20130112 - 4 months later - Second cutting - Tulsi growing step by step

Hare Krishna,

Its now been four months and since the first cutting Tulsi has grown enough to make the second cutting.

As you can see from the point of last cutoff she has grown two stems that now have 3 fully grown pairs of leaves and another two just starting to grow.
















This is the perfect time for cutting again. With cutting the rule is as follows 1, 2, 3 cut off. You always cut above three fully grown pairs of leaves.

If you didn't have time to cut her and she grows so fast that it has done 5 fully grown sets then cut after the fourth. You have to be sensible and not give her too much pain.

So here it is, on the right you can see I'm holding the third set of leaves above which I will cut the tip and offer it to Krsna.

About to cut it now.

Here she is. The tops are cut off and she will from this point make another branch out.

If you wander why is the rule 1, 2, 3 cut off it's simple.

If you look at the way pairs of leaves grow you will notice that each pair of leaves grows vertical from the previous pair (90 degrees difference).

Making next cut after the 3rd pair will make branch to spread vertically to the previous cut making Tulsi spreading her branches in beautiful symmetrical pattern.

Please note how her stem between the leaves is not perfectly straight. It is because I'm turning her around every day because in house she has light only from the window and at the end of the day her tops are always turned towards window.

If you forget to turn her she will grow only to one side and will be hard to straighten her after some time.

You can fix this only by transplanting her to new pot with adjustment of the soil to make her grow straight again.


Happy Tulsi growing!
 

20121209 - 3 months later - First transplanting - Tulsi growing step by step

Few weeks before first cutting I've notices our Tulsi has lost first few leaves from the bottom and I was wandering why.

I think I found the reason when I replenished some of the soil on top of our fully grown Tulsi with seeding mix soil.

What happened is that she suddenly stopped diving shoots, many leaves changed color into yellowish and started falling off.

I was thinking could I have over-watered her but it suddenly dawned on my that was the only thing out of the ordinary.

The seeding mix must have too much fertilizers in it and it just burned her same like it happens to us if we have too much chillies and don't take yogurt drink after.

She recovered after few weeks but that occurrence gave me the idea it might be the same thing happening to small Tulsis.

To test this I have transplanted two of Tulsi's and left one in the same soil I've planted her.

After about a month I noticed that Tulsi's that are transplanted grow faster than the one left in the seeding mix (couple of centimeters taller) so I've transplanted her today and she will soon catch up with the others.

 


Here are the pictures of the transplanting process:

Water the Tulsi the evening before or at least couple of hours before transplanting.

Gently turn her upside down holding her body between your fingers not to let her fall down and get her injured.

Let the soil gently crumble away from her roots. Do not force it. the soil attached to her roots should not be moved and her roots should not be damaged. If you gently roll the soil in your hand always holding the stem of her body the excess soil will fall away.























 

When you finish only the last little bit of soil around the roots should be left and you then simply place her in the same pot adding fresh organic soil mix around her roots holding her at desired height in the pot.

At the end you need to water her to the point of run off and replenish some more soil to the top as the soil tends to fall in after watering.

When you finish she should be looking same as before but with fresh soil around her roots helping her grow stronger and greener.



Sri Tulsi Devi Ki Jaya!

20121209 - 3 months later - First cutting - Tulsi growing step by step

I have to apologize to all the Tulsi growers checking out this blog for not posting for some time.

Too many things happening in my life ;) (good things of course).

So lets get back to writing. Here it is, after about 3 months our Tulsi has grown so big we can make the first cutting and offering to Krsna.

As you can see before you make a first cutting Tulsi should have at least three fully developed pair of leaves.

Cut just above a pair of leaves being careful not to damage the new shoots coming just above the stem of leaves.

To cut the tip of new leaves you need sharp scissors. Best ones are the scissors used for embroidery found in most supermarkets in Australia for around $5.

These are best because they are really sharp and pointy so you can be precise in cutting and give her a least amount of pain possible.

When picking Tulasi leaves, chant the following mantra:

tulasy amrta janmasi
sada tvam kesava-priya
kesavartham cinomi tvam
varada bhava sobhane

"O Tulasi, you were born from nectar. You are always very dear to Lord Kesava. Now, in order to worship Lord Kesava, I am collecting your leaves and manjaris. Please bestow your benediction on me."

After you have finished you need to chant the following Mantra:

 cayanodbhava-duhkham ca

yad hrdi tava vartate

tat ksamasva jagan-matah

vrndi-devi namo 'stu te

"O Tulasi devi, I offer my respectful ofeisances unto you. Kindly forgive me if I have caused you pain my picking your leaves and manjaris, o mother of the universe."

20121013 - One month later & What to do with Tulsi when you leave for holidays - Tulsi growing step by step

Here she is, our little beauty!

One month later and just before our five days trip.














Before leaving home we've watered her and her mother Tulsi well and left the blinds closed half way so they can get some light but not as much as usual.

This simple practice allows for water to be kept a bit longer and for them to be well without re-watering for a few days.

If the weather was warmer or we went away for longer we would made sure someone comes to water them or possibly give them to someone to care for them during our holidays.

You have to be careful when giving them to someone who has their own Tulsi or other plants at home as if they touch or be placed close to each other they could get mites transferred over.

That happened to me last Christmas break. It took me half a year to get rid of mealy bugs!

So be careful where you would give them to. I think the best practice would be to get someone to come over, water them every few days and turn them 1/3 of a circle around to prevent all shoots to be leaned towards the window.

Temperature

This is one of the important thing you have to consider when planning to grow Tulsi at home.

She originates from warm climate and can't stand cold temperatures, i.e. temperature below 15 degrees Celsius should be avoided by any means.

Over years I've tried few things to keep her warm, especially in our first year with her.

Our previous home was cold and I found it is easiest to keep a radiator in her room and adjust the temperature setting to around 18-20 degrees which is not too high to make you a hefty electricity bill and still makes her feel good over winter. You just need to play with the setting over few nights to make it right.

Here is one of my handy solutions I've tried one of the first few winters after she joined us.

This is just a simple box made of corner slate used in parquetry wrapped around with food wrap. It could be easily lifted on and off and had half a centimeter space bellow to get the air in/out.

This was keeping her warm for a month but then I realized nights are getting colder and started keeping her in a small room with a heater as a much better solution.

A simple way to check her temperature is to buy a small portable termometer ($2 shops are good source) and keep it on her table to check what is the temperature before you go to sleep and in the early morning when you wake up.

During some cold nights if I would have to put extra blanket I would make sure I check temperature in her room and increase heater setting if necessary.

This is not too complicated but requires your decision to spend some money on electricity or gas to make her happy and you will be rewarded by many blessings in your spiritual life.
 

 

20120919 - 2 weeks later - Tulsi growing step by step

Here is our little beauty!

As you can see she is about 1 cm tall at the moment.

Early this morning I've placed her on a light spot as at dawn it was looking like it's gonna be a cloudy day.

She is behind the white curtains so partly protected from the direct sunlight.

As you can clearly see she leans towards the sun and this is the reason I wrote about need to turn her around at least 1/3 of a full circle.

What I'll do is turn her 1/2 of full turn so she will face sun with her back tomorrow (looking from her current position).
This will get her to lean to the oposite side and hopefully get her stem straight and I'll keep doing it day after day.

In case she doesn't get her stem straight I'll move her away of direct sunlight as that is how we kept her so far and she was growing straight up.

Keep closing the small windows on the top of the greenhouse during night and opening them in the morning in case your house is getting cold during night.

The temperature should never go below 15 degrees Celsius as this is critical for her survival.

IMPORTANT: If you are exposing her to direct sunlight please shade her with a curtain and turn her around every day as she grows fast and could keep her side leaned position permanently if you forget!

20120910 - 6 days later - Tulsi growing step by step

Sri Tulsi Devi Ki Jay!

Today we are blessed with the darshan of three baby Tulsi seedlings emerging from the soil.

Just yesterday I was looking for them and couldn't notice them there ;)

Here is a picture for your inspiration:

First darshan

At this stage it is important to keep in mind that these seedlings need a lot of protection.

You shouldn't expose them to direct sunlight or too much heat changes and should take care to gently spray them with water regularly.

Continue keeping them in well lit spot out of direct sunlight. We keep them just under the window wall.

Please open the vents during day

Another thing to do is to open the air vents on your mini greenhouse as soon as your seedlings emerge.

You should keep closing them during night for some time as it could be too cold for them, depending where you live.



Now is the time to offer your first obeisances to the lotus feet of Tulsi Devi blessing you with her presence.

Here is the mantra to say while you do it:

Sri Tulasi Pranama

vrndayai tulasi-devyai
priyayai kesavasya ca
krsna-bhakti-prade devi
satyavatyai namo namah

vrndayai--unto Vrnda; tulasi-devyai--unto Tulasi-devi; priyayai-- who is dear; kesavasya--to Lord Kesava; ca-and; krsna-bhakti-- devotional service to Lord Krsna, prade--who bestows; devi--O goddess; satya-vatyai--unto Satyavati; namah namah--repeated obeisances.

Translation

I offer my repeated obeisances unto Vrnda, Srimati Tulasi-devi, who is very dear to Lord Kesava. O goddess, you bestow devotional service to Lord Krsna and possess the highest truth.