I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?

FOW wrote:
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.


Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves?

Yes

Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?


No


--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Pick as you eat, yummm...
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull
the
whole plant ?

Herbs benefit from being pinch harvested periodically. New growth will start.
Pinch of the flowers as they appear. Unless you want some seeds for next
years plants. The plants leaves will develop better without the
flowers. Pinch off what you need to cook with from several places around
the plant.
I usually go down the stem a few and pinch off just above a juncture
that has new growth in the crotch of the branch. I use the flowers
in cooking.

Even if you don't need the basil and the plant needs a trimming do it
and dry the leaves in loose folded paper towel. Air circulation is
needed to keep them from molding. On top of the fridge or like place
where they'll be left undisturbed. Then jar them up for later use.

Fred Murtz


FOW wrote:

I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 20:38:44 GMT, "FOW" wrote:

I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?

Quick: remove the bloom spike and the 4 leaves (2 sets of opposite) at
the bottom of the spike. Whew! That was a close escape.

Blooming isn't a sign of "ripeness." It means the plant is going to
spend it's energy making seeds instead of putting out more leaves.
Keep pinching off blossom spikes to encourage leaf growth.

Basil can be "harvested" throughout the growing season. Pick leaves or
a branch of leaves to use in salads or anything even vaguely tomato-y.
If you have a very large, vigorous plant (or many), you can cut off up
to about 1/3rd of the growth to make pesto. (Recipes everywhere.)
Fresh basil is summer treat. It *can* be dried, frozen, or preserved
in oil, but nothing beats fresh basil flavor.

Take off the tops of each branch. Break the stems right above a new node of
leaves below the tops. The more tops you remove, the more branching will
occur, thus giving you a bushier, more productive plant. Break the flower
heads right off if you want to keep harvesting through the summer. If you
want seeds for next year and you don't want the plant to keep producing more
leaves, then leave the flowers and let it go to seed. It will stop growing
and produce flowers that will dry out and give you seeds inside brown pods.
They are tiny black seeds. I usually keep taking off the tops of branches
and keep it growing until the end of summer. When I've had enough, I let
the flowers go and turn brown. You can then take the whole plant and cut it
at the bottom. You can hang it upside down over a shower rod by string and
let it dry completely. Crumble off the leaves and put them in a glass jar
with a tight lid or a ziploc bag. You can also freeze basil by washing the
leaves and keeping it wet, put it into a large freezer bag in layers. Draw
out the air with a straw and seal it very tight. When you need it for a
recipe, just crumble the basil inside the bag and sprinkle it into what you
want.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull
the
whole plant ?

Thank You sooooooo much for all the input to harvesting Basil. I knew I
could count on this group ! I personally would grow pot ,just to grow pot .
NOT for smoke or profit but just to grow. It does me no good to sell or
smoke , I am just one who likes to take on a challenge. Roses are my big
passion. I like, long .one to a stem one's that smell and have long vase
life. A true gardener I feel..
Thanks for all the info people. ! I knew I could count on you all who feeds
the group..
Roses and some container grown herbs are my bag. If one what's my
experience I would be more than happy to assist.
"Penny Morgan" wrote in message
news
Take off the tops of each branch. Break the stems right above a new node
of
leaves below the tops. The more tops you remove, the more branching will
occur, thus giving you a bushier, more productive plant. Break the flower
heads right off if you want to keep harvesting through the summer. If you
want seeds for next year and you don't want the plant to keep producing
more
leaves, then leave the flowers and let it go to seed. It will stop
growing
and produce flowers that will dry out and give you seeds inside brown
pods.
They are tiny black seeds. I usually keep taking off the tops of branches
and keep it growing until the end of summer. When I've had enough, I let
the flowers go and turn brown. You can then take the whole plant and cut
it
at the bottom. You can hang it upside down over a shower rod by string
and
let it dry completely. Crumble off the leaves and put them in a glass jar
with a tight lid or a ziploc bag. You can also freeze basil by washing
the
leaves and keeping it wet, put it into a large freezer bag in layers.
Draw
out the air with a straw and seal it very tight. When you need it for a
recipe, just crumble the basil inside the bag and sprinkle it into what
you
want.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull
the
whole plant ?

How about purple Basil?
Mine are leggy and not doing as well as the Italian Basil.
The Purple Basil is maybe not quite planted deep enough. It seems to wilt
more and slow to grow, AKA : not quite planted deep enough. I put in good
full drain potting soil and FULL SUN with some good start up fert. and then
a dose of some good liquid kick ass fert.But seems to lag WAY behind the
Italian Stuff.
Did I plant the Purple basil ( Verigated / purple and green) NOT deep
enough? Or is it just so deep colored to as get too hot to fast? 104 here
today. I'm North of San Francisco 50 miles................Santa Rosa. I
believe Zone ( 14 )Sunset Western Garden Book.
"Penny Morgan" wrote in message
news
Take off the tops of each branch. Break the stems right above a new node
of
leaves below the tops. The more tops you remove, the more branching will
occur, thus giving you a bushier, more productive plant. Break the flower
heads right off if you want to keep harvesting through the summer. If you
want seeds for next year and you don't want the plant to keep producing
more
leaves, then leave the flowers and let it go to seed. It will stop
growing
and produce flowers that will dry out and give you seeds inside brown
pods.
They are tiny black seeds. I usually keep taking off the tops of branches
and keep it growing until the end of summer. When I've had enough, I let
the flowers go and turn brown. You can then take the whole plant and cut
it
at the bottom. You can hang it upside down over a shower rod by string
and
let it dry completely. Crumble off the leaves and put them in a glass jar
with a tight lid or a ziploc bag. You can also freeze basil by washing
the
leaves and keeping it wet, put it into a large freezer bag in layers.
Draw
out the air with a straw and seal it very tight. When you need it for a
recipe, just crumble the basil inside the bag and sprinkle it into what
you
want.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull
the
whole plant ?

FOW wrote:

I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?



The flowers should be removed, as some people say they change the taste.
Also, the flowers mean that the plant is ready to set seed, and once a
plant does that, its useful life is over and some plants will quit
trying to do anything more.

The leaves grow in clusters, with a stem coming through the middle. If
you pick the stem with its leaves, the adjacent leaves will form new
stems and the plant will get bushier. If you cut the whole plant, that's
probably the end of it, although basil will occasionally regrow from a
stump (not often enough to count on).

Picking leaves as above will lead to a dense bush-type plant with very
woody stems. The young stems can be chopped up and used for seasoning
before they become woody, so sometimes basil is sold as branches. If you
harvest it this way, you want to plant more basil often, because the
plant won't have time to keep up with the removal of branches during the
growing season. You can start basil through July for outdoor crops
(depending on your climate). Basil can be grown in pots in sunny
windows, but winter sun is not really enough to keep them going well and
the plants look pretty wimpy by spring. (You have some fresh basil
during that time, but the plants aren't very productive).

Now is the perfect time
Harvest sprigs before flowers form( or as they form) for best results. Cut
each stem with scissors/ knife leaving two leaves on each to develop new
shoots. You may harvest just the leaves, but harvesting the sprigs promotes
more new growth.
Pinch the flowers off and let them regrow.

Enjoy !
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull
the
whole plant ?

Pot?! Where did THAT come from...

"FOW" wrote in message
...
Thank You sooooooo much for all the input to harvesting Basil. I knew I
could count on this group ! I personally would grow pot ,just to grow pot
..
NOT for smoke or profit but just to grow. It does me no good to sell or
smoke , I am just one who likes to take on a challenge. Roses are my big
passion. I like, long .one to a stem one's that smell and have long vase
life. A true gardener I feel..
Thanks for all the info people. ! I knew I could count on you all who
feeds
the group..
Roses and some container grown herbs are my bag. If one what's my
experience I would be more than happy to assist.
"Penny Morgan" wrote in message
news
Take off the tops of each branch. Break the stems right above a new
node
of
leaves below the tops. The more tops you remove, the more branching
will
occur, thus giving you a bushier, more productive plant. Break the
flower
heads right off if you want to keep harvesting through the summer. If
you
want seeds for next year and you don't want the plant to keep producing
more
leaves, then leave the flowers and let it go to seed. It will stop
growing
and produce flowers that will dry out and give you seeds inside brown
pods.
They are tiny black seeds. I usually keep taking off the tops of
branches
and keep it growing until the end of summer. When I've had enough, I
let
the flowers go and turn brown. You can then take the whole plant and
cut
it
at the bottom. You can hang it upside down over a shower rod by string
and
let it dry completely. Crumble off the leaves and put them in a glass
jar
with a tight lid or a ziploc bag. You can also freeze basil by washing
the
leaves and keeping it wet, put it into a large freezer bag in layers.
Draw
out the air with a straw and seal it very tight. When you need it for a
recipe, just crumble the basil inside the bag and sprinkle it into what
you
want.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"FOW" wrote in message
news
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It
is
now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just
pull
the
whole plant ?

"FOW" wrote in message ...
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just pull the
whole plant ?


I harvest basil naked, in the moonlight, well being spanked by my
girlfriend with a rubber chicken and wearing nipple clamps. It just
tastes better that way for some reason.

"theoneflasehaddock" wrote in message
om...
"FOW" wrote in message
...
I have some Italian ( green ) basil that I planted in a large
pot.It is now
looking ready to pick, starting to flower.
Can I just pick the top off and some large leaves? Or should I just
pull the
whole plant ?


I harvest basil naked, in the moonlight, well being spanked by my
girlfriend with a rubber chicken and wearing nipple clamps. It just
tastes better that way for some reason.

You eat basil? Then why do they call it a basil enema?