Each year, before I head off to college, my grandma expresses her love by gifting me a potted basil. Nestled in the back of the car, it accompanies me from home to Charlottesville. As it sits outside on my balcony, friends passing by note its daily growth progress, comparing it to their own basil plant at home. And despite the tender care and immense love we pour into them, here are the top unconventional ways my friends and I collectively killed our beloved basils.
- Frying it
-
Later into the fall semester, my basil had turned a yellowish color. Self-diagnosing this discoloration due to the lack of proper light exposure, I took liberties into my own hands. I moved the pot underneath the lamp in the parking lot but soon forgot about it in the midst of an upcoming orgo test. A few days later, during the late 4 A.M. grind, I glanced out my window, seeing the lone pot in solitude. As I went to check up on it, I realized my basil had burned, turning to a crispy brown with shriveled leaves lining the bottom of the pot. Ever since then, I lovingly called her Charizard.
- Freezing It
-
When I came back home, hanging my head in shame, I returned my burnt Charizard to my grandma. Clinging to its branches were just three barely green leaves.
“I’m sorry, grandma. I really didn’t mean to kill it!”
“What happened,” she asked.
“I left it outside underneath the lamp in our parking lot.”
“You stay outside at night you die too,” she said in her Vietnamese accent. “You froze it to death.”
I realized then that I simultaneously burnt it and froze it on one fell swoop and my grandma laughed, shaking her head.
“I’ll pot a new one for you next semester.”
- Excessively Humidifying it
-
To ensure that there was enough water in the air, my friend kept a humidifier for his plant. Unfortunately, he placed it too close to the plant that the excessive water vapor suffocated it. The extra water ended up condensing on both the leaves and the soil, creating an environment for mold and fungus.
I’ve learned that taking care of a basil plant demands more attention than what I initially assumed but its a fairly rewarding feeling when you can watch it thrive. Sending best wishes to all my other basil parents and here’s a warning of all the things one should NOT do.