There is nothing more beautiful, for cooking lovers, than going out onto the balcony  , picking a  basil leaf  from your plant and using it to prepare dishes and dishes!

A little dream that even those without a green thumb can realize! The  basil plant  is indeed an aromatic plant that everyone, following the right advice, can grow, perhaps alongside others, such as thyme, rosemary and mint.

But how to get  basil  on the balcony full of  fragrant leaves  , without letting it dry out at the first distraction? Let’s find out together, following these simple  tips  .

water in the morning

Watering  a basil plant seems like a simple task, but it is perhaps the one that requires more attention! To water basil, we must first  avoid overdoing it  or we will make its roots suffer.

We limit ourselves to  wetting  the  soil  of the plant to keep it always  moist  , but  without compacting it  with too much water.

Furthermore, especially in the  spring  and summer  months  , it is preferable to water in the morning  , when temperatures are not yet too high and the plant has plenty of time to absorb the water without it evaporating.

Warning  : If your seedling appears to be in pain and you are unable to recover, seek professional advice.

Give him some ground coffee

Feeding  basil  is essential to always have  new  and  fragrant leaves  .

You can use a  fertilizer  purchased at the nursery or florist. A natural and homemade solution is to use   coffee  grounds . Take about 3 of them  ,  crumble them  and  spread them  on the ground at the base of the plant: over time, these will release  nitrogen  , a substance that stimulates the growth of the plant.

Alternatively, you can use  wood ash  , also spreading it directly on the  soil  at the base of the plant.

Read  about other uses for coffee grounds for your plants here.

Spray water on the leaves.

To keep the  leaves  always  fragrant  , in the spring and summer months, spray a little  fresh water  on the  foliage  of your  basil  .

This way, the leaves will stay fresh, they will dry more slowly, and you will be able to maintain the ideal humidity level for this plant to feel good.

Obviously, we should not overdo it, limiting ourselves to performing this operation  once  or  twice  a week at most.

A secret? Add a few drops of  neem oil to the water  : this natural substance will help you keep parasites and insects typical of summer away from the plant.  Discover here  all the secrets to scare away parasites using this substance.

Choose the right place

Understanding the best place to store basil is essential to making it grow lushly and having a quick and abundant  renewal  of  leaves.

In the warm months, we can safely keep our basil plant on the  balcony  , so outside. Ideally, we should choose a place with  indirect sunlight  , i.e. away from the scorching rays of the sun that can cause the more delicate leaves to dry out and fall off.

Also,  avoid  placing the  basil  in a place where there is often  wind  :   too strong  gusts can break  the  twigs  or detach the leaves, weakening the plant.

Here you will find other wellness secrets  of this plant!

remove the flowers

When the  basil plant  is doing well and is grown in the right way,  flowers may appear  . These are small, light-colored and pleasing to the eye.

However, when the flowers appear on the plant, it uses a lot of its energy to keep them alive. As a result, the  basil  is  weaker  and the  leaves  also tend to  lose  their  smell  and  flavor  .

What to do? Simple, you have to pluck or cut the flowers: you can do it with a  pair  of garden  scissors or, more quickly, with your hands  , being careful not to damage the other parts of the plant.

Find out here  how to care for aromatic plants in the kitchen.