When do I harvest Basil and what's the best way to keep it year round?
2006-06-21 15:56:23 · 4 answers · asked by Joan S 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
With any type of herb, you'll want to harvest just before it blooms. How to tell when it's fixing to bloom? I haven't figured out that part yet. But if it blooms, the plant is more bitter, and you'll lose some of the good flavor.
What I do with my basil is pinch it off every time a branch or a top gets more than, say, 6 leaves, allowing it to bush out nicely. I've got about a dozen of them going and they are all so bushy and robust that it is time to harvest and dry them. I've tried to wait till there was quite alot of leaves, as I want to keep them all winter, when they would naturally die off. Basil, though, is a good indoor herb, so you can grow it year round that way.
One way to figure out when to harvest is to know how many days from planting that the herb is considered mature, then count back to when you planted it. Cilantro is 40-45 days, Basil, 48-70.
Sow every two weeks for a continuous harvest. With the basil (again) I sometimes take the cuttings and root them in water to make new plants.
Cilantro, normally used in making salsa, or cooking Mexican type dishes, can essentially be harvested as soon as the leaves appear.
2006-06-21 16:10:03 · answer #1 · answered by bec_ker6 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Harvest the leaves. Use in salsa and Thai recipes. If you let it set seed, that's coriander, which is an ingredient in some curries, and also goes nicely with cooked apples.
Basil, the same. I've never tried growing basil indoors. It's a Mediterranian plant, needs lots of sun. But, if you make pesto, leaving out the cheese, and freeze it, adding the cheese when you defrost and serve, that works well.
2006-06-21 16:12:35 · answer #2 · answered by warriorwoman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For both, when the leave turn a deep Green Color. For basil, depending on the species, look for shiny leaves.
Cilantro, good for homemade salsa, South Western cuisine.
Add a couple sprigs of Cilantro on a quesodia.
2006-06-21 16:01:58 · answer #3 · answered by Marky-Mark! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
harvest them when there ripe you can use it for decoration some dishes or use them in salads or you can also stuff them in turkey
2006-06-22 08:42:22 · answer #4 · answered by hockey pro 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋