Is it too late to harvest and dry oregano and basil that's flowered?

Thanks,
Laura B.

On 06 Sep 2003 05:54:40 GMT, (Thalocean2) wrote:

Is it too late to harvest and dry oregano and basil that's flowered?

There's nothing toxic about the leaves of herb plants after they've
flowered. Basil, an annual, tends to put out few if any leaves once
it's begun flowering and on my plants, at least, the leaves begin to
yellow and decline. But they're still basil leaves and fragrant and
useful. Dried basil is a poor substitute for fresh, so I have no
experience with the difference between the dried version of pre-bloom
lushness and post-bloom decline. Oregano is a perennial, so you don't
want to "harvest" to the extent of digging up and drying the whole
plant, or even clipping *all* the leaf stems. In moderate climates,
you may have fresh oregano available through the winter.

On 06 Sep 2003 05:54:40 GMT, (Thalocean2) wrote:

Is it too late to harvest and dry oregano and basil that's flowered?

Thanks,
Laura B.

We have (different kinds of) oregano growing year round. Harvest
basil before the frost hits. Read up on specific herbs to find the
best time to harvest--that's when the flavor is usually the strongest.

My Italian flat-leaf parsely only has small withered leaves left on it
with LOTS of flower heads. It normally self seeds, but I'd like to
start some new plants now for winter harvesting to use in soups.

Is it too late to harvest and dry oregano and basil that's flowered?

Thanks,
Laura B.





One year I was so far behind in everything right before the first frost I
chopped all my hebs don and tied them all together and put them in the furnace
room to dry... I laid newspapers below it and all winter would go down and
crumble what I needed onto a plate... It worked.

Colleen

Zone 5 Connecticut

Dried basil is a poor substitute for fresh,

I have to agree.... fresh basil is my very favorite herb. It along with garlic
goes into pretty much everything I cook.
Zone 5 Connecticut.

On 06 Sep 2003 05:54:40 GMT, (Thalocean2) wrote:

Is it too late to harvest and dry oregano and basil that's flowered?

Thanks,
Laura B.

Having no first hand experience, I Googled around a little bit for
you. It seems that the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food is of
the opinion that basil leaves become bitter when the plant is allowed
to flower. See
http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/...erbs/basil.htm

As for oregano, the University of Illinois Extension thinks that
flowering just reduces the intensity of the taste somewhat. See
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hortihints/0006a.html

Happy gardening.

Jerry Baker