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Container Gardening

Harvesting the last of my basil.

16 years ago

And till yesterday it actually looked good. I also cut some lemongrass, which my cats are now chewing happily. This morning, to my astonishment, there was a beautiful purple blossom on the, otherwise, completely spent hyacinth vine. But it's cold enough now; I think it's finally over. Time to collect seeds.

Amy

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Comments (4)

paulallen
16 years ago
You have my sympathy. We harvested the last of our basil last week -- just picking chard, tomatoes and Kale now. The fig harvest is over too. Alas.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
16 years ago
How'r' you doing, Amy? ;o) A remarkable year here, too. I picked a full quart of ripe cherry tomatoes from one vine I had growing in a small clay pot on Nov 2nd. The vine had no special protection at all. It was situated on concrete on the southern exposure of the garage. It was still full of blooms & unripe fruit when frost took it that night. The reason it's remarkable? This was in MI, where killing frosts occur regularly in Sep.

Take care.

Al
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Well, it certainly helped when I had three huge empty beds and a fat budget! lol But no worries, I have a huge crop of reseeders weathering the winter. And the perennials that were just getting their feet in their first year. And thanks to the heavy load of mulch that I placed last year, they're tucked in and warm, looking even bigger after the snow we got melted away. So, I'm not worried about not having any flowers. I'm still reaping the benefits of all my hard (sorta) work. I may end up doing a little more WSing once my fingers get antsy around the end of January. No doubt about it, WSing allowed me to fill 2 forty foot square beds with veggies, one 50 foot square and one 150 ft square bed with flowers. I would never have been able to do it any other way and it turning out looking like I raided a Lowes. So don't think of my not wintersowing this year as a problem. Trust me... At the rate I was going I could have planted the entire neighborhood. I will definitely have another go at it in the Winter of 2009/2010, when I will have carved out a ton more growing space.
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I want to harvest my basil soon! help!
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Comments (1)
The general rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 1/3 of the living mass (leaves especially) of a plant at any one time if you want it to keep living and growing. Some plants you can go more than 1/3, some less. It depends upon the plant. With young basil, go slow. Take only a little to encourage more growth. That will ensure bountiful future harvests. Make sure to leave some nice healthy leaves and leaf buds on the plant. FataMorgana
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When can i start harvesting basil?
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Comments (4)
Look up 'pinching' basil. Maybe you can get a better idea or pictures of what to do with this size plant. Both previous posters gave wonderful advice. Basil grows a leaf pair, then the stem goes up in the middle. Pinching takes out that stem, encouraging the plant to bush out more, rather than just growing one stem. Personally, I would pinch some tiny new growth to encourage the bushing, then just enjoy the scent a little longer and wait before actually trying to harvest--give your plant more time and leave the larger leaves for now.
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harvesting basil
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Comments (1)
Sorry no one answered sooner. Try this link for the Herb Society's recommendations. Here is a link that might be useful: Harvesting Basil
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amyben
Original Author
16 years ago
I'm hoping my landlord's fig tree recovers from the "pruning" he gave it. Down to the ground. And he's promised the crop to me, as they hate figs. Imagine!

Hey Al, how are you? Michigan sounds way colder than I realized. I wonder how fried green cherry tomatoes would have been.

Amy
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
16 years ago
Oh, I'm fine. Just finished polishing off the last of the turkey & taters leftovers.

I'm pretty lucky here to live in a small island of Zone 6 in the middle of a sea of Zone 5. It's because I live very close to the water, in the crotch of Michigan at the bottom of Saginaw Bay. ;o) (crotch of Michigan's mitten, that is.)

Fried green cherry tomatoes? I bet they'd be great! Why didn't I think of that? ;o)

Take care.

Al

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