Sustainability Spotlight – The Perfect Sustainable Gift!

Our lives are filled with sustainable choices in life and in work. Tune in for the Sustainability Spotlight, as I feature admirable, sustainable choices in our world today.

June 2018 Feature

This spring/early summer issue of Sustainability Spotlight is not featuring a company, organization, or unique individual, but an incredibly unique herb! If you look around my blog, you will see that I have a slight obsession with basil… after all, it is LisaB backwards. 🙂 Basil is such a great herb to grow and eat, but the greatness does not end there!

Basil is such a sustainable plant because when you have a happy and healthy, established plant, you can grow new plants from it… so on and so forth! It is the gift that keeps on giving!

According to Dr. Axe of Food is Medicine, basil has numerous health benefits such as:

• High in antioxidants
• Anti-inflammatory
• Pain and Fever Reducer
• Helps to prevent diabetes
• Thought to help fight cancer
• Aids in protecting the liver
• Aids in protecting blood vessels
• Reduces stress
• Boosts the immune system

Not only is fresh basil great in home cooked meal recipes, but it is a beautiful herb that is easy to grow year-round indoors. I have found that fresh basil makes for a wonderful gift because they are easy to care for, and well… who doesn’t love basil??

What You Will Need:

• A well established basil plant
• A 32oz glass mason jar
• Small rocks or wine corks (sliced into medallions)
•  Miracle Grow Potting Mix
• Water, Sunshine and Love!
• Ribbon for gifting!

Making this Sustainable Gift:

1. When your basil looks full and happy, it is time to start spreading the love.
2.  Cut a branch (not the main branch) about 3 inches below some healthy leaves (don’t worry, where you cut on the established plant will grow new leaves in good time)
3. Clean out a glass mason jar and place the cut stem in the jar of room temperature water as shown below. ( I rest the leaves on the rim of the jar to prop the plat up)
4. I place this jar in the windowsill where it can get 6 plus hours of sunlight.
5. Every 3-5 days, empty out the water and replace with fresh water. (best if it is warm rather than hot or cold)
6. When you place it back on the shelf, try to rotate it so it isn’t facing the same way all of the time.
7. It could take anywhere from 2-5 weeks to start to grow new roots, so don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than expected.
8. When the roots get nice an long, as shown below, you are ready to replant your basil!
9. Next, I either use small rocks, or I cut up wine corks into small medallions to place at the bottom of the jar for better drainage.
10. I then top the jar with Miracle Grow Potting Mix, ensuring the plant is securely upright.
11. Water, and place back in the windowsill for another 2 weeks (or forever 🙂 ) to make sure the new potted basil gets a lot of sunlight.
12. To gift this adorable basil plant, tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar, and you are good to go!

 

Every time my established basil gets really full, I repeat this process, allowing my plant to be happier, as well as start new happy plants.

 

NOTE: The key to a happy basil plant is to always pick the big and full leaves so the plan has energy to grow the little ones. Also if the leaves get too big, they can block the sunlight from reaching baby leaves that are trying to grow underneath the larger leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a lot of basil that you don’t want to waste? Learn how to ensure you always have fresh tasting basil in the house!

Don’t Toss That Basil!