, thyme, and sage outdoors - they survive year-round in Seattle. Not everybody has the space or climate for it, but they're low maintenance and it's nice to just go out and grab some fresh herbs.
- asdff 3y ago
  You can supplement winter lighting with a cfl bulb.
deleted 3y ago
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neves 3y ago
The key here is the "high quality". There is nothing like fresh herbs with no pesticides.

gnicholas 3y ago

What sort of soil do you use? We regularly buy and kill basil plants at TJ’s, and I think I’ve narrowed down the issue to the fact that they give you junky soil that won’t sustain the plant long (regardless of watering or sunlight).

asimpletune 3y ago
You need to break apart the basil and distribute it evenly in a larger pot. Supermarket basil has fertilizer that makes them grow super fast and look good on the shelves, but what you're buying is actually a bunch of little plants that will exhaust the nutrients unless they're broken up.
- gnicholas 3y ago
  Interesting — how do you break the plant apart? It appears to have one “trunk” where it goes into the soil, so do you just pull off “branches”?
  - asimpletune 3y ago
    If there is really one trunk then you can't break it apart further. However, most basil plants sold at the grocery store are just a bunch of small ones grown closely together. To break it up, just prepare a bigger pot, with potting soil, and then remove the basil from its store-bought container and split it apart with your hands. You want to create a few even groups to go in the new, bigger pot. Ideally, there would be one plant per group, but you don't want to break them up too much and risk tearing the roots too much. I just did four quarters and it's worked fine. I have a huge basil thing now and I did it in a long, skinny rectangular pot.

dunham 3y ago

I usually put grocery store basil in a glass of water on the window sill until it gets roots, and then transplant it. Basil has a tough time in the winter (not enough light). It works with sage, rosemary, thyme, and mint. I've even done this with the thai basil that came with take out Pho. Carrot family plants like parsley and cilantro will not get roots. I also have rosemary, thyme, and sage outdoors - they survive year-round in Seattle. Not everybody has the space or climate for it, but they're low maintenance and it's nice to just go out and grab some fresh herbs.

asdff 3y ago
You can supplement winter lighting with a cfl bulb.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

neves 3y ago

The key here is the "high quality". There is nothing like fresh herbs with no pesticides.