I’ve planted basil and have already pinched the plants back a couple of times. Naturally, the “prunings” are only a couple of leaves, but I stuck the stems in a glass of water on the window sill with the window open to make them last longer (they turn black in the fridge 'cause it’s too cold). After using most of the leaves to make caprese salad the remaining leaves and stems wouldn’t remain standing up, so they just submerged themselves in the water. Just for the hell of it I decided to leave them and see what would happen. Well, what’s happened is that they’ve been there for about ten days since submersion - two weeks in total - and they’re perfect.
Try it, you’ll like it. I’m amazed. I’ve never been able to keep basil this long.
as soon as i saw this thread title i was interested … thanks for posting, Bob. Of all the fresh herbs I buy, basil is easily the most difficult for me to keep fresh
I just pinch out the flowers. Does the plant no harm at all.
I’ve got three stalks of Asian basil on my window sill in a glass of water. They’ve been there two weeks or more and are growing nicely. Whenever I go out for Pho’ I bring the stalks back - they root easily and will soon be planted in the garden.
We can still get a few leaves off of last year’s basil plant that somehow survived the winter indoors. We got another fresh plant this Spring that’s been keeping Carollee supplied with basil for her bufala mozzarella / burrata and tomato lunches. The one that survived was our second (or third) plant last year.
Occasionally when we have very mild winters, I’ve had basil survive from one season to the next. However, I’ve never enjoyed the flavor on those hardy specimens that make it to season two: to me, they taste harsh and almost bitter. As a result, I plant new starts every year, pinch off and pluck flowers as long as I can, then yank the whole plant and make a big batch of pesto to freeze - not as good as fresh, but it gets us through the winter.
I’m with you Steve. In the North east basil is a difficult proposition. I tried the ‘bring in for summer’ thing but always failed. I now just buy baby plants and put 4 or 5 in a big pot and expect nothing past September. I just did so yesterday. 4 plants for a grant total of $7.
I plant basil about every two weeks throughout the summer and also pinch blossoms. I understand that SD is one of the basil capitals of the world. I have put stems in water inside and had them root. . .planted those out and they did fine.
when you guys say plant stems in water, you’re just putting a stem into a bowl of water with no soil right? And then waiting for the roots to grow from the cut stem and then transferring them to soil?
If so, i need to do that cause I’ve been trimming some stems back and I feel like I’m wasting basil ><
Charlie, you need to slow down when you read. No one is saying we’re “planting” the stuff. We’re putting the stems in water to keep it fresh, just like with parsley. Bruce’s just happened to take root like a sweet potato.
No, you didn’t misinterpret. If you put basil stems in water in a sunny place then after a few days the stems root - as in grow roots, rather than the Australian definition of the word. I can post a photo if you like. Of the stems, not of the Australian definition. Wrong forum for that.
It’s important to pinch out the flowers though, otherwise the plant puts its effort into maintaining those rather than growing roots and leaves. Once the roots are established you can plant them in soil again. Simple, and more reliable than trying to grow from seeds.
Charlie, what I’m trying to tell you is no one is “planting” the stuff in water in order to get it to root - except perhaps for Dave. We’re putting it in the water to preserve its freshness. The root growth is a byproduct.
my question had nothing to do with keeping basil fresh, I was curious about the by product of the root growth + planting it which Dave has now affirmed and I’m sure Bruce will later.
The one in the middle has roots coming from the left hand branch; I will probably cut that off and have a seperate plant.
The stem on the left is growing a root halfway up as well.
All the stems are growing new leaves too. I think these are about 3 weeks old.
You’re correct Charlie - it’s pretty easy to grow new starts from a plucked stem, as indicated by Dave’s comments and photo. As he describes, it’s a great way to start new plants rather than buying seed or new baby plants.