The days of buying yet another basil plant are over, as one Tiktoker has a devilishly simple way of getting this culinary herb to multiply – giving you an infinite supply
The wonderfully aromatic basil imparts a fresh, sweet flavour to many a dish, ranging from Italian pasta sauces to Thai curries.
And its essential oils are also used in traditional medicine for their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Mainly used for adding a bit of extra flavour to our cooking, it is surprising how often we run out of this versatile herb when whipping up a dish at home. We often need a leaf or two to complement our meal, only to find our solitary shop-bought plant looking wilted and lifeless. So off we duly trudge to the shops to buy yet another replacement.
But wait. What if there was a way to conjure up an infinite supply from just one plant? Well, there is, with one TikToker creative_explained racking up more than 284k views in his video detailing how to achieve the seemingly impossible:
Method
Just grab a pot of basil from the shop, firmly press on all sides of the plastic container, then gently take the plant out of the pot. Carefully press around the outside of the roots in the mud, then split the plant into smaller pieces to give you a number of ‘mini’ basil plants, each rooted in their own section of soil. Next, grab some plant pots and pop each basil plant into its own container, adding in good quality top soil to keep each plant nicely housed. In next to no time, each small basil plant will bloom into the size of your original plant!
Creative_explained then said: “If you repeat the process with your new plants, you’ll end up with so much basil! So next time you buy a pot of vasil, do this and you’ll never have to buy it again!”
After trying the above, a fellow TikToker raised a concern of having too much basil – so needed a way of storing it. Helpful user Malpat replied: “Take the leaves off and put in a Ziploc bag and into the freezer. Dry – not at all wet. Mine lasted months and months and months.”
“I love it! Basil is my favourite herb!”
Hundreds of Tiktokers loved the video. Here are just some of the comments:
MrNiWi: “This guys is just brilliant with everything he does.”
PoeticaRose: “I love it! Basil is my favourite herb!”
Homerunned: “Bro found the infinite basil glitch.”
Jimmy: “You are an amazing tiktok creator! Your transitions are always on point!! Thanks for sharing!!”
Calliekennedy2: “You are fantastic.”
Saralynnwade: “I now have more basil than I care to. Great companion plants for strawberries and tomatoes though!”
