Basil Cuttings

I saw an episode of Rebecca’s Garden in which she described how to bring herbs like basil in for the winter. I have a pot of basil on my back stairs, so I decided to try growing cuttings from it. I don’t have many jars around as I’m an avid recycler, so I found some cute little vases at IKEA to use. Aren’t they pretty?

I did just as Rebecca instructed by cutting a piece of the basil plant, stripping off the lower leaves, and simply keeping them in water until roots begin to appear. Every day I checked them, changed the water, and saw…nothing. She didn’t mention how long it would take to see root development. I was beginning to think my experiment in preserving plants through cuttings would end up exactly like my pot of chives…nothing. Then, this morning I inspected the vases, and found little roots, and not just a couple, a LOT!

Now for the next step…pot them up and keep them alive. If this works, we’ll be having my famous Bolognese sauce, loaded with basil of course, all winter. Stay tuned…