Hello everyone and thank you in advance for your responses. I have never been a gardener and have never had the land but am trying to become more self sufficient and now live on many acres of land. I am growing a few things which I have questions about as well but for now Basil has my question. It seems to be doing very well. I looked at it yesterday and it has a couple of bites taken out of it here and there and some leaves are a little lighter than the others but I think it looks good...(a professional might laugh at me for that). I am attaching a couple of pics (at least I hope I am). A couple of questions:
[img]https://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r48/luvhairz/My%20Garden/SANY1219.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r48/luvhairz/My%20Garden/SANY1213.jpg[/img]
Am I supposed to break these up, they seem so bushy?
Should I be pinching them? And if so, where and how?
How do I know when it's ready?
Is it all ready at the same time or am I supposed to pick off top leaves and let the rest of the plant catch up?
And what do I do with Basil, can I eat it like lettuce or is it just a spice?
I really have no clue! haha
Thank you again and please let me know if the pics don't post
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Ginger_Gnome
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Rogue11
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The holes could be snail or slug damage. For some reason the slimy pests always seem to like my basil too.
You can pinch the tips of the basil stems to make them grow bushier.
Basil is an Herb, a little too spicy to be used as a salad green itself, but it is great as a salad addition. Tomato, Mozzarella cheese and basil is a classic. It also pairs great with tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese. Of course you can use it in many Italian and Mediterranean dishes from spaghetti sauce to pizza topping.
You can pinch the tips of the basil stems to make them grow bushier.
Basil is an Herb, a little too spicy to be used as a salad green itself, but it is great as a salad addition. Tomato, Mozzarella cheese and basil is a classic. It also pairs great with tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese. Of course you can use it in many Italian and Mediterranean dishes from spaghetti sauce to pizza topping.
Your basil looks good. It's a classic French herb that I add to many dishes from spaghetti sauce to roast. Discover all the varieties...thai, purple ruffles, dark opal, lime, lemon, cardinal, spicy globe... the list goes on. It is my favorite herb!
If it bolts (grows real fast and gets stemmy at the top) just pinch back.
Spicy globe and boxwood are good for appearance, too, like edging.
Keep the flowers from blooming by just snipping off and it will grow all summer. You can harvest leaves, dry ( I use a dehydrator, but others dry in the air. If your climate is humid the dehydrator may work better) and then enjoy all year.
If it bolts (grows real fast and gets stemmy at the top) just pinch back.
Spicy globe and boxwood are good for appearance, too, like edging.
Keep the flowers from blooming by just snipping off and it will grow all summer. You can harvest leaves, dry ( I use a dehydrator, but others dry in the air. If your climate is humid the dehydrator may work better) and then enjoy all year.
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rainbowgardener
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Agree, with all the above. Your basil is looking good. And you do want to keep snipping off the flowers when it starts flowering, so that it will keep making more leaves, except that I leave a few here and there because the bees like them.
You will be amazed at how much basil you can use. If you dry it, it reduces considerably in size, so it takes a lot of basil to make one spice bottle of dried basil leaves. And making pesto uses up a lot of basil too. I froze a dozen baggies of pesto last fall. It makes great, easy winter dinners, just thaw a bag and put it over pasta (or in soup or potato salad .... ).
I just keep picking leaves and clipping tops and letting the plant grow all through the season, until it starts getting too cold for it in fall. Then I pull all the plants and turn them into pesto, dried basil, etc. With good conditions your plants will get very big, 3' tall by almost that wide or so, maybe more where you are, with a long warm growing season.
You will be amazed at how much basil you can use. If you dry it, it reduces considerably in size, so it takes a lot of basil to make one spice bottle of dried basil leaves. And making pesto uses up a lot of basil too. I froze a dozen baggies of pesto last fall. It makes great, easy winter dinners, just thaw a bag and put it over pasta (or in soup or potato salad .... ).
I just keep picking leaves and clipping tops and letting the plant grow all through the season, until it starts getting too cold for it in fall. Then I pull all the plants and turn them into pesto, dried basil, etc. With good conditions your plants will get very big, 3' tall by almost that wide or so, maybe more where you are, with a long warm growing season.
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hendi_alex
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Your basil looks very good. I never worry about the superficial kind of damage that your basil has. I don't mind sharing with the critters, as long as they leave plenty for my needs. The main thing is to keep a close eye and make sure that you don't get an infestation such that the pest does real damage to the plant.
BTW, your basil is likely a cluster of several plants as well. If you have multiple stems coming from the ground, that is likely the case. However, with basil that is quite common, where a container or transplant will often consist of 3-5 individual plants growing close together. At transplant time, I often separate mine down to one or two plants per pot or planting, but the cluster of plants will do just fine.
With basil, the more you harvest (pinch or snip) the better it will produce. Even if you have no use for the basil, pinch it back anyway. Of course as was mentioned before, there is always something one can do with those leaves, or just share with a friend. My wife makes pesto, freezes it in little globs which are placed in a zip lock bag. They last well for at least 6 months. We eat basil in fresh salads, eat it on bruschetta made with fresh mozzarella cheese and home grown tomatoes, use it in our favorite tomato basil soup, and also use basil as an ingredient in many home made dishes.
BTW, your basil is likely a cluster of several plants as well. If you have multiple stems coming from the ground, that is likely the case. However, with basil that is quite common, where a container or transplant will often consist of 3-5 individual plants growing close together. At transplant time, I often separate mine down to one or two plants per pot or planting, but the cluster of plants will do just fine.
With basil, the more you harvest (pinch or snip) the better it will produce. Even if you have no use for the basil, pinch it back anyway. Of course as was mentioned before, there is always something one can do with those leaves, or just share with a friend. My wife makes pesto, freezes it in little globs which are placed in a zip lock bag. They last well for at least 6 months. We eat basil in fresh salads, eat it on bruschetta made with fresh mozzarella cheese and home grown tomatoes, use it in our favorite tomato basil soup, and also use basil as an ingredient in many home made dishes.
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Ginger_Gnome
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Yay, that makes me happy that everyone is saying it's doing good! 
Thank you.
From the pictures, can you tell if it's ready to be pinched? How and where do I pinch it? And I'm not quite sure what flowers mean, is it an actual flower or is it just a term? Where do I find the flowers? Oh, also by pinching, is it literally pinching off a part of the plant or do you cut it with scissors?
Thank you again friends.
Thank you. From the pictures, can you tell if it's ready to be pinched? How and where do I pinch it? And I'm not quite sure what flowers mean, is it an actual flower or is it just a term? Where do I find the flowers? Oh, also by pinching, is it literally pinching off a part of the plant or do you cut it with scissors?
Thank you again friends.
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hendi_alex
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You will recognize the bloom when it comes. The ends of the stems form long spikes of small flowers. You can pinch back to anywhere as long as you leave a joint with green growth below the pinched point. The joint below will then send out a couple of lateral stems which forces to the plant to get more bushy or fuller with even more leaves.
Last edited by hendi_alex on Wed May 18, 2011 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Barefoot Herbalist
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Hello Fellow Georgian 
Your Basil looks great!!! The only time you really need to start "pinching" is when you want basil if you want your basil taller pinch the tops, if you want it bushier pinch from the sides.
You can use basil in salad, but it's very strong. I love to put it in homemade spaghetti sauce, along with fresh oregeno or marjoram. It's also good to add a small amount to a fresh homemade pizza as well!!!
Everything is looking good!!!
I'm praying for some rain, how bout you?
Your Basil looks great!!! The only time you really need to start "pinching" is when you want basil
if you want your basil taller pinch the tops, if you want it bushier pinch from the sides. You can use basil in salad, but it's very strong. I love to put it in homemade spaghetti sauce, along with fresh oregeno or marjoram. It's also good to add a small amount to a fresh homemade pizza as well!!!
Everything is looking good!!!
I'm praying for some rain, how bout you?