My New Indoor Herb Garden Phase 2: Dark Opal Basil

Greetings steemians! As I said in phase 1 yesterday, today's post will be about basil and also about repurposing old items. Since my seeds are larger than the oregano, I decided to put four in a small ziplock bag that used to carry rubber bands for my braces (reused item number 1). We live in such a disposable world. Everything should instead be viewed as a resource instead of as garbage and we should use the resources available to us. Once it sprouts, I will move one to this repurposed milk carton.

I always have trouble finding containers that I like and I prefer reusing food containers than store-bought pots.
Down to business! I picked Dark Opal Basil so that's its exotic color could stand out and compliment my herb garden. Dark Opal Basil, or Ocimum basilicum purpureum, is a cultivar of sweet basil (just like Greek Oregano, the third part in its scientific name means it is a subspecies). The purple color is due to a high concentration of anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant present in other dark foods including blueberries, blackberries, and even black turtle beans. Basil likes damp soil, however make sure the soil still has good drainage to prevent root rot. I will discuss trimming when we get there; right now I'm focusing on germinating the seeds in my makeshift incubator.

The chamber is made out of a masa (corn meal dough) container and I lined the inside with aluminum foil.

The lightbulb is from an old set of patio lights that the local squirrels ruined by chewing on the wire. The extension cord was laying around in the garage and was most likely salvaged from another broken appliance. Hopefully they sprout faster in here.
I said I would show the set up near my window but I think I'll save that for the last part in this miniseries. Stay turned for more updates on my herb garden! I bought two now packets of new seeds today! I will reveal them tomorrow!