It's pretty much as you describe - but don't remove more than one-third of total growth at any one time, and allow the plant to regenerate before harvesting again. Seriously though, depending on your climate, just take what you need at one sitting to use fresh. That often means just one or two sprigs. If you 'chop off their heads' that will encourage more and bushier growth. Or, to put it another way, just give a tidy-up, trimming hair-cut!

For tarragon (and most herbs), as Daisy says, cutting the growing tips of the stems will encourage bushier growth farther below. Don't cut off individual leaves. For parsley, of course, the leaves emerge from the crown, so you'll want to cut the leaves you want very close to the crown.

When I harvest french tarragon I only like to harvest young shoots that are no longer than 6" or so because I think they have a better flavor. I only use tarragon for homemade salad dressings so I don't use a lot at one time and the plant I harvest from is rather large. I'll cut back a third of the plant to about 4" from the ground throughout the year to encourage new shoots.

For parsley I dry alot through out the season so I will cut the stems from the outside of the plant (at the base of the plant) leaving the center young leaves for fresh use and regrowth.

I differ about havesting parsley from nygardener;
You DO NOT cut/ harvest the leves very close to the crown but rather the outer most leaves.
Think about getting leaves from your lettuce! which ones you will pick?Always from outside.
The leaves at the center, and near it, are very young or just emerging and are trying to grow.
So you give them a chance to do so. Sure, you can raze all of the leavea to bear groung
and they still will grow back but not the right way to do it.

cyrus

Cyrus, what I meant was you choose which leaves you want to cut (the outermost ones are a good choice) ... and then cut them very close to the crown/ground. Rather than cutting off the leaf at the top or middle.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but with Parsley I assume it just keeps growing, and you dont need to start again every year?

Also I bought some 'living parsely' that was in a 3inch square pot, quite densly. I didnt chop it all straight away and most of it died. I've started some from seed so do I just fill a similar pot with seeds, or what? The 'instructions' seemed to suggest thinning, 6 or 12inch (cant remember which) but it seemed ridiculous to thin it that much.

I'm afraid I dont really understand these sort of plants, corriander I had similar issues with.

Parsley is biennial which means it flowers in the second year then dies. Coriander (cilantro) is an annual - 1 year growing cycle.

If you have a garden location to plant your parsley seeds in that would be ideal. Be very careful transplanting it - don't disturb the roots. It may bolt or flower otherwise.

FataMorgana

madferret, fatamorgana is absolutely correct about parsley being a biennial. The second year plant (to me, at least) has leaves with a much stronger flavor and will send up flower stalks, set seed, then die. Here in the southern United States it will self-seed, but I don't know enough about your area to say if that will work for you.

So I can harvest in the 1st year and it'll re-grow then in the 2nd year I can harvest, then it'll flower and seed itself? (depending on weather/light regionally)

I'm thinking some big pots really, only got a back yard.

You can even harvest in the second year before the stalks get tall.
I left just a few to stay and produce seeds and razed the rest. The razed ones
still will grow back, trying to bolt again.
When I collect the seeds, I will throw some on the spot. They will grow next spring.
If not, I will just sow more seeds. The seed stalks are now about 2ft tall.

cyrus