On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 18:10:42 -0400, David Kotschessa
wrote:

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004, Phisherman wrote:

On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 21:30:49 GMT, "Jim Carlock"
wrote:

What exactly does pinching basil mean? I know what a pinch
is, meaning to compress painfully, or a small amount.

It means to prune the end of the growing tip.

I thought maybe this referred to the flowers too no? Mine keeps trying to
flower. I hear that if you allow them to bloom the leaves will become
bitter?

Once basil begins to flower, it puts most of its energy into growing
seed. "Pinching back" refers to removing the emerging flower buds
before this process becomes well advanced. I've never tried to snip
off tips of branches *without* flower buds. It *does* seem to me
that once a bud is left to become a bloom stalk, the basil really gets
the idea that seeds are its goal. If I just pinch off the little bud
cluster, often 2 more form there immediately, so I pinch/snip the stem
with a couple of pair of leaves. This is more likely to make the plant
forget about seeds and put out branches with more leaves for a while.