Ever feel like those grocery store basil pots are just a little too crowded? You’re not imagining it! Those pots are usually packed way too tight, which means the plants end up competing for space and often wilt before you can even use them all. The good news? You can easily turn that one cheap pot into a whole windowsill garden. Here’s how to propagate your basil like a pro.
Propagating by Division
The biggest issue with store-bought basil is that there are dozens of tiny seedlings crammed into one tiny space. To give them room to breathe and grow big, bushy leaves, you just need to divide the root ball.
- First, gently tip the plant out of its original pot.
- Using your hands, carefully pull the root ball apart into three or four equal sections.
- Give each of these sections its own home in a new pot.
- Don’t go too small with the new pots—aim for something about twice the size of the root clump.
- Add a little potting soil to the bottom.
- Set your plant inside and fill in the gaps with more soil.
- Press down firmly and give it a good drink of water.
Pop your new plants on a warm, sunny windowsill with a saucer underneath, and they’ll be happy as clams!
Growing from Cuttings
Taking cuttings is another super rewarding way to get more basil for free. It’s honestly like magic watching the roots grow in water. Here’s the step-by-step:
- Snip off a few strong, healthy stems about 4 inches long. Try to pick stems that haven’t started flowering yet.
- You can dab the cut end with a little wood ash to disinfect it, or just let the sap dry for a minute.
- Strip off the bottom set of leaves so you have a bare stem. You don’t want leaves sitting in the water, or they’ll just rot.
- Drop your cuttings into a glass of lukewarm water.
- Find a warm spot for the glass, but keep it out of harsh, direct sunlight for now.
- Refresh the water every two or three days to keep things clean.
- In about 7–10 days, you’ll see little white roots sprouting. Once they’ve been growing for about two weeks, they’re ready to be moved into a pot with soil.
Growing from Seed
If you want to try something unique, growing from seed is the way to go. You’ll find way more variety in seed packets than you ever will in the produce aisle—think gorgeous purple varieties like “Rubin” or “Rothaut.”
Basil seeds are tiny (about 1mm) and black. The most important thing to remember is that basil is a light-germinator . That means the seeds need light to wake up, so don’t bury them under a thick layer of dirt!
How to sow your seeds:
- Fill a pot or a window box with high-quality seed-starting mix.
- Press the soil down so it’s firm but not packed like a brick.
- Place your seeds on the surface, either individually or in small clusters.
- Gently press the seeds into the soil surface (don’t cover them!) and mist them with a spray bottle. Using a spray bottle prevents the tiny seeds from getting washed away.
- Stretch some plastic wrap over the top to create a mini greenhouse. Poke a few small holes in the wrap so it can breathe and won’t get moldy.
- Keep them at about 70°F (20°C). You should see sprouts in 5–14 days.
- Once those cute little green shoots appear, take the plastic wrap off.
- If they’re growing too close together, you can prick them out and move them to their own pots.
Pro Tip: Look for “heirloom” or “open-pollinated” seeds. If you let those plants flower later on, you can actually harvest your own seeds for next year!