If you add the month that it took the plant to get ready for harvest, you get the total number of 7 months, which is almost twice as long as the manufacturer claims. The most time I’ve harvested a basil plant for was about 6 months. While the manufacturer claims that you can expect your herbs to last about 4 months, I have seen them last much longer. In the end you should only be left with fresh, green leaves.
Cut all the stems that the plant has and pick off the leaves.Īnd that is about it! Oh and I almost forgot-make sure to remove all dead and spotted leaves from your harvest. When you decide to replace your basil with something new, or maybe the season is over for the plant, that is when you do the final cut. That way you will ensure the plant to grow back as quickly as possible. Whenever you are working with a basil plant-either cutting, trimming or harvesting it, you should always start from the top and move down! When you have enough basil, cut the stem right above your first pair on small leaves that you have left on. Also, make sure to remove the branch tips. Do not cut off a whole stem, unless your stem is big enough for cutting. Those tips are different, based on the amount of basil that you will be harvesting. Now there are some more tips you should know to get better results every time. Basil is an important ingredient in Italian recipes. Like I have said before, it is really important to leave some big leaves on the bottom of the plant, to make sure that it absorbs enough light needed for optimal growth.Īnother great thing about basil is that every time you harvest a leaf, it will be replaced by not just one, but two new leaves! That means that you should harvest your basil on a regular basis just to get the most out of it. You can harvest it whenever you need it, just make sure that the leaves that you are harvesting are big enough. Well, this is the best thing about a basil plant. Now if you have successfully grown your basil seed pods in your aerogarden, you are ready to harvest them. If you apply just a little bit more force to it than necessary, your basil will get bruised. When you are cutting your basil make sure to touch the leaves gently with your hands or even better-do not use your hands at all. They concert the energy that the plant gets from the sun into an energy filled with vitamin D. You should always leave a couple of sets of bigger leaves on the bottom of your basil plant because they play a huge role in your plant’s growth. This will encourage growth significantly. If there are any flower blossoms on your plant, cut them. You can use both gardening shears or scissors because basil is one of the softer plants. Start from the highest part of your plant and move down until you find new, small leaves growing out. When your basil plant is big enough for cutting, you should always cut it on the top. But make sure that you do it at the beginning of the season.Īfter the first cutting, you can cut your basil on a two to three-week basis until the end of the season. Why 6? Because your basil plant should have at least 6 leaves or has to be at least 6 inches of height before you cut it.
When it comes to cutting your basil, 6 is the magic number. So now, that we have made it clear, why you should do it, let’s move on to when you should do it. When you cut one stem, two new ones should grow back.īy doing this, you are forcing the plant to invest most of its energy to producing new stems with leaves. Cutting or trimming will make your basil plant grow more stems. That is the key to keep getting new, fresh basil throughout the whole season. The most important thing to take into account is that you have to cut or trim your basil early. You can do this when you want to prune your basil plant for the most optimum growth or when you want to use it in one of your recipes. If you want to make the most of your basil plant, and have a healthy and ready to harvest all year-long plant, you are going to have to cut it every once in a while.
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