This Is How to Keep Your Supermarket Basil Alive for as Long as Possible
Sound familiar? You buy one of those supermarket basil plants and before you know it, it’s withering away on your counter? Don’t worry, it’s not (necessarily) your fault that these plants don’t have a long life. Here’s how you can keep your supermarket basil alive for longer.
Supermarket herbs are grown to grow quickly, but live briefly. They’re very sensitive to temperature fluctuations and a lack of nutrients.
Too close together
Not only that, the plants are packed too closely together. You’re not buying one plant, but a clump of several seedlings that look like a beautiful, healthy bunch. Once they start growing, these seedlings will compete with one another for space and wither due to a lack of water, light and nutrients.
How do you keep supermarket basil alive?
The solution: repotting. Remove the clump of seedlings from the pot and carefully separate the plants with your fingers at the roots until you’re left with four smaller clumps. Remove the smallest and weakest plants so you can be sure you’re left with the best ones.
Then plant each clump in its own pot with fresh potting soil and enough plant food. Give the new plants plenty of water, but make sure they don’t drown. Basil plants are sensitive, so place them in a sheltered but sunny spot and only water them around the edge of the pot; otherwise, they’ll topple over.
Bet your plants will live longer now? If not, you’re probably better off getting your plants from the garden center from now on.
Time to eat
What could be more fun than eating basil from your own plant? Make a delicious pesto with it and use it in this perfect maccheroni by Yvette van Boven, for example. Or, equally irresistible: Melanzane alla parmigiana.
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