My basil has gone nuts this season (a good thing) but is now flowering profusely. Will the taste be affected by flowering, like lettuce? Can I just cut it way back with some shears and still have quality basil?
-F
Pinch back the bloom on basil to preserve it longer. Like all plants when it goes to seed it will consider its job is finished, completed its life cycle and will begin to decline.
Wil
Harvest Basil before it flowers. Most of the time I get 2 or 3 clippings from Basil. Clipping it will cause it to bush out more.
I once kept some basil plants for 4 years by pinching the flowers back.
I have a crazy growing Basil too. Basically I have been grabbing entire stalks instead of leaves (I never really asked HOW I was supposed to do it so I sort of just did my thing). If I keep doing this and never give it a chance to bloom will it retain it's usefulness for awhile?
I made a salad the other night with no other kinds of leaves, just Basil. I had heard the idea from somebody else. Basil, cherry tomatoes, onions (I used green onions) some grated cheese, olive oil. ohhhh yeah
We grow cut flowers. Basil gone to flower is sometimes added to bouquets to add some fragrance. Purple basil works quite well for this.
Basil is an annual. Once it finishes blooming, it dies. To delay this, remove all flower buds before they open. Pernnial herbs such as thyme, mint, sage, and rosemary survive quite well after blooming.
I found that basil flowers and flower buds are bitter, not as tasty as the leaves. On the other hand, the flowers and buds of dill (another annual) are at least as tasty as the leaves; dill seed is often used as an herb.
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