Pick Your Basil Plant More Often For A Big Harvest Boost

Picture an enticing Caprese salad in front of you — ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, olive oil, and fragrant, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). If you grew the tomatoes yourself, then you may have used a technique lots of home growers favor, where tomato leaves are pruned to allow the plant to devote energy to the flowers, which later develop into the fruit we love to eat. When growing basil, the opposite is true. The leaves are the stars of the show when it comes to basil, while the flowers are unwanted because they direct energy away from the foliage. Blooms can limit the number of leaves the plant produces, and they can also be detrimental to the flavor of the basil leaves. Once flowers emerge, the flavor of the leaves may diminish or change. To ensure your basil leaves are as delicious as possible while creating a thriving, bushy plant, embrace a harvest method in which leafy stems are pinched off before flowers form.

One of the biggest benefits of pinching off basil stems is a bushier, leafier plant and a robust harvest, as the pinching process stimulates the growth of new stems, resulting in more leaves. Pinching also prevents the woody stems that can result after flowering, plus it can extend the growing season of the plant. You can even use the pinched stems as cuttings to have a never-ending basil supply fresh from the garden.

You can begin pruning your basil plants when they have six to eight leaves (coincidentally, the plants will likely be at about six to eight inches in height when this happens). Pinch off growing stem tips just above a set of well-developed leaves with a gentle thumb-and-forefinger action. Repeat this process every time a stem has six to eight leaves. When flowering occurs, prune off any buds you see. In about a week, you should notice new growth emerging from the spot where the stem was pruned. You can continue this process through the life of the plant, pinching as you see new branches and leaves emerging. 

Be sure to avoid crucial mistakes everyone makes when pruning basil, like picking leaves from the bottom of the plant. Pinching off your basil plants regularly should result in bushy plants and rewarding harvests throughout the growing season. Ensure continued healthy basil crops by learning more helpful tips for growing basil to ensure a bountiful harvest.