Room to Grow
These basil plants have been through a lot, and honestly, I never really expected them to thrive this far. I'm glad that I have somehow documented their growth here on the blog, so I can look back and see how well they've done.
These plants were sown indoors, at the height of the summer here in the UAE. They sprouted fast but I saw that they were not growing as they should, so I risked putting them outdoors. I'd say it was not a surprise when the plants grew their first set to true leaves just a few days after they were put outdoors.
Last month, I shared how I transplanted them to recycled water bottles, and they have seen great improvements during that time. I also pruned them once and that made them branch out already, that it was really apparent that they cannot stay in those little plastic "pots".
You can see their growth here:
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Time to Re-Pot!
Look at these babies! They have grown "bushy" already and they just cannot stay in their tiny container anymore.
I have to say, that pruning really works wonders in the growth of these basil plants. Upon doing some shallow research, I found that basil plants should be pruned when the third set of true leaves appear. This will force the basil to branch out.
Anyway, back to re-potting.
As I said the other day, we were lucky to have gotten a lot of free pots from around the corner from our house. @kennyroy has made some nice soil from our compost and these are just great for my re-potting session! Yey!
I was able to transfer a total of 21 plants in their respective pots. They are now comfortably getting the time of their lives there. Fingers crossed, they will now grow even healthier and bushier. I can already see all the pesto I can make from these!
Next up, more repotting! There are still 12 plants waiting to be replanted. Ahem, time! Where art thou?!
I alse need to prune these babies for more leaves. Plus, I might sow more seeds. When I showed a photo to my friends, they asked if these were for sale since I have a lot. I said, it never occurred to me but thanks for the idea! LOL. Regardless, there couldn't be a lot of basil around. They are great for cooking fresh or dried so it's a win whichever way.
How about you, what's growing?
