How to pick basil?

[applestar]

The character of the leaves becomes more tough and leathery. some people say more bitter. It's OK to harvest them. flowers are great sprinkled over salad or pasta. Immature seeds are kind of nutty/ crunchy.

I always hesitate because bees love the flowers. A lot of mine are flowering and going to seed. Then I start thinking I want to make sure some of them matures enough to harvest seeds for next year.

I also cut them back hard and pot them up to bring inside -- in fact will need to do that soon -- ideally you want to do this about a month before below 60* temp nights start when basils have to be brought inside although I've unceremoniously uprooted and potted up in haste on the day of.

[rainbowgardener]

My basil is staring to flower also-is there any way to save it?? Once it starts to flower will it not produce again in time??

It's fine, mine has been trying to flower for months. Just keep cutting back all the budding stems. I do let a few flowers go for the bees, and a little bit later in the season, I think I will let a few go to seed to try saving the seed (which I've not done with basil seed before).

I don't harvest mine as early as AS and I haven't tried over wintering it inside. I don't have any really good light for it inside, but may try one this year anyway.

When it's getting cold enough that the basil is starting to die back, I just pull the plants, hang some to dry and turn the rest into pesto. My basil suffers through lots more cold, than AS's tenderly cared for plants. We are going to have one of those 60 nights this week, but the basil will keep going for several more weeks...

[lily51]

Beautiful basil! Some people think that letting it flower lessens the flavor. This is true for several herbs. I use my daughters' electric food dehydrator. Just remove the leaves from the stems, rinse, dry for a couple hours until crispy. Then put them in a plastic bag and crush.

I have done sweet basil this way, purple opal (licorice flavor/aroma) and other herbs. My daughter makes great blends of herbs this way.
Small glass jars with twist-on lids can be used for storage.

This is a better way than drying by air, as it doesn't get moldy or mildewy. Microwaves don't seem to do a good job, but maybe it's just me.
Enjoy your basil!

[rainbowgardener]

Or the old fashioned way is just hang the stems upside down inside a paper bag until dry. At the end of the season, I just pull up the whole plant and hang it that way.

This year I will dry some, make some into pesto, and bring at least one plant in to see if I can over-winter it.