1) Preface

This page is intended to share experiences about the breeding of a Tulasi plant (TULASI DEVI).

The Tulasi plant comes from a sunny and humid climate, which is ideal for HER growth.

The autor of this page lives in the South-West of Germany, a region with changing climates. Summer temperatures are warm with usually plenty of sunny days, and sometimes rainy and humid periods in between. Winters are cold with less sunlight. German climate is not ideal for growing Tulasi, so the advice given here is for people who want to grow Tulasi in a climate that is not suitable to HER.

2) Basics

Growing of a Tulasi plant from seeds demands a lot of attention and care next to important basic requirements. One should check daily if the seeds or seedlings receive nourishment  through sufficient water, warmth and light.

All this effort will get rewarded with great happiness: It’s more than wonderful to watch the little newcomers sprout and experience the descend of a Goddess in the form of a plant.

3) Prerequisits

a.) Timing

A good time for sowing Tulasi seeds is late spring around the end of april, beginning of may. Sowing later than that might work too, though ideal rhythms of nature which support optimum growth are present at the time mentioned.

b.) Birth House

It’s best to grow Tulasi seeds in an indoor greenhouse made out of plastic, acrylic glass or glass. Any size or shape is usefull. Even an aquarium could be used.

Tulasi doesn’t like slack water at all. It’s important to make sure that the base as well as the top has some holes to enable good drainage and ventilation. Most indoor greenhouses don’t have those. In this case one could make some holes with the help of a drill or a thick nail.

If you feel inclined you could make your own greenhouse out of acrylic glass and angle brackets and screws.

c.) Heat

A constant humid and warm climate is necessary for optimum germination. The temperature should be around 26° Celsius (78,8° Fahrenheit). To create this it is necessary to place a heating mat under the indoor greenhouse. This should be connected to a thermostat which keeps the mat on the desired temperature and helps to avoid unnecessary power consumption.

Insulating with a styrofoam plate under the greenhouse helps greatly to lower heat loss.

The benefit of growing Tulasi in an indoor greenhouse standing on the window sill inside your home is that extreme variations in temperature at night are avoided. If the outside temperature stays moderate one can yield good results growing Tulasi outside in an indoor greenhouse on the balcony by itself or in a greenhouse.

d.) Lighting

Natural Lighting:
The brightest place in your home is the best place to grow your Tulasi. To help finding out:

“The sun rises in the East, it’s in the South at midday, it sets in the West, and it is never found in the North.’’

The best direction is South. East and West would be acceptable.

At a time of intense sun light, it may be needed to move Tulasi slightly off the window or shield it in some other way, since glass can act as a burning glass.

Artificial Lighting:
At times of the year with little sunlight such as winter or in regions with less daylight it is advisable to set up a plant light for Tulasi. One can get this in nurseries or order it from the internet for relatively little money (refer to chapter 6).

e.) Potting Soil

Use a high quality, loose and dark potting soil with added silica sand. I got good results with “Compo Sana Kräutererde’’ from Compo. It is already supplemented with sand and fertilizer which makes it ideal for raising and repotting Tulasi.

You can also mix your own potting soil by one third each of potting soil, silica sand and vegetarian compost each.

f.) Seeds

Seeds should come directly from a mother plant of the family of the Ocimum Sanctum. There are many Tulasi seed species. However I know only two species the Devi takes to incarnate.

g.) Water

The ground should be kept sufficiently moist all the time, but make sure to avoid slack water.

Because the young sprouts are very delicate use an spray bottle until you repot for the first time.

Water temperature should be lukeawarm; Tulasi likes that a lot.

My advice:
Fill the spray bottle with water and then ask the Divine Mother to bless the water with Her energy. This will improve the quality of the water tremendiously.

4) Sowing

To prepare for a sacred undertaking like this you can:

- get everything you need ready (styrofoam plate, heating mat,
  thermostat, indoor green house, potting soil, aerosol can, Tulasi seeds)
- do some meditation
- repeat the sacred syllable Om while mixing and refining the potting soil
- ask the Divine Mother to bless the water
- light a candle

Fill the potting tray up to slightly below its rim with the prepared potting soil. Moisten the soil with the aerosol can, until it has become completely saturated with water. Now place the tiny seeds on the moist ground and push them in a bit. Cover the greenhouse and put it on the heating mat. Make sure you have a styrofoam plate under the heating mat to prevent undue heat loss.

After this you can meditate again and ask the Divine Mother to bless the growth of the plants. Maybe you feel inclined to express your gratitude that you could be part of a sacred ceremony like this. I personally love to recitate Tulasi Devi´s 108 names at this special moment.

5) Repotting

Sprouting might take five days or several weeks. The first pair of leaves will look different than the regular shaped leaves, which you can see for the first time with the second pair of leaves.

Once four or five pairs of regular shaped leaves have grown, and the little plant is strong enough, you can replant it in its own pott. If several plants have grown very close to each other it is best to replant those together into a new pot without taking them apart. The best material for the pot would be thin potter´s clay. The size of the new pot should be adjusted to the size of the plant.

Be very careful and gentle when you replant. Make sure you do not crush the little plants and pay special attention to not damage the roots. For this reason it is better to replant more ground in relation to circumference and depth.

After replanting you can carefully start to use a small watering can instead of the spray bottle.

6) Resources

7) Epilog

I want to express my deep gratitude and love to TULASI DEVI for being able to spend every day with HER. I bow to SRI MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI feeling grateful that SHE has opened me to the experience of TULASI DEVI. I also want to thank my dear friend Ranjini who translated this page.

I hope I managed to give useful and easy to understand information about TULASI DEVI and I pray that every being may experience the care and bliss given by TULASI DEVI.

With love
Timo

P.S. Here all information is free. This is my service to the highest truth. None the less I would be happy if you would give a small donation. You find the donation accounts which I judge for especially sensible here. Of course you can also make a donation to an organisation known to you. Thank you very much ! ! !