Saturday, June 23, 2018

Basil in Aquarium


September 15th, 2017
 I got a Basil plant from Whole Foods.


Buy herbs on Amazon (paid link): 


It comes with instructions for the care of this potted plant.



 I want to grow Basil in an aquarium.
I take a couple cuttings of different length, with different numbers of leaves.















Put the cuttings in cups filled with dechlorinated water.



September 21st, 2017
I keep the Basil on a windowsill - the plant likes sunlight.

White roots start growing on both cuttings.









 I move the long cutting to my HD aquarium.
Keep roots of the cutting in water and all leaves above water level.







 September 24th, 2017
 The roots grow very fast!
 I move the short cutting to the HD aquarium.



September 30th, 2017
 Roots on both cuttings grow nicely.







 October 4th, 2017
 I take a longer cutting from the potted Basil.

 This cutting goes in a vase aquarium instead of a Wandering Jew plant.









 October 18th, 2017
Roots grow very fast.

One leaf wilts.



I cut off the wilted leaf.



New leaves grow on all cuttings.



I harvest a couple large leaves from each cutting.







November 19th, 2017
 Each cutting yields 1-2 leaves a month.







January 10th, 2018
The roots of Basil grow over 20 cm long.







I cut off the top of the longest cutting to force growth of new branches.





January 12th, 2018
 I take a new cutting from the potted plant.





Cut this cutting in two parts.



The bottom part goes to the HD aquarium.



 The top part goes to a new nursery aquarium.
 I cut off the bottom leaves but keep the leaflets.







January 20th, 2018
I put a cutting of Basil without leaves or root in water.



January 26th, 2018
 I keep this sample on a windowsill.
 Roots and leaves start growing!


February 10th, 2018
It grows slowly without any nutrition.





February 18th, 2018
 This Basil grows in a nursery with seed shrimps and snails.





March 16th, 2018
First time from the initial set up, I added a pinch of homemade fish food flakes and dechlorinated tap water.









March 22nd, 2018
I move this plant to a larger seed shrimps nursery.









 April 6th, 2018
The Basil grows faster, stronger, and prettier in aquariums populated with fish, exposed to indirect sunlight.
 Leaves of Basil wilt and fall off shortly after I put them underwater.
For that reason, I keep all leaves above the water level.















 April 28th, 2018
This is an example with new branches growing from the top leaflets after I cut off the top.





 May 20th, 2018
Cutting tops is necessary for branching and to prevent Basil from blooming.



 Here I cut off the top.

 Take the bottom leaves for salad.


The cutting goes to the same aquarium.
The more branches the more green leaves grow ;)

I add dechlorinated water to the level about once a week in this nursery.
My other nurseries have covers to reduce water evaporation.





June 4th, 2018
Basil grows steady with simple care, but slower in aquariums compare to potted plants, making it a nice plant for aquaponic systems.



Have fun and happy Basil :)

2 comments: