Basil is an annual or seasonal plant native to India, Persia, Iran, Pakistan and other tropical regions of Asia. It is one of the favorite aromatic plants in our kitchens, as well as a magnificent seasoning for different dishes. For this reason, common basil and Genovese basil (commonly used in pasta recipes) are especially familiar to us. However, there are other varieties that are not so well known, such as purple basil, purple basil or cinnamon basil.
The main reason why you should always have a basil plant on hand is because of its numerous properties, which we detail below.
What is The Basil Plant and What Is It For?
- Aromatize your house. Basil provides a fresh perfume that is enhanced by spraying and moving its leaves. This fragrance, however, is largely lost when the plant begins to dry out.
- Basil gives flavor to your dishes. It is an excellent condiment frequently used in Mediterranean, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines. Therefore, having a basil plant in your kitchen will allow you to give a unique flavor to salads, pasta dishes and soups.
- It is an anti-mosquito plant. Repels whitefly and protects other crops from aphid attacks. For this reason, it is usually placed in some urban gardens between tomatoes and/or peppers to keep them safe. Likewise, having basil pots in the windows of your house can be a great anti-mosquito alternative for the summer months.
- It attracts positive energy. And it is that the arts of plants and Feng Shui have a lot to do…
- Decorate. By placing a pot of basil on the windowsill, on the balcony or in the kitchen itself, you will give a natural touch to your home.
What Cures Basil: Properties
- Basil favors digestion.
- It is diuretic.
- Soothe headaches.
- Soothes the throat.
- It is a muscle relaxant (using it in essential oils).
- Strengthens hair (using it in shampoos).
And it is attributed to the property of stimulating the production of breast milk in infants.
Basil Care
When caring for a basil plant, you have to be aware that it is a seasonal plant and, therefore, once its cycle is over, it will dry up and die. In the specific case of basil, this happens at the beginning of autumn, coinciding with the drop in temperatures.
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With this in mind, you should pay special attention to the following factors:
Basil needs a lot of light. Therefore, you need to know how to prevent basil wilting, a basil plant can grow properly in a garden, on a terrace or in an interior room that has enough natural light. Likewise, the plant supports a semi-shade area well, especially in very hot climates, where it can suffer if it is exposed to the sun during the central hours of the day. If necessary, you can use Trianum Shield bio fungicide to get rid of the disease.
How Often is a Basil Watered?
The key for a basil plant to be healthy is to always keep it moist but avoid flooding it. In this sense, the ideal is to water it daily (even a couple of times a day, with little water) and facilitate its drainage by creating a small hole at the bottom of the pot.
How to Grow Basil?
Basil is considered a great breeder, although for this it must have the optimal conditions for its growth (sufficient water, light and soil) and respect the ideal time to cultivate it , that is, at the end of winter and beginning of spring. If you want to grow it at home, you have three options:
- Grow basil in a pot
For this, the ideal is that it remains at a temperature between 15 and 25 degrees, and that it has a fertile, humid and aerated soil.
Step by Step:
Plant several seeds in the pot.
Leave enough space between them.
Wait for the first stems to appear and remove the less vigorous ones.
- Grow a basil plant in seedbeds
It is the most recommended option according to experts.
Step by Step:
Step 1. Put a moist vegetable mulch in the seedbeds.
Step 2. Place one or two seeds in each hole , covering them later with substrate (without weighing them down).
Step 3. Cover the entire seedbed with plastic wrap . In this way it will maintain the desired humidity. The ideal is to place the seedbed next to a window (so that it gets the sun) and spray it with water once or twice a day.
Step 4. Remove the film when the first leaves begin to emerge.
Step 5. Transplant to a pot when the sprouts reach several centimeters.
- Plant a basil by cuttings
To plant a basil from cuttings, as is logical, the first step will be to get a cutting, that is, a branch obtained from the main stem of another basil.
- The cutting is introduced in a container with water or in a natural rooting agent (made, for example, with lentils).
- Roots are expected to develop.
- It is transplanted into the final pot.
How to Prune Basil?
To guarantee the correct growth of a basil, it is recommended to Protect your crops with Trianum Shield by Novobac and remove the weeds. And it is that by cutting the stems below the flower bud, the plant is forced to vegetate again and, therefore, to continue growing. Whereas if it is allowed to flower without pruning it, the plant will dry up and end up dying.
Therefore, this action should be repeated as many times as possible in order to prolong its life cycle. Of course, as we have already mentioned, the plant will die at the beginning of autumn. So the ideal is to let it bloom in mid-August and cut the flowers once they have reached the spike. In this way, we can collect the seeds (which are in the flower) and plant a new basil between the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
