7 ms·

We have a flood'n'drain style hydroponic garden at the office we use to grow Basil. We've tried some other stuff but nothing else is as low maintenance as basil

by exDM69 12y ago

We have a flood'n'drain style hydroponic garden at the office we use to grow Basil. We've tried some other stuff but nothing else is as low maintenance as basil. Now we have a problem where where to put it all. I make a huge bowl of pesto every week and force feed basil to all my coworkers whenever I get a chance but I just can't get rid of all of it. I can't even make a dent in the huge bush we have. We also grew some salad with mixed success but it's not a reliable enough source to be worth the effort. Anyway, it's rather enjoyable. I recommend getting a small hydro garden to anyone who has any space and a little natural light in their office. Hydros need less regular maintenance (but need a bigger maintenance every now and then). If anyone has any (preferably edible) plants that are suited for a hydroculture, please do suggest.

anigbrowl 12y ago
I make a huge bowl of pesto every week I'll take your excess basil if you're in the Bay Area, they're always running out at the supermarket and interrupting my pesto schedule XD
- exDM69 12y ago
  Sorry, I live more than half way across the globe. Basil isn't really easy to store either, it's not nearly as good if you bag it for a day or two. And I have some reservations about carrying green leaves in small baggies :)
silencio 12y ago
I've been growing some shiso in my Aerogarden - http://i.imgur.com/zitLRIV.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zitLRIV.jpg - and it's to the point that I have to replant it due to rampant growth crowding out half the other plants after I already pruned what you see there. Herbs are easiest I think. Mint is super low maintenance and nice for flavoring water and for cocktails. Thai basil can be tasty, and other varieties of basil are also fun. I've had no luck at all with thyme, but... eh. I'm also growing lavender just because it smells good. Veggie-wise, you can try fast growing sprouts and microgreens, perhaps? I'm also trying my hand at some bird's eye chilies despite lack of temperature control and general warm weather in SF.
exhilaration 12y ago
Could you post a picture? I'm intrigued by the idea of having too much basil - we pay a crazy amount ($1-$2) for maybe a dozen leaves when we make pizza. I've always been afraid that there would be not point in getting a basil plant because we'd strip it bare each time we needed basil.
- SwellJoe 12y ago
  Basil is really easy to grow, and grows pretty aggressively. We have a handful of new plants (~3 months old, planted from seedlings) in the back yard, and I use a couple dozen leaves every couple of days. They continue to get bigger and definitely aren't stripped bare. My roommate just chopped the top third off of all of the plants in order to make starters for more plants. A week later, I can't tell they've been chopped off...they regrew a bunch of new leaves. Theoretically, they can be trained to be bushy and short (which produces "sweeter" leaves), but so far ours are re-growing tall. Nonetheless, I have a lot of fresh basil and it's all delicious (big leaves are chewier and have a more licorice flavor, little leaves are milder and sweeter, etc.). I don't know what we'll do with the starters for more plants, as I think we probably have enough basil. But, "too much basil" might be a nice problem to have.
- exDM69 12y ago
  This is a pretty big wall garden, with three shelves about two feet wide. We're talking about a four feet high, three feet wide wall of green you can stick your head in :) Can't provide a picture, sorry. The varieties of basil we grow start out slow but grow really fast after a few weeks. The individual plants reach a height of several feet in a month or so. We have started out by planting a few seeds and once those plants reach some height, we take cuttings to clone them and fill the entire garden. I've had an almost 100% success rate in cloning basil, much better than any other plant I've tried. Do not trim the growth nodes (you won't eat them anyway), just pick as much leaves as you need from the lower parts of the plants. Basil is really easy to grow in hydrocultures, it's much more difficult to grow in soil. Rucola is the opposite, I've had zero success putting it in the hydros at the office but grows really well at home in soil.

by exDM69 12y ago

anigbrowl 12y ago

I make a huge bowl of pesto every week I'll take your excess basil if you're in the Bay Area, they're always running out at the supermarket and interrupting my pesto schedule XD

exDM69 12y ago
Sorry, I live more than half way across the globe. Basil isn't really easy to store either, it's not nearly as good if you bag it for a day or two. And I have some reservations about carrying green leaves in small baggies :)

silencio 12y ago

I've been growing some shiso in my Aerogarden - http://i.imgur.com/zitLRIV.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zitLRIV.jpg - and it's to the point that I have to replant it due to rampant growth crowding out half the other plants after I already pruned what you see there. Herbs are easiest I think. Mint is super low maintenance and nice for flavoring water and for cocktails. Thai basil can be tasty, and other varieties of basil are also fun. I've had no luck at all with thyme, but... eh. I'm also growing lavender just because it smells good. Veggie-wise, you can try fast growing sprouts and microgreens, perhaps? I'm also trying my hand at some bird's eye chilies despite lack of temperature control and general warm weather in SF.

exhilaration 12y ago

Could you post a picture? I'm intrigued by the idea of having too much basil - we pay a crazy amount ($1-$2) for maybe a dozen leaves when we make pizza. I've always been afraid that there would be not point in getting a basil plant because we'd strip it bare each time we needed basil.

SwellJoe 12y ago
Basil is really easy to grow, and grows pretty aggressively. We have a handful of new plants (~3 months old, planted from seedlings) in the back yard, and I use a couple dozen leaves every couple of days. They continue to get bigger and definitely aren't stripped bare. My roommate just chopped the top third off of all of the plants in order to make starters for more plants. A week later, I can't tell they've been chopped off...they regrew a bunch of new leaves. Theoretically, they can be trained to be bushy and short (which produces "sweeter" leaves), but so far ours are re-growing tall. Nonetheless, I have a lot of fresh basil and it's all delicious (big leaves are chewier and have a more licorice flavor, little leaves are milder and sweeter, etc.). I don't know what we'll do with the starters for more plants, as I think we probably have enough basil. But, "too much basil" might be a nice problem to have.
exDM69 12y ago
This is a pretty big wall garden, with three shelves about two feet wide. We're talking about a four feet high, three feet wide wall of green you can stick your head in :) Can't provide a picture, sorry. The varieties of basil we grow start out slow but grow really fast after a few weeks. The individual plants reach a height of several feet in a month or so. We have started out by planting a few seeds and once those plants reach some height, we take cuttings to clone them and fill the entire garden. I've had an almost 100% success rate in cloning basil, much better than any other plant I've tried. Do not trim the growth nodes (you won't eat them anyway), just pick as much leaves as you need from the lower parts of the plants. Basil is really easy to grow in hydrocultures, it's much more difficult to grow in soil. Rucola is the opposite, I've had zero success putting it in the hydros at the office but grows really well at home in soil.