You can grow basil from seed, but there’s a much easier way to boost your stock of basil plants. Just take one supermarket basil – which is actually many seedlings squashed together in one pot – and split them. You can get around five plants for free – not bad for an initial outlay of about £1.
Here’s how to split the plants up, giving them the light, space and food they need to thrive.
Discover delicious ways to use your basil harvest, at BBC Good Food.
You Will Need
- Small plastic pots (five), about 9cm diameter
- Multi-purpose, peat-free compost, peat free
- Basil plant (one), from supermarket
- Secateurs or a sharp knife
Total time:
Step 1
Take the supermarket basil plant and cut off any leggy shoots, back to a strong pair of growing buds. Next, take the basil plant out of the pot and gently, without touching the stems or leaves of the plant, divide the rootball.
Step 2
You should get around five equal-sized pieces. Each will probably have three or four plants in it. Place a little compost into the base of your small plastic pots.
Step 3
Plant each section into a pot, adding more compost as required, so the plant is at the same level it was in the original pot. Water from below. Once the roots start to come out of the bottom of the pot, replant into slightly larger pots.
Herbs make attractive container plants. Find out how to plant a herb container.
Give your plants sunshine
Basil does best in a sunny spot – for the best results, place your plants on a sunny windowsill.
