The most important and fundamental principle of Tulasi care is regular and perpetual care. She is a pure devotee, and Her requirements are few and simple. She simply requires Her own quarters with direct sunlight, where She can grow without disturbances and interruptions. She should be watered at approximately the same time and Her leaves should also be collected at a regular time. Mornings between 7:30 and 9:00 are the best for both purposes. The most essential ingredient is one individual devotee to take the responsibility of tending Her. This means that this devotee is conscious of Tulasi throughout the day-- checking that Her door is shut, that She has sufficient water, that Her fan is on, that Her leaves are being offered regularly and fresh. In this way She is nursed through the day and night. It is not so much time consuming-- but rather 1/2 hour to 40 minutes (depending on the number of Tulasis) in the morning and then utilizing the few spare moments throughout the day. If this is done regularly and in an orderly fashion She will bloom and flourish.I. Housing, Light, Temperature and HumidityHousingIf you are building a greenhouse, or something for shelves, plaster grating, which is a thick wire mesh, If supported with several wood braces, is first class. As you work, you wil1 see that wood shelves will warp and are hard to keep clean, while open spaced mesh allows the dirt and water to fall right through.If Tulasi is housed in a greenhouse or enclosed protection, and you find it getting too hot inside, try a whitewash of lime and water on the roof. This inexpensive treatment will filter out much of the heat but leave the necessary rays. Be sure to rotate Her if She is in a window, so that She will grow symmetrically.LightIt has been found that She pines for sun-- Tulasi grown indoors after 8 or 10 months do not fair as well as those given real sunlight. (Krishna says, "I am the light of the sun and the moon.") Greenhouse are not all that expensive to build. $60 (Keep in mind this was written in 1970) can build a really first-class house that can accommodate up to 60 2-foot Tulasis, and adaptations can always be made as to weather, climate, building materials on hand, and the number of Tulasi's involved. Porches, arbors, fire escapes, and roof tops can al1 be modified to fit the need.If indoor lighting is unavoidable (actually some arrangement can always be made), then fluorescent tubes and fixtures (each holding at least 2 bulbs) can be suspended over and around Her. The lights must be special indoor full spectrum plant tubes, not your ordinary white fluorescent tube. The plant lights are effective only within a 6" radius, after which they drop to a potency of 0. Because of this, Tulasis that are grown indoors become "leggy", with long stems, thin stalks, only a few leaves, and a clump of leaves at the top, near the light. Because the lights have such a short range of feet, the leaves receive no real juice, and therefore fade and fall off. The result is a weak and top heavy Tulasi. To alleviate the situation, place one set of fixtures over Her (as close as possible as She will not be burnt unless actually touching for a period of time), and then bank two more fixtures, one on each side, giving you a total of 3 fixtures, totaling at least 6 tubes.If done in this way, there will be a complete aura of light around Her. Foil can then be used to provide a hood, catching all the reflected light and focusing it on Her. Set the lights on some sort of pulley or adjustable chain affair, and in this way the lights can be raised as She grows. Please, no sun lamps.TemperatureWe learn in Krishna Book that at the time of death, the temperature in the body rises and then falls; the falling causes the total devastation of the life symptoms. Similarly, in the colder regions there is a large variance factor of temperature between night and day. Too much variation in this field will cause color disfigurations. Sometimes one whole branch will just wilt up and go limp while the remainder of Her transcendental form will remain fresh and green. This is caused by that one branch being too close to an outer wall of the house and thereby exposed to the cold, or being too close to the heater, or a pot that was watered late in the afternoon and the water in the soil froze, or not enough water and She dried out. There are so many options, so always be aware of changes in weather and try to retain a balance of water, light and heat.Keep a thermometer in Her room, having it in the shade at the average level of the Tulasis on Their shelves. When She is first moved into a room or house, station several thermometers at different levels and angles, as heat will not be evenly distributed. (Some corners catch more sun, heat rises, air doesn't circulate regularly, there are so many variables-- so seek them out and rectify.HumidityHumidity refers to the amount of moisture in the air, and this will change with the weather. The process for maintaining a balance will depend on the number of Tulasis you have the benediction of tending. In Hawaii, where a greenhouse with gravel for a floor was used, all that was necessary was to run the hose on the rocks for a few minutes every morning and the problem is solved. In St. Louis, a strong table with 8" sides on it all the way around was lined with plastic and filled it with perlite. This is a very inexpensive sponge rock which absorbs and holds water. From the level of the rocks to the top or sides on the table was around 2" and across this were placed thick slats, placed 1" apart. On the slats, the Tulasi pots were set. Water was poured into the enclosed sponge rocks whenever necessary as the weather evaporated the water. This arrangement of having the Tulasis with air circulation under Their pots is first class for growth and allows the water to evaporate around Them for equal distribution. If you have only a few Tulasis, then simply take a large tub or pan, fill it with perlite rocks, place slats over the top, and place Her Divine Grace on the slats. Water pots simply left around the room or on top of a heater or radiator are ineffectual. If She is not getting enough moisture, the symptoms are that She wi11 become a little limp, and brown spots and smudges wi1l appear at the tip and along Her center veins in the leaves. One cure is to apply the above method and if that is already in practice, try this. Make a frame of coat hanger or other thick wire over Her pot and Blissful Self. Cover the frame with a tinted plastic bag.(No extra endeavor needed for tinting, simply purchase a brown or tan trash 1iner bag at the store. The reason for the tint is to filter out some of the harsh sun rays (if you don't, the enclosed heat will probably kill Her. Then place moist sponges inside the covered frame on the ground level and also at the top. The moisture will evaporate and add to the humidity. Leave Her in shaded light or only morning sun.
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