If you love homemade spaghetti sauce or pesto, all you have to do is keep fresh basil and other herbs, all year round! A cute little garden on a window that gets at least 4 or 5 hours of direct sunlight will give you something to pluck from time to time. Gardens with mint, rosemary, bay leaf, savory, oregano, chervil, basil, and thyme are some of the easiest to grow this way.
Steps
Step 1. Ensure adequate light
The goal is a vegetative cycle of light (18 hours of light, at least), with 8 or more hours of direct sun or artificial light. If you need a large quantity of weed, you will need to take into account its lighting needs. For example, basil and cilantro need only a little more light than other herbs and really prefer 8 hours or more of direct light each day. Plus, if you crave fresh pesto, you won't make it by plucking a leaf here and there. Here's what you can do:
- Whenever light levels are low, give the herbs some help. Two or three fluorescent lights above your plants will greatly increase growth and yield. You can grow enough basil for a few servings of pesto and still always have enough on hand.
- With a small metal halide lamp, you would be able to have better lighting over a larger area. You could produce in abundance any herb you choose for your culinary and aromatic pleasures. Basil would take root well in the bright conditions given by the metal halides, because it is a sun-loving Mediterranean herb.
Step 2. Choose a suitable terrain
Some herbs grow best in poor soil, as they can develop a stronger aroma. The essences in the herbs make them special. Very fast growing herbs often bring stems and leaves faster than they can produce tasty essential oils. It is often said: "Basil grows best in poor soil", or "Basil will be tastier if you don't use fertilizers". What we actually mean is: "Don't grow the basil too fast" (basil is a typical example of this).
Step 3. Prepare the containers correctly
Growing in a container is a little different. The plant still needs some substances to grow, and when these are depleted, it is necessary to use fertilizer or fertilizer. However, as will be seen below, this needs to be evaluated along with the growing habits of your herbs.
To keep initial growth rates in check, use a soil mix with just enough nutrients. Mix 2 parts of coir compost with 1 part of perlite and then add 20% worm-compost. Test the pH of any mixture and if it is acidic, add a gram of hydrated lime to every liter of potting soil, or you can replace it with vermiculite, which does not require pH adjustment. Finally, add 1 tablespoon of seaweed meal to every four gallons of soil to add plant hormones and to give beneficial microorganisms something to feed on. Use this mixture every time you transplant
Step 4. Know when to water
If the soil surface is dry, it is necessary to water. Another way to figure this out is to take the container and check how much it weighs. Herbs love that the soil drains quickly. You need to have containers with holes in the bottom, and you need to add a layer of broken tiles (slate is ideal) or other small flat stones, or an inch or so of perlite or gravel at the bottom of each container when transplanting.. It is best to water abundantly, but less often. Water the container until the water begins to drain from the bottom, without overdoing it.
Step 5. Start feeding the plants after 10 days or more
When the herbs have been in a container for ten days or more, you need to start feeding them. In a container, the roots are forced into small spaces and will quickly draw out all the nutrients, especially if you didn't overdo it when you started. Use a medium strength nutrient like Maxsea 16-16-16 every two weeks.
Step 6. Give your herbs extra help
If you really want to keep plants healthy, it is advisable to use a B-1 liquid plant and algae mixture in every drop of water you give them. B-1 is made up of vitamins and hormones from roots, and nutrients and hormones for plant growth algae. This will help you in the production of essential oils. Finally, water the basil around the base: it does not like water on the leaves.
Step 7. Use the herbs when they are ready
As soon as the plants have grown enough and the leaves can be plucked without harming the growth, you can start using your herbs. This usually takes around 4-6 weeks, depending on the plant. Herbs like basil are best harvested before the flowers open. You'll get the highest levels of essential oil if you harvest at the end of the dark, assuming you don't leave the lights on 24 hours a day.
