I don't know about you, but I cringe every time I see a $6 price tag on a bottle of organic (or not organic) dried herbs at the grocery store. Know why I cringe? Because I know how easy and frugal it is to grow your own herbs at home.
What's this you say, you have no garden space? You don't have time for a garden? Even if you don't have a green thumb or time for a garden, you can have a mini-herb garden in about ten minutes, with very little upkeep. And, not only is it spending less, but it's living better, because fresh home grown vegetables and herbs have more nutrients in them than store bought or even farmer's markets varieties.
When grown at home, you let the plant mature on the vine and don't pick it until you're ready to use or eat it, equaling more nutrients, cheaper, and better health! See why I get so excited? I warn you, it can become contagious,this growing your own groceries thing. 🙂
One of the easiest herbs to start with and the most used in my kitchen, is basil. Fresh basil on top of homemade pizza, chopped up and thrown into scrambled eggs or an omelet, meatballs, soups, and of course spaghetti are just a few ways to use basil, oh, and pesto, how could I forget pesto?
I grow chives, mint, chocolate mint, lemon balm, oregano, and rosemary outside mixed among my flowers and in some large pots. They're great perennial herbs (you don't have to replant every year), but basil and thyme are some of my favorite warm weather annual herbs.
If you live in a really mild climate with warm weather year round, you might be able to keep basil outdoors, but here, we frequently dip down into the teens during the winter, so it's not an option.
Never fear, no matter how cold your climate is, you can have year round herbs via a windowsill herb garden. And, are you ready for this, you can grow basil without any dirt!
Have you ever been at the grocery store and seen those little packages of living basil? Both Safeway and Fred Meyers carries them.
Step 1: Buy one or two bunches of basil (usually about three plants are inside each package). Growing basil in water during the winter months is actually preferable, as you don't have to worry about your soil molding.
Step 2: Choose a planter. You'll need a planter of some kind and the most frugal option is to use something you already have at home. I have a thing for Mason jars, especially the vintage blue ones. Make sure your jar is washed and rinsed well. The quart size work best as they're taller and offer more support for the basil. If you don't have any antique Mason jars, you can get the limited edition replica's here from our affiliate partner Amazon at 37% off (at time of posting). Ball Jar Heritage Collection Pint Jars with Lids and Bands, Set of 6
But I don't know how much longer these will be available as they were only made as a limited edition.
Step 3: Add water. Put about an inch of water (Note: we're on our own well, but if you're on city water or have chlorine in your water, you'll need to use non-treated water) in the bottom of your jar. You don't have to add liquid silica, but because silica is normally found in soil, the addition of it will help the cell structure of your plant. It's available at most nurseries and plant stores. It comes very concentrated, so just a drop is all you'll need in each jar. Here's the brand I use from our affiliate partner Amazon Gold Silica 719440 GOLD SILICA 1 LITER (6/CS)
Step 4: Place your basil plants in the water. Find your warmest and sunniest window, usually this is a southern exposure side of the house. Because your plants have been inside a store with very little sunlight, don't be alarmed if they leaves seem wilted and shriveled the first few days. Place the plant in the window and wait a week. All but one of mine perked up after some TLC in the sunlight.
Be sure you don't place the basil against the glass or allow the leaves to touch it. The glass will be quite a bit cooler than the air and can kill the plant, especially during night time temps. If an exceptionally cold night is in the forecast, you should move your plants out of the window sill onto the counter where it's warmer overnight.
Replace the water about every week or two.
Once your basil is doing well in it's new home, you'll want to harvest it. Now, harvesting basil isn't hard, but here's a few tips to ensure the continued growth of your herbs. Contrary to what you'd think, leave the large bottom leaves of basil on the bottom alone. These are what feed your plant.
Once you've got pairs of leaves at the top of your plant in a few tiers, pinch off leaves directly above a pair. This will cause two new shoots to grow, creating more leaves, and a bushier stronger plant.
If you're using fresh herbs in a recipe that calls for dried herbs, you'll need to use three times the amount of fresh herbs the recipe calls for. Have an over abundance of your herbs and want to dry them to give as gifts or to preserve for later? Here's how to dry your own herbs at home.
Is learning how to grow your own food, cook from scratch wholesome food, and slowing down something you want for you and your family? Me, too!
Do you grow any of your own food at home? What are some of your favorite ways to use herbs?
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Hi Michelle,
I have roots finally growing on the basil cutting from the store! If I leave it in water, change the water every week or so, add nutrients every month, should this plant continue to grow all winter? I heard someone say you should place a net pot into the mason jar to keep the plants separate (I have 4 plants in the jar), do you think this is necessary? Thanks for your help in advance. Cathy
Hi Melissa,
I’m wondering if you can answer a question for me. I finally took a large clipping from a basil plant I bought in the grocery store, and put it in water. It’s finally growing roots and I want to leave it in the jar throughout the winter to harvest it for sauce. I read, on another blog, that I would have to add liquid fertilizer to the water each month. Is that true? If so, what would I use and how much. If not, I’ll just keep hoping it will continue to grow without. Thanks for any suggestions in advance. Cathy
Excellent post and wonderful blog, this sort of interesting posts I really like, keep it up…
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Hi!
I am VERY new to this! BUT…I literally not five minutes ago just found my VERY fist root on a basil stem! I feel so proud! Haha! My question is…can i keep the rooting stem plant in the jar…or do I HAVE to put it in soil? I love the idea of it just sitting in my counter in a beautiful mason jar waiting for me to use it…I tend to accidentally murder anything I plant in soil.
Thanks!
I like your detailed tips. Do you provide mulch for basil?
I don’t mulch my basil usually
Hi, I purchase the live basil with just the roots every week at the grocery store. It’s alway’s so beautiful and so fresh when I get it. I have done everything possible by their directions and it alway’s ends up dying the next day or two. I have a friend that say’s she can’t get hers to live. Your suggestions are the same as the growers and nothing is working.
I have several basil plants which have been thriving almost overwhelmingly well in the hydroponic garden they came in. I have 4 rootballs so vast, they’ve almost filled the original tank container. There’s no gently separating these roots. Can i transplant each large rootball, using a separate mason jar for each, and have hope for survival?
Hi Melissa. I have had my fresh basil clippings in water in the window sill with indirect sunlight for a few weeks and the water they are in is now red. Do you know what causes this and whether the basil is still ok to eat? (It looks okay although not quite as green)
Thanks,
Amy
Goodness, I’m not sure what would cause the red, do you have iron in your water?
Thank you so much for such a nice and informative article with us. I really enjoyed it so much. This topic is normally interesting but your interesting writing skill makes this topic more interesting. Thanks again for your effort to write such a great post.
it’s great growing them inside, so much that I don’t have enough containers! is it possible to move the indoors to outside? We live in texas so it might be too hot?
Definitely can move to outside, you might want to take them outside for a few hours the first day, and increase their time outdoors by a few hours each day over a week before planting to avoid shocking them. But basil does very well in the heat.
Thank you Melissa! I moved them out of the water and into soiled containers. Hoping the change from indoor temp to outdoor along with the water to soil containers isn’t too much of a change! Appreciate it! 🙂
where would I get a stevia plant or the seeds. I buy stevia to use as a sweetner and would love to grow some.
[…] Melissa Norris […]
I am doing a school project about it and this has been very helpful. I am not sure how long it takes for it to grow, maybe I skipped it because I was skim reading it but can you please tell me how long it takes to grow. Thank you
Do you mean how long it takes to grow new leaves? You’re starting with an established plant.
thank you for the information about basil…it is my favorite plant and
i so want to grow it all winter….but i am handicapped and unable to go
out for what is needed…any suggestions ??
Hi, I’m sorry this response is delayed, but that might be to your advantage. Since Walmart do a free pick up and everything in the store is fair game, you could buy an already planted, fresh plant. They also offer a free delivery now, but I haven’t used that. and I’m not sure if there are restrictions on any items. Hope this helps.
Do you think this would work in a colder climate? I live in the Eastern Sierra Mountains, high altitude, cold, snowy winters. I’m going to try it but I imagine it won’t be warm enough for them to grow in the windows. I’m also going to try the live thyme that’s in my fridge now and some mint and see how it does. Mint eems pretty hardy, but since it’s rhizomatic, maybe it won’t work , structurally… we’ll see. Fun experiment!
Liz,
Basil doesn’t tolerate the cold, so if your windows are super chilly it might do well. You could try a grow light. Mint is very hardy, so is sage, thyme, and oregano. Rosemary isn’t as hardy, but should be fine indoors.
What is the brown bulk at the base of your water basil?
It’s what the basil plants came in, the roots were inside of it and I didn’t think I could remove it without damaging them.
But it looks like it’s floating?
Love this idea. Thanks
Melissa;
I also follow Christ. I am a ranch wife & have a greenhouse attached to the back of our home. We raise cattle, have 6 kids, 14 grandchildren, 3 greats. we live in western Montana & our winters get too cold to plant herbs outdoors but i have them in my greenhouse. I think I’ll try growing basil in water on my kitchen window sill.
I enjoy sewing, reading, gardening & being with our family.
I have done some writing & 3 published articles in a Christian woman’s newsletter. I want to write again & would like to have a blog but don’t know how to go about it. I feel that I have some good things to offer other women. Would you share the starting points??
Blessings;
Diane
Diane,
Check out Micheal Hyatt, he’s got a great blog and podcast for writers and is one of the past CEO’s of Thomas Nelson Publishers.
This is really cool, so can you do this with any herb, like cilantro, rosemary etc.? I am going to the store in a few. I can’t wait to try this. I brought all my herbs, before the blizzard I thought they were lost but the parsley and oregano are back. Lost my rosemary.
I’ve only tried it with basil personally. Rosemary is more of a shrub, so I don’t know how it would do, but cilantro might fare well.
Thanks for sharing this info. In the past, I have purchased beautiful fresh basil plants from Trader Joe’s, I can never keep them alive. I am excited to try this technique.
Your pic shows basil with a root ball. So, did you buy an established plant and put it in the jar with water? Thanks!
I purchased live basil from Fred Meyer’s in the grocery department, it was just wrapped in plastic, no dirt or pot.
i have basil growing outside in a planter, can I pull it up and grow indoors?
Connie,
I would totally try it! Just try not to damage the roots when you pull them up from the dirt.
So glad I looked up growing basel in water. Looking forward to growing some herbs.
Great info. I’ve been using basil like this all summer and it has been awesome. I keep mine in old pickle jars or salsa or whatever I have. Recycling at its best. I just remove the label and wash it out. Looking forward to following you!
Melissa I love your podcast. I’m a NorthWest gardener too. I found this post looking around your site. I live where it is almost to cool to grow basil outside without cover even in the summer. So I plan to try this idea out. Not only will I get fresh basil, but I imagine they will look very pretty in the window. Thank you for sharing. I’m trying your Tar Heel beans for the fist time this summer. I’ll let you know how they grow on the Oregon Coast with our cool summers. Rarely do we get above 68.
I love also that you share Jesus. He feeds the soul and spirit and is our forever sustainer and savior. All the healthy foods and good ways in this world would leave us empty without knowing Jesus.
Blessings on your ministry
Erin
Erin,
Welcome fellow NorthWestener! I’m so glad you enjoy the podcast. Do let me know how the beans do for you in those temps. We’re up in the foothills so we tend to stay around the 70’s during the days in the summer months.
Blessings,
Melissa
I lived in Italy for 5 years and learned a lot about food. When you have an excess of fresh basil just freeze the leaves individually on a tray. Doesn’t take long. When they are firm ,place loosely in a plastic bag and return to freezer. You maintain the fresh flavor without the fuss of oil and can use as many leaves as you want.
Thanks for the tip, Connie!
Great tip Connie, I’m having doubts about growing inside in water or soil, so I’m definitely going to try this!
[…] your own food doesn’t have to take acres and acres of land. Every one can grow something from basil on a windowsill without any dirt to a full on garden. Fresh food grown at home is not only frugal, but healthier for you. We do an […]
This is very interesting, but I can’t imagine it has much flavor when grown like this, just in water, without any additional nutrients beyond what those lower leaves can supply to the new growth. I’ve grown basil indoors in potting soil, and find that even then it’s less flavorful than basil grown outdoors, where the plant develops a little more substance so it can withstand the wind and weather.
[…] to transport, meaning you can grow them indoors during the colder months. Check out this post by Melissa at Melissa K. Norris on how to grow basil during the winter for some […]
a friend told me how to cut up fresh basil and freeze it in olive oil in a plastic ice cube tray. it is perfect you just put the cubes in a ziploc freezer bag and when you are cooking just drop one in. Fresh basil in the middle of winter. I am definately trying your basil in a jar.
i tried this..and in the morning the plants were all wilted and black…
help>??
also, what is that in the bottom of the jar???….dirt? ……when i buy them at the grocery..they are not in dirt…it is not a plant…
thanks.
Its usually rock wool that they grow basil in.
To answer your first question, We grow almost all of our own food, except spelt berries, dry beans, cocoa powder, spices, cocoa powder, tea, coffee, rice, and such.
To answer the second question, It is hard to narrow it down, as we use herbs all the time. Salads, meats, veggies….I guess garlic is our favorite, if you consider it an herb.
Indoors througout the winter I grow bay leaves, chives, stevia, and parsley. I have not had too much luck with others as it seems that aphids just love most of them indoors. Do aphids like basil? I will try it soon and see what happens. I have heard of growing some herbs with a fish for nutrients. Maybe the basil will work for that……hmmmm…food for thought.
I haven’t had any trouble with aphids on basil, Marika, but I haven’t had a huge aphid problem in general. Sounds like you grow a lot of your own food. I wish I could grow cocoa powder here, chocolate is definitely on my must have list. 🙂
Can you do this with celery from the grocery store? Mine keep turning to brown mush- yuck!
I haven’t tried it with celery. Let me ask some of the peeps on my Facebook page and see if they have any advice for you. 🙂
Celery is super simple! I use a small prep bowl to start. Take the bottom of the celery stalk, where the roots are or would have been, from your store or market bought lettuce. Put only enough water to cover about half of the cutting, and make sure it stays at that level. My first try I had growth by the next morning. You can do the same with green onions. The stalks almost grow before your very eyes. This is also the best way to store your green onions purchased elsewhere. They will continue to grow while waiting to be used in your next scrumptious dish. Garlic can also be maintained in this manner for the greens. Once the bulb starts to sprout place it in a small container of water, and the greens will continue to grown! Never buy store bought again!
Thanks for the tips, Angie! I haven’t tried that with celery but I will now.
I’ve tried celery & green onions with no luck. The water in the onions became rancid. What do you think I did wrong.
Diane
I haven’t tried regrowing those myself, maybe the water needed to be changed out more often?
Yes, you can grow celery, or the leaves at least. I always cut off the bottom of a bunch of celery and start it in water, and the leaves make a good substitute for fresh parsley. Napa also does well and the young leaves taste so good. I keep these things going all winter on a windowsill in northern Maine 🙂
I grow my own celery on the window ledge but I use dirt. I purchased 3 heads of organic celery, used all but the base, planted the base and now (two months later) I am cutting off stalks for soup and to eat. Easy and good.
[…] co-host Melissa K. Norris shared this post on How to Grow Basil Indoors All Winter Long and I felt this was a very useful post and one after my heart. My windowsills are filled with […]
I am not understanding how you could put the basil in the jars without the leaves or the plant touching the jar. Help?
Becky,
The basil leaves or plant can touch the jar, not the glass of the windows. Does that help?
Such a great tip! Our winter in the south doesn’t get nearly as cold as yours but my outdoor herbs have frozen before. I finally have a house with actual windowsills again so I will definitely be trying this. The cats might not be happy, though, as they have been enjoying some quality windowsill time. 🙂
Have fun, Gail. I’m getting ready to harvest some leaves tomorrow. 🙂 Despite the two inches of fresh snow outdoors.
So very cool! Any ideas what other herbs this can be done with? I always plant herbs outside and now I can do this inside. Very cool!
Rachelle, you can do other herbs this way. The only ones that won’t do well is dill and cilantro. If you have fresh out doors, cut a piece about six inches long with really sharp scissors, trim off the bottom leaves, and put in water. You should see roots in about two weeks, if not, toss is and try again. 🙂
Hello, 🙂
Thanks for sharing , I will try for sure ! I never kept my basil plant during the winter .. I guess , it will works in a normal cristal glass right ? I won’t buy anything ,.. thank U!!
I took some cuttings from a friends’ basil plant. I put them in water in glasses on a super sunny south facing window sill and in a little over a week they now they have roots. Can I just let them continue to grow like this? They are not very big at this point.
Sprigs of rosemary start well in a glass on window sill. About 3″ long, gently strip the bottom half of needle leaves. Put springs in a glass with water covering the bottom stripped area. If using tap water, let the water sit for a day to remove the chlorine. Add a tiny pinch of sugar or plant food every month or so, and change the water every couple of weeks. When roots get a couple of inches long, plant the rosemary in a small pot with good potting soil. As the rosemary grows, you will need to transplant to larger pots, but probably not until spring.