4 Best Tips To Growing Basil In A Small Space

In this article I will go over the things that made me grow basil the most successfully in a small space. Basil is great when you have a limited amount of space because it doesn't really require much from you at all. I have successfully grown it out of cans, mason jars, in ground, in pots, and in the Aerogarden. The fun thing about basil is it will also grow in just water, so when I notice my plant is beginning to die off, I take a few clippings and place them in water, wait for roots to form and start over! I love the fresh flavor basil adds to any dish especially soups and salad. I add in a few fresh sprigs to my soups and I love the flavor of chopping up a few leaves and adding it to my salad as well. There are tons of varieties of basil, but my personal favorite is one called “lettuce leaf basil”. I found these on Baker Creek's website (rareseeds.com). They produce large leaves that contain the original basil flavor we all love. They make a perfect edition to salad, so I even toss a few seeds in my salad mix grow bag I mentioned in my article “5 Tips To Growing Your Own Salad Greens”. This is another list I will do my best to keep as short as possible.

1. Keep the soil moist but not damp. As with any plant, basil is no different and over watering can and will kill it off. I prefer to use a spray bottle and hand mist the soil daily so that it stays damp but can never be accidentally over watered. If the soil looks moist then I skip on the misting for that day until it starts to look slightly dry again.

2. Remember that higher nitrogen fertilizers are not good for fruit and vegetable bearing plants because it will cause them to produce more green leaves and get to the bolting stage of their life must faster. However, with basil you will be harvesting and eating its leaves so a higher nitrogen content id actually beneficial in this case. Always make sure to fully read the label of your fertilizer and follow the instructions because if you mix it too concentrated you can kill your plant. I like to sprinkle a pinch of spent coffee grounds- or more if planted in a larger pot once per week because it adds a great amount of nitrogen to the soil. If you are not a coffee drinker you could also use spent tea out of the tea bags. But, if you don't drink either of those you can head to your local coffee shop or even Starbucks and ask if you can have their spent coffee grounds instead of them throwing them away. Most Starbucks now have a basket at the front of the store they put the spent grounds in for people to take at their leisure.

3. If you have no space and cannot afford an Aerogarden, you can also take an old can that maybe you bought that had corn or peas or really anything in it, drill a few holes on the bottom (carefully of course as those cans can tend to be very sharp and can cut you), place a dish under it, fill it about ¾ of the way up with potting soil, place it in front of a window with some basil seeds in it and it will give you plenty of basil for a while.

4. I always start with one plant, cut off a branch and place in water until roots form and plant it. This helps save me from running through all my seeds and gives me tons of basil plants. Most companies put tons of basil seeds in one package, but it is always good to know in what areas you can be frugal since gardening can get expensive, especially in the beginning.

That is about all I have pertaining to basil. It really is such a forgiving plant that does not need a lot of babying to produce wonderful leaves for you to enjoy. If you start to see your plant dying off, it is so easy to clip off some healthy looking branches in order to have a new plant propagated before the original dies. As always, thank you for taking this time to read my article. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions if you want to reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter @Garden4Solace. I will also be sharing some tips and photos periodically so please head on over there and give me a follow and say hello! I am by no means a garden pro, so I would love it if you would share your suggestions with me as well! If you are reading this article on Vocal and enjoyed it, consider leaving a tip to help support my urban farm! Wishing you a happy, healthy and wonderfully abundant gardening year.