How To Grow Basil Indoors In The Winter – Grow Fresh Basil Year Round! : It’s still possible to cultivate tasty basil indoors, despite the chilly outside temps. It’s also much simpler than you may imagine. This marks the end of your outdoor gardening season if you reside somewhere with frigid fall and winter months. If it hasn’t already, that is! Fortunately, it doesn’t imply you have to completely stop developing. That’s where indoor herbs that grow easily, like basil, come into play.
How To Grow Basil Indoors In The Winter – Grow Fresh Basil Year Round!
One of the easiest plants to cultivate indoors is basil, in fact. You may continuously produce and harvest basil in the comfort of your own home, even throughout the chilly winter months, if you provide the correct growth circumstances.
How To Grow Basil Indoors
If your other herbs are grown in the ground, they must be moved inside when the outside temperature drops to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit or lower, including your basil plants. Although some late-season crops can still be harvested outdoors in the fall, your herbs will thrive indoors, where they will be warmer and shielded from the colder weather.
It’s simple to bring indoor plants that are currently growing outdoors in potted containers. If you have no access to outside plants, you can also use seeds to establish whole new plants. Here’s how to grow in any case, beginning with seeds:
Starting From Scratch
Starting basil indoors from seeds is simple. To get started, all you actually need is a packet of seeds, a container, some potting mix, and a small amount of water. Oh, and remember to turn on the lights—more on that later!
Basil seeds can easily grow indoors when planted in a starter pot.
Pick a tiny container with a drainage hole on the bottom that is between 4 and 6 inches wide. Basil grows so little that it may be grown in cramped spaces; most people find that the 4 to 6-inch size works well.
Of course, if you’d prefer, you can use a bigger container. Particularly if you intend to harvest and use basil often over the long winter months. First, add a high-quality, previously pre-moistened potting soil mix to the container. Additionally, you can add a little amount of compost to aid improve drainage and immediately provide the plants with an increased nutrient content.
Try to space the basil seeds apart as you gently scatter them on top of the soil. Apply a thin coating of potting mix on top and damp the surface slightly using a spray bottle. Wait for germination after placing the container near a window that faces south or in another area with additional lighting. Maintain a somewhat damp but not soggy soil. In about eight to ten days, your basil should start to sprout.
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Thinning Seedlings
Reduce the number of seedlings in each container by thinning them out once they reach a few inches in height. About three to four plants should go into each four-inch pot. Basil should have plenty of adequate airflow when grown indoors, and trimming helps prevent plants from becoming congested.
Garden Repoting
If your garden basil is still producing, dig it up to place in containers for winter. Transplanting smaller plants works better. Larger, older basil plants have roots over a foot deep.
Dig a few inches away from the plant’s base using a small garden trowel to loosen the dirt. Carefully remove the root ball. Maintaining as much of the root ball as possible during transplanting will ease the transfer Use a container an inch larger than the plant’s base. The container should also have sufficient drainage holes. As with seed sowing, use a well-draining potting soil mix.
The Container Fills
Third-fill the container with dirt and compost. Give the plant the same growth rate as in your garden and backfill with soil. Tapping lightly and watering well helps establish the plant. Maintain moist but not saturated soil.
Try transplanting basil cuttings instead. Cut a stem section with a node. Remove bottom leaves and put in water Nodes will soon sprout roots. Transfer the plant to a potting soil mix container once the roots grow a few inches. One indoor basil plant is ready to grow!
Temperature and humidity for indoor basil growth
Basil thrives in summer because it loves warm weather. Optimal indoor temperatures for basil are around or above 70º Fahrenheit (21º Celsius). Avoid planting potted basil near drafts or air conditioning or heater vents.
Mist your basil occasionally to increase humidity. However, most people have better results using a rock tray. Put rocks in the waterproof tray and pour water to halfway up. Place the container on top. Check and replace the water occasionally.
