A Guide To Growing Basil Indoors

A Guide To Growing Basil Indoors

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Nothing can add a fresher flavor to your food than herbs from your own garden. Basil is a herb you can grow indoors, not only to give your food that appetizing aroma, but also spread a fresh soft fragrance around your house.

Growing basil indoors takes some experience and a lot of care but the results are just too rewarding. They can be grown in pots or cells. It is necessary to prepare the soil well for basil to grow. The soil should be well-drained and rich in nutrients with a pH of 6.0 - 7.0. It is necessary to check the pH of the soil every 4 weeks and also ensure that the soil does not become too watery. Basil needs a lot of sunshine for proper growth, around 6 hours every day. So it is best to place them near the window so that they can bask in the sun as long as it shines.

If it is winter, and sunlight insufficient, artificial fluorescent light can be used as a substitute. However if you are relying entirely on artificial light, make sure the plant is exposed to about 12 hours of light every day. The plants must be placed out of reach from pets as they can chew the leaves and spoil all your effort.

With care and patience you can see the plant grow in a week or two. Once it starts growing it is essential to harvest the leaves on a daily basis. This would help to tap the flavor. In summer these plants start growing long white flowers. They should be harvested before the flowers start growing and the flowers regularly snapped off to preserve the flavor.

The harvested leaves should be washed, cleaned and thoroughly dried. They can be dried in a number of ways. They can be packed in bundles and hung from a wire until completely dry. They can also be dried in the oven. The leaves are placed on a baking tray and baked in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees for 10 minutes approximately. Care should be taken to remove it when it is crispy but before it gets burnt. Some people however think that basil loses its flavor or essential oils if oven heated and hence prefer the natural way of drying it.

It is then finely chopped and stored in air tight containers for use. Basil can also be refrigerated. However they tend to lose their flavor in a year's time and hence growing and storing basil should be pretty much an annual job.

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