One of the
most important elements in growing a bounty of basil is the method in harvesting
the basil plants. The bushiest plants are produced with the most amounts of
leaves through proper pruning. It is considered the secret to growing great basil, and while most
people know they must harvest basil, they might be unsure of just how to do it.
When the plants have 3-4 sets of leaves, you should gently cut the plant right above the second set of leaves. Continually harvest the plants ever week or so to see a significant growth In commercial production, you can harvest every 3 weeks to produce longer stemmed bunches for market). The growth hormone, auxin,
controls where growth occurs and it is usually present at the highest
concentrations at the growing tips of the branches. When you remove those
"hot spots" then the next highest concentrated positions at leaf
nodes further down the stems become the new "hot spots" and growth
begins there. If you do this correctly
every time then you should be able to produce 15 - 24 cups of basil per plant
per season.
Typically the best time to harvest
the basil is in the morning. It should be right after the morning dew and
before the heat of the afternoon. The essential oils are at their
strongest, giving more of a robust flavor to the basil. The night before you
harvest your basil, you should water down the plant thoroughly to ensure that
all the dust and particles have been washed off.
You
will know when the end of the plant life is near when a stalk with buds shoots up from the middle of the plant. You can keep harvesting by cutting off the buds before they bloom, but eventually the taste of the basil declines and hopefully your freezer has been filled with some frozen basil or pesto at this point!
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