Basil Going to seed

[Greenthumb18]

Yeah like lesa said you don't have to pick all the basil now. If any flowers appear just pinch them off, leaving them on will cause the energy of the basil plant to go into seed production which will lower the yield of the leaves. I have to try putting some basil leaves in oil for use for the winter never tried that before, sounds interesting.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I harvest the basil with the flowering tops. It makes for a slightly sweeter tasting basil when dried. I also harvest the flowering tops only sometimes to make into a pleasant tea.
The flowering tops are also very nice in a salad.

 

[vfem]

I am going to harvest all of mind and make some pesto to freeze... and then just hang dry the rest for now. Flowers or not... doesn't bother me.

 

[wifezilla]

If you pinch off those flowers, it will produce for you, right until fall.

If you put it in a pot you can have basil all year long. I have a plant that will be 3 years old. It comes inside each fall and goes back outside in the spring.

 

[whislindixi]

Doesn't basil honey sound heavenly? I just run my basil leaves, flowers and even tender stems through the food processor with minimal olive oil and freeze in food saver bags. It stays nice and green and tastes surprisingly fresh.

 

[MuranoFarms]

If you put it in a pot you can have basil all year long. I have a plant that will be 3 years old. It comes inside each fall and goes back outside in the spring.

This is exactly what I just started doing! Good to know it can last that long.

 

[riverman]

If you pinch off those flowers, it will produce for you, right until fall.

If you put it in a pot you can have basil all year long. I have a plant that will be 3 years old. It comes inside each fall and goes back outside in the spring.

This last fall I put about 8 of my big sweet leaf basils in pots and put them in the shed. They all stayed green for a while but now all of them have darkened, lost leaves and kind of "winterized" if you will. When spring rolls in and I put them back in the ground will they perk up and start flourishing again? Or did I just lose them? :/

 

[journey11]

If they didn't freeze to death, they should be fine. Bring them inside the house where it's warm, give them a drink of water and see if they perk up.