Basil is one of those wonderful garden plants that just keeps coming. Unlike radishes and beets that are done once you harvest them, basil plants provide their pungent goodness for months if you can stay on top of them. Basil should be harvested regularly to prevent flowering. To do so, simply use scissors to trim off the upper leaf clusters, making your cut close to the set of leaves below. New growth will sprout from this point so you can continue to harvest throughout the season.
Here’s a basil plant ready for harvesting (click on the post title to see all images if you’re reading this on the front page). The flower buds are just starting to form.
This is what a plant looks like after the harvest.
You want to make sure to leave some green growth so that the plant can do its photosynthesis thing, but the plant will be noticeably smaller.
Healthy basil plants will need to be harvested every week or so. I have almost a dozen plants and these provide enough basil every time I harvest to make two batches of pesto – one to eat fresh, one for the freezer.
I’m jealous. My basil plants are barely half an inch tall.
I also make pesto for the freezer–it keeps perfectly all year, until the next year’s basil is ready. I also make cilantro pesto, just substituting cilantro leaves for basil leaves. Both versions are delicious!!!
My husband would love cilantro pesto.
I have the hardest time growing basil though I see it growing like a weed elsewhere. Too high and wet?
My basil is pretty puny still, but I am taking several leaf clusters each night to put in our fresh salads.
I should really make pesto. I love love love basil, but mostly just because I love the lovely aroma.
Pesto = super easy.
Wow, your basil looks so healthy and fresh; mine’s a tad wilted in the heat! My favorite thing is a caprese salad with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella — as soon as my tomatoes fruit I’ll be eating it all summer long!
Heat is not something we’ve had to deal with yet this summer!
I’m with Melanie, above, love basil in a Caprese salad and we’re big fans of putting pesto on everything over here: pasta, potatoes, bread.
Just had some Thai basil fried in a rice bowl dish that was divine.
My son came in the other day with pesto, kalamata olives, and feta on toast. Good taste, that boy.
Basil has to be my favorite herb. I love all of the different varieties too–Thai, purple.
We once stopped at a farm stand and the old guy there suggested that when my boys got to dating age they only had to remember to tuck a bouquet of basil in the back seat and their dates would fall in love.
My basil seems to go from barely sprouted to bolting. SO FRUSTRATING. I’m trying a different varietal this year-lettuce leaf basil. I’m hoping I’ll have better luck with it. It’s supposed to be great for pesto.
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