A gardening expert shared her simple method for growing an abundance of basil using supermarket herbs, keeping her stocked up for months. Louise, the brains behind Louise’s Kitchen Garden on social media, detailed her green-fingered plan for growing an “unlimited supply of basil”.
She used a process known as water propagation, which involves rooting plant cuttings in water instead of soil. This process can help grow new plants, helping the roots develop before planting in soil. You can do it at home without growing herbs from scratch.
How to get an unlimited supply of basil
In a recent TikTok video, Louise recommended buying pre-potted basil plants from the supermarket to start off with. Then break them off into chunks, making sure you have a few stems per basil plant.
These can be replanted back into troughs or pots. Louise also highlighted the benefits of using basil as a “companion plant” for tomatoes.
To help the plants grow bushier, prune the basil by snipping off a few of the stalks with leaves. However, you don’t want to throw these prunings away.
Instead, Louise made use of the off-cuts to expand her basil field.
Louise said: “Then take the prunings and sit them in water for a few weeks and roots will grow. This is called water propagation and it’s very easy.”
Before replanting the prunings, you need to take a few steps. Make sure you snip off the newly grown roots, cutting enough off the stem so it’s not too long.
You should also cut off any side-shoot leaves that have blossomed and cut through some of the larger leaves at the top of the plant.
Avoid having too many leaves or big leaves, as this will divert the plant’s energy to the flowers over the roots. Louise said, “You don’t want there to be too many leaves or for the leaves to be too big because that’s a source of moisture loss for the plant, so cut them in half or remove them completely.”
Take a shallow dish and fill it with water, then cover it with tightly wrapped cling film. Poke as many holes as you need in the cling film before inserting the stems into the water.
She continued: “This way, you can ensure the leaves don’t fall beneath the surface of the water and they sit nicely on top, meaning the leaves are less likely to rot through contact with the water.”
Once the basil is in place, it’s important to keep the water topped up, as it may evaporate over time. Roots will start growing within a few weeks.