Usually, when something seems too good to be true, it is.
But sometimes you can exploit the laws of nature in just the right way to find a loophole that works to your advantage.
Such is the case with TikToker Cristie (@cristiebadashe), who recently posted a video detailing how she manages to grow “an endless supply of basil without buying new plants.”
@cristiebadashe 🌿 Want an endless supply of basil without buying new plants? In this video, I’ll show you two easy ways to propagate basil — in water and straight into soil — plus the simple pruning trick that keeps your plants bushy and thriving. Perfect for container gardens, windowsills, or anyone who loves fresh herbs! ✂️💧 #garden #greenthumb #gardentips #gardening101 #gardeninghacks #herbgarden #basil #organicgardening #smallgarden #propagation #containergarden ♬ original sound – Cristie
The scoop
In the video, Cristie showed her followers how to prune their basil plants, and then how to use those plant cuttings for a near-infinite supply of the versatile herb.
“If you look on the main stem, you can see right next to the large leaves, there’s two little leaflet sets next to them,” she explained. “You’ll want to make your cut right above that, so that the little leaflets form the new main branches.”
“As your plants grow, just continue to trim right above those little leaflet sets, and it will encourage the plant to grow out instead of just up,” Cristie continued.
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“Initially, I’ll let the plant grow a little bit taller so that I have a nice size cutting for propagation … I found that I have a little bit higher of a success rate the bigger the cutting that I make.”
Next, Cristie began cutting.
“I’m just prepping the cutting by removing the lower sets of leaves,” she said. “I also like to remove the large leaf right by the bottom set of little leaflets so that they don’t touch the soil when I plant them.”
After that, she provided “next step” advice: “[Once] the stem is nice and clean, you can propagate this two ways. You can either put it in some clean water, changing it every couple of days, or you can place it directly into moist soil.”
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The video ended as Cristie showed the cuttings five days later, with some “really good root growth” already visible.
She advised followers to keep their soil moist to help with the transition.
How it’s helping
The benefits of this plant hack are fairly self-evident.
As stated in the title of the video, this infinite herb exploit could result in endless amounts of basil, essentially free of charge.
More generally, there are well-documented benefits to growing your own food.
They include objectively better-tasting produce and improved mental and physical health, not to mention numerous and invaluable environmental benefits — like a reduced carbon footprint resulting from decreased demand for mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce.
What everyone’s saying
Cristie’s followers expect top-tier gardening hacks and tips from her content, but that didn’t make them any less stunned to discover they could grow an unlimited supply of basil for free.
“Thanks for the tip!” a follower wrote.
“Great tips! I really had never thought of this,” said another excited fan.
“Great info,” a third replied. “Thank you and Happy Gardening!”
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