I've heard a lot about trimming herbs, explain?

Question

I'm growing oregano at school and spearmint at home. I want to grow a lot more, too. I've heard everywhere that when they start to flower, you have to take the buds off, but what's all this 'cutting back' and 'pinching' stuff? Don't you just use the leaves? I'm a very, very beginner (I hesitate to say 'gardener' I'm so green...pun definitely not entended) so put it in the most simple terms possible. As if you were talking to the plant itself, please.
Thank ye kindly.

Answer 1

Cutting back just means that when you find your herbs getting overgrown, you just cut off the stems that are making the plants look messy (overgrown). It's like giving them a haircut :)

Pinching is "a low impact form of pruning that is very effective for creating nice, tight full plants". If left unpruned, you'll get a very lanky plant.
http://www.taoherbfarm.com/herbs/resources/azalearhod.htm
Simply use your fingernails to pinch off tender shoots. Pinching is also used on leaves or buds that don't need sheers to cut them off.

You can extend the 1 year life-cycle of Basil by pinching off flowers as they form. That way the plant puts all of its energy into foliage production rather than into making seeds.
To harvest Basil for the kitchen, pinch sprigs just above a point where more leaves have emerged from the stem.

When you cut from Chives, take entire leaves by cutting from near the base. This will generate even more growth.

Mint leaves are used either fresh or dried. The leaves have the best flavor if harvested just before the plant blooms. You can either pinch off individual leaves or cut the mint near the base of each stem, tie the stems into bundles to air dry.

In most cases you harvest the leaves of herbs, but in some cases you pick flowers, seeds or roots. Often, you harvest blossoms with the leaves and mix them together.

Here's more detailed info:
http://coastalrain.tripod.com/weegarden/id13.html

Pinching and cutting back (pruning and grooming) will encourage your herb plants to become lush and bushy. Different herbs use different methods, depending on their needs.
http://www.apinchof.com/simplegarden1104.html

Good Luck! Hope this is helpful.

Answer 2

Cutting back and pinching off encourages your plant to create new sprouts off of side shoots and therefore making your plant bushier/leafier.

When your plant starts to bud and flower, it is trying to reproduce and therefore it will exert more energy and resources into making the flower than say developing more leaves. So when you pinch these off it also encourages your leaves to grow more too, even though other buds may appear later.

Also, with some of my plants, particularly herbs, they will start to die once I let them flower since it signals the end of a life cycle for them. I can usually prevent this by pinching them off before they bloom.