How to best take care of our aromatic herb plant par excellence? The dose equivalent to a spoonful of a natural and easily available ingredient can help us have healthy and lush basil for years.
Italian culture is among the most beautiful and rich in the world, especially when it comes to culinary art. It is now well known how much our cuisine is loved and appreciated by people all over the world. The merit of this wonderful reputation, as well as the tasty recipes typical of each region, is also and above all the raw materials that we usually use, all of excellent quality and with a unique flavor that distinguishes them.
Even spices and aromas , when it comes to Italian cuisine, play a role of primary importance, both to flavor and to garnish our dishes. Thyme, rosemary and parsley, in fact, are just some of the herbs that make every forkful unique. However, the aroma that most of all is able to express the essence of Italianness at the table is only one: basil . Let it be cooked; raw; placed on pizza; on a plate of spaghetti or between the layers of parmigiana, basil releases an inimitable flavour, which is why it can never be missing from our homes.
The best way to always have it at hand is to buy a small plant and keep it on the terrace or in the garden, but it is not uncommon for it to dry up and die out of the blue. In reality, to prevent this from happening, there is an easy and natural method that we can all put into practice. What do we need? One ingredient. Which? Let’s find out together.
Basil: how to make it healthy and lush
Having everything we need available is essential when we cook, and this is precisely why it would be useful to have a plant for each type of aromatic herb . They can also be kept on the terrace, it is not necessarily necessary to have a garden, and one of those that absolutely cannot be missing is basil.
Like all things, even this little plant needs to be taken care of to remain healthy, beautiful and luxuriant over time. Doing it is not difficult, all we need are some coffee grounds . Not everyone knows that this substance contains a high quantity of nitrogen , a perfect element for fertilizing plants. This method involves using about a tablespoon of coffee grounds, and crumbling them into the soil of the basil plant before watering it . Simple but effective!
Small precautions
Using coffee grounds to fertilize our basil plant will ensure that it remains luxuriant for years. But there are also other small precautions which, if put into practice, can make the difference. First of all, immediately after purchasing the plant, it is good practice to remove not only the plastic wrapping in which it is contained, but also any dry leaves and branches.
At this point, it is very important to decide where to place the plant. Basil needs sunlight to grow well, which is why it can be kept on the terrace. Excessive heat, however, can damage it. In spring, therefore, let’s make sure that the temperature to which we expose it does not drop below 15°C, and that in summer it does not, on the other hand, exceed 30°C.
Finally, it is very important to make sure that there is no excess water in the saucer after watering it. Its presence, in fact, could cause the roots of the plant to rot .