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How to grow basil on a window sill from seeds?

Basil is a plant that is ideal for growing at home. Culture grows at any time of the year and does not differ in caprice. Therefore, even a beginner will cope with its cultivation. In this article, we want to talk about how to grow a basil on a windowsill.

What is basil?

Basil is an indispensable spice used by people since ancient times. The plant is rich in essential oils, therefore, in addition to cooking, it is still used in natural cosmetics. In good conditions, it grows in greenhouses, in kitchen gardens, so you should not even doubt whether it is possible to grow basil on a window sill.

Culture originated from India. Presumably the name of the plant goes back to the Greek basileus , which means the king or the king. There are two different versions regarding the origin of culture. According to one of them, the basilica was found next to the place where once Queen Elena discovered the True Cross. According to another version, the plant was used to treat royal family.

Basil has long been used for religious rituals in Orthodoxy (in the Balkans and in Greece) and Hinduism. Ayurveda values culture not only for cosmetic, but also for medicinal properties. There are many varieties of basil. Cooking is often used fragrant varieties. All of them differ not only in appearance, but also in smell and taste.

Which variety should I prefer?

Basil attracts not only as a culinary additive, but also as a medicinal plant. At home, it can be used as an interior decoration. Recently, the popularity of the plant is increasing. Therefore, thinking about how to grow a basil on a windowsill, it is necessary to decide what kind of variety you prefer to see on your balcony. We have already said that the plant is unpretentious. However, it is worthwhile to understand that not every variety is suitable for growing at home. The most suitable options can be the following types: spoon-shaped, Yerevan, Baku, marquise, clove flavor. These varieties are small-leaved, and therefore easier to cultivate at home. Large-leaved need a sufficiently large number of trace elements, which must be added to the ground. With this care can only be handled by experienced gardeners. Therefore, beginners mistress should pay attention to small-leaved varieties.

When a horticulturist already has experience with taking care of simpler species, and understands how to grow basil on a window sill, you can move on to other varieties.

Methods of growing a culture

How to grow basil on a window sill? There are three ways:

  1. An adult plant can be transplanted from the soil into a pot. So do summer residents, who in summer cultivate the culture on the household plots. Young bushes, which have not yet blossomed, can be transplanted together with an earthen lump into a pot. However, the vegetative period of the plant is small, so soon it will blossom. And then you have to cut off shoots for planting young plants.
  2. Cultivation of plants from cuttings. To do this, the crowns or side shoots are cut and put in water. This is necessary in order for them to put in the roots. Then the basil is transplanted into a pot, the first greens can be cut in two to three weeks. Such bushes can last you about three to four months, after which you again need to update the plant.
  3. Cultivation of basil from seeds is the longest method. Good greens will not be obtained soon. If you need a faster result, it is better to use the second method.

The optimal time for growing basil

How to grow basil on a windowsill in winter? In principle, basil can be grown at any time of the year, including in the winter. However, it is worthwhile to understand that the plant belongs to photophilous and heat-loving crops, and therefore in cold periods it will take more effort for maintenance.

Some mistresses in winter wrap pots with basil polyethylene to protect from drafts and raise the temperature regime. In addition, from October to March in the conditions of our climate, the basilica is not sunny enough, so the plants will have to be illuminated. This will help to increase the light day by artificial means. To simplify the care of the plant, many housewives prefer to sow seeds in February, then the main period of active growth of culture will have just for a period with a sufficient length of daylight. In the summer, the basil will feel great on the window in the apartment.

How to grow basil on a window sill from seeds?

Before you start landing, you need to prepare the ground. You can take good soil from the suburban area, and you can purchase a ready-made substrate. In the soil from the garden to make it easier to add a little peat.

Sometimes basil is planted in a mixture of peat and humus (humus can be replaced by coconut fiber) in a ratio of 2: 1. Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to hold a couple of hours in a solution of potassium permanganate raspberry.

Conducting a conversation about how to grow a basil on a windowsill in an apartment, it is worth remembering that for plants you need to pick up pots for planting. There are two options. You can sow the seeds of small containers (200 g), and then transplant the plants into more spacious pots. But in general, you can immediately use large boxes, this will save you unnecessary trouble. At the bottom of the vessels should be put keramzit as a drainage. Seeds are sown in a moist soil to a depth of not more than one centimeter at a distance of 7-10 centimeters from each other. After this, pots should be tightened with food film and do not remove it until sprouts appear. Next, in order to quickly grow a basil house on a windowsill, you should create optimal conditions. At a temperature of +22-28 degrees, the first shoots will appear in five to eight days.

Care of young shoots

As soon as young sprouts appear, immediately it is necessary to rearrange the pots in a well-lit and warm place. Plants should be watered regularly. You need to do this once a day, on the hottest summer days, you can moisten the soil in the morning and evening with water at room temperature. Periodically, basil can be sprinkled with water, especially in summer.

To understand how to grow a basil in a pot on the windowsill, you need to know that the birthplace of the plant is the subtropics. That is why culture needs an abundance of heat and light. In order for the plant to develop well and grow rapidly on the windowsill, the air temperature should be at least +20 degrees, but better than +25 degrees, and the sun should shine for at least 4 hours a day.

Basil is very afraid of drafts. Adult bushes can be loosened once in three days. If the soil in the pots is not very fertile, then periodically (no more than once a month) it should be fertilized. As a top dressing any universal fertilizers on the basis of gammat or organic compost are suitable.

The first leaves can be cut off at the plant after 1.5 months. In the future, cutting green, you need to leave at least three leaves on the stems. This is necessary in order for new branches to form in the axils. When the basil grows up, it will be possible for him to pinch the top, then the bush will expand in breadth.

How to grow a basil house on a windowsill in the winter?

If you decide to sow seeds in the winter, then you will need more careful care to grow a good plant. On the one hand, the culture needs good watering, and on the other, excessive overmoistening can lead to illness. Therefore, with water you need to be more careful.

The most comfortable temperature for basil is + 20-25 degrees. In winter, for a plant, a light day is not long enough for normal development, so it needs to be highlighted further. For this in the evening, you can turn on the lamp for 3-4 hours. Basil does not tolerate temperature changes and drafts.

Given these moments, the culture can be grown at home and in winter cold.

Diseases to which the plant is exposed

Basil, like many other cultures, is prone to various diseases. Of course, home plants are less sick than street plants, but still it is worth to protect themselves. The most common diseases that affect basil are fusariosis and gray mold. That your bushes do not hit such a disease, you need to avoid overflow, because excessive humidity provokes the disease. If the plant is still unwell, then it is necessary to remove the stalks in time so that they do not infect healthy shoots.

How to harvest correctly?

In order for the plant to grow well and continue to develop, it is necessary to be able to harvest correctly. Never pickle the basil from the root itself, it can damage the plant. In order to increase the life of the plant, it is necessary to remove peduncles immediately upon their appearance. A basil can not be picked at the root, it can ruin the entire plant. In general, you can remove the leaves, but you should leave 4-5 leaves, later on new branches will appear from their sinuses.

In order to less damage the bushes it is better not to pinch the leaves, but cut with scissors. The greens are easily removed, and the stems are not injured.

Knowing all the wonders of the process, growing a basil at home on a window sill is simple. Therefore, every mistress can try her hand at it.

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