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Best way to cut basil


How to Trim Basil for Big, Bushy Plants and Larger Yields

One of the secrets to producing big, bushy basil plants is trimming. Many gardeners are shy about harvesting from their herbs. They don’t want to cut them back in case it damages the plants or reduces yield. I’m the opposite, constantly trimming herbs like basil to use fresh, or preserve by drying or freezing. Are you ready to learn how to trim your basil plants for maximum production? 

When it comes to pruning basil, it doesn’t matter if you’re growing basil in containers or garden beds. It doesn’t matter if you’re growing Genovese basil, lemon basil or Thai basil. All types of basil benefit from regular clipping. It’s a quick and easy garden task that pays off big time!

Whether you’re growing your own basil from seed or picking up transplants, pinch back young plants to encourage branching and larger plants.

Why you need to know how to trim basil

There are plenty of great reasons for pruning back basil plants. Here are my top three:

  1. To harvest. This is the best reason to trim your basil! I can’t get enough of the basil harvest and clip branches for cooking almost daily in the summer. We make pesto, chop the leaves for sprinkling over pasta and pizza, toss them in green salads, and add citrusy basils like lemon basil to fruits salads. 
  2. To stimulate growth. I know, I know, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to remove part of a plant to make it grow, but trust me, this is the best way to force your basil to grow big and bushy. When you clip basil stems back to a fresh set of leaves, you force those leaves to grow, doubling the basil produced on that stem. And as those stems grow, you can pinch them back and double their production – it’s exponential!
  3. To remove flowers. Eventually most basil plants produce flowers. The flowers are very attractive to bees but basil plants that are allowed to flower slow down their vegetative growth. That means fewer leaves. A sneaky way to get around early-bolting basil is to grow a variety that is slow to go to flower. Everleaf is one of my favorite basils and flowers up to eight weeks later than other varieties. Emerald Towers is also very slow to flower. Or, you can plant a variety like Pesto Perpetuo which is sterile and doesn’t produce flowers at all. 
Take a peek where the arrow is pointing… this basil plant was trimmed a few days before the photo was taken. You can see the stub where I removed the central stem and the two sideshoots which are quickly filling out.

When to trim basil

Timing, as they say is everything. And when trimming basil it’s best to start early when the seedlings are about six to eight inches tall and have three to four sets of leaves. At that point, each plant is likely a single stem. I like to pinch that main stem back to a strong set of side shoots, removing about one-third of the plant. This simple trimming DOUBLES your basil harvest by turning single stemmed plants into double stemmed plants. How easy is that? 

Once the initial trimming is done, you’ve got a few weeks before you’ll need to pick up your snips again. I prune my basil plants every two weeks or so during the summer to stimulate plenty of growth.

The wrong way to trim basil

Before I get into the ‘do’s’ of how to trim basil, I think I should first share a ‘don’t’. When harvesting, don’t just pluck off individual leaves. This doesn’t promote new growth. Instead, when you trim, you should be removing top sections of stems. Read on to learn more.

The first cut: pruning basil seedlings

In the above paragraphs I outlined how to trim back basil seedlings for the first time to stimulate growth. But what if you’re not growing your own seedlings? What if you bought basil transplants from the garden centre and they’re already bigger than six to eight inches tall? Don’t worry! You can still trim these back to thicken up the plants and encourage growth. If you can, separate store bought basil into individual plants (there’s often a handful of plants grouped together in the pot). Then, trim the plants back by about one-third, clipping just above a set of side shoots. 

Now that your young basil plants have been given their first haircut, let them have a few weeks to grow. The first harvest usually comes about a month after planting when small shoots can be removed. This serves a dual purpose: 1) you get to eat some of your homegrown basil! And 2) you can use this opportunity to stimulate EVEN MORE growth. 

When trimming Greek-type basils, like Spicy Globe, you can use your fingers or herb snips to cut back to a healthy set of leaf buds.

How to trim basil plants to harvest or stimulate growth

To trim basil for harvesting or to promote growth, you can use your fingers, hand pruners, or herb snips. (These compact, lightweight snips are ideal for cutting herbs back). I often use my fingers for pinching flowerbuds or trimming top shoots of basil, but if you’re cutting the plants back hard, you may need sharp pruners as you don’t want to tear the stems. This can damage the plant and introduce disease pathogens into the tissues. 

Before you start clipping or pinching, take a close look at the plant. You want to cut central stems back to a lower set of leaves where two tiny leaf buds emerge from the leaf axil. They’re pretty easy to spot. Once you decide where you’re going to trim, cut the main stem about a quarter inch above the leaf buds. You can remove just a few stems to flavor your dinner or cut the plant back by a third to gather enough basil to make pesto or to preserve.

When clipping back basil for harvesting or to stimulate growth, cut the stems back to a healthy set of leaf buds.

How to pinch out basil flowers

As noted above, another reason to learn how to trim basil is to remove flowers. Stressed out basil plants begin to flower sooner than those given plenty of sunshine, well-drained soil, and consistent moisture. Therefore, aim to keep your basil happy so that it keeps producing leaves, not flowers. But for most types of basil, it’s inevitable that you’ll see flower buds forming by mid summer.  

Removing basil flowers as they form re-directs energy into vegetative growth and can result in a bigger harvest.

How to remove flowers on Genovese basil plants

It’s easy to spot flowerbuds on Genovese basil plants. They emerge at the tip of the shoots and look like a dense cluster of tiny leaves. As they grow, the flowerbuds elongate and tiny white flowers emerge (or purple flowers on Thai basil). I like to pinch the buds as soon as I notice them forming. That way, the plant doesn’t expend unnecessary energy on those buds. 

You can use your fingers to trim off flowerbuds or you can use garden snips. Whatever you find most comfortable. After that initial flower pinching, you’ll need to check every week or so for new flowerbuds and remove those as they appear. 

Trimming basil flowers on Greek basil plants

Greek basil plants form tight, tidy balls that grow up to a foot wide and tall. They have many small leaves with flowerbuds forming at the tips of each shoot. Hand pinching buds or flowers from these plants takes some time so I cheat a bit by using my mini herb snips or even garden shears. Just shear the flowers off like you would shape a boxwood hedge. The plants respond to this type of trimming by continuing to pump out more foliage. 

Finally, as you pinch basil flowerbuds, don’t toss them in the compost, instead use them in the kitchen. They have a wonderful basil flavor and can be used in pesto or sprinkled on salads, dressings, pastas, and pizza.

Thai basil, which produces such long purple flower stalks can also be trimmed back to increase yield.

Watch Niki prune her basil in this video:

How to preserve basil

Now that you’ve trimmed back your basil plants, you’ll need to use that delicious bounty ASAP or preserve it for future meals. Basil leaves can be dried or frozen.  

Of course you can also make pesto with your fresh basil, pureeing pine nuts (or walnuts or almonds), parmesan cheese, and garlic with your basil harvest. Here is a great pesto recipe.

For more information on growing basil, check out these articles:

Do you trim your basil plants regularly?

How to Cut Basil for a Full Harvest All Season Long

ByGetty Stewart

Learn how to cut basil so you’ll have full luscious plants to harvest all season long. Use this technique when you need basil in a recipe or you’re pruning your plant for optimum growth.

Instead of cutting leaves here and there, cut the entire top off the end of a branch/stem to encourage further growth.

The key is to trim or cut your basil early and keep at it throughout the season. This will force the plant to grow extra stems – one cut stem will be replaced by two new stems. And, in a few weeks you’ll be able to trim those back and double your stems again. See where this is going?! By forcing the plant to focus on producing new stems and leaves, it won’t produce flowers or seeds as quickly. More branches and less flowers equals more basil for you!

By early mid summer, your basil plant will have several branches. See how each one has a crown that you can cut.By end of summer, your basil should be as wide as it is tall with lots of branches to harvest from. These are three plants, from those little plants transplanted in late spring. That’s going to make a lot of pesto!

Learn More: How to Split and Transplant Basil, How to Prune Basil, How to Dry Basil

How to Cut Basil

Start from the top of the stem and work your way down until you find a spot where two sets of new leaves are growing. Just above this intersection is where you cut using scissors or gardening shears. Later in the season, when you have more branches, repeat this process on each branch. Always cutting the top crown.

Be sure to leave some large leaves toward the bottom of the plant, at least two sets of leaves. These are the plant’s solar panels and are necessary for the plant to convert the sun’s rays into the energy it needs to continue to grow.

Here’s a short video showing you exactly how to do it. Followed by some photos.

Leave two to three layers of growth (leaf intersections) and cut just above.

See how the stem has a clean cut right above two new sets of leaves.

Those little leaflets on either side of the cut will grow into new branches that will grow new crowns for you to harvest.

If you try to pinch the stem with your fingers, you risk injuring the plant, like I foolishly did here. It really is best to use scissors!

Using your fingers to pinch basil may risk stem damage, like on this plant. It is best to use scissors or garden shears.

When to Cut Basil

Ideally, you should start to cut basil early in the season, when the plant is about 6 inches tall or has at least 6 leaves. In fact, great greenhouses will prune their basil plants before they put them out for sale. Those are the plants you want to buy. Short and bushy is better than tall and spindly.

Basil can be cut back every two to three weeks throughout the season as needed.

However, if you do have a tall plant, just cut it back by following the steps above.

What Not To Do

Don’t just pull a leaf from here and there. When you pluck one leaf at a time from random spots you are just depleting the plant without encouraging regrowth. Eventually, if you pluck too many leaves, especially the nice big ones – your basil will not be able to capture enough sunlight to continue to grow and it will be done. Or it will grow tall, spindly and send out a flower at which time it stops leaf production.

When you cut it from the top as demonstrated above, you’ll encourage branches to extend from the sides. Each of those branches will grow crowns that you can harvest just like shown above. Then those branches will grow into more branches and so on. See how that goes! By the end of the summer you’ll have sooo much basil you’ll have enough to make your own pesto just like you see everyone else on social media doing!

More Basil Tid Bits

How to Store, Preserve and Use Basil

That was easy, right. Now that you have some lovely basil tops, here are some options for what to do with them.

How to Store Fresh Basil

Six Ways to Preserve Basil

How to Dry Basil in Microwave

How to Dry Basil in Dehydrator

How to Air Dry Basil – Hang Dry

Basil Pesto

Bruschetta

Bread Salad with Basil and Veggies – Panzanella 

Basil and Bean Salad

Green Bean, Basil, Tomato and Feta Salad

As I write this, it’s early in the season. I just planted my basil and cut them back. I think I’ll take those trimmings for tonight’s pizza! Yum!

What’s your favorite way to enjoy fresh basil?

Getty Stewart is an engaging speaker and writer providing tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas to make home cooking easy and enjoyable. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.

Similar Posts

How to prepare basil for the winter

home Blog Recipes How to prepare basil for the winter

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Many people associate basil with fresh summer caprese salad. Spicy greens become a savory link between cheese and tomatoes. And how much use in elastic green and burgundy leaves! This herb is rich in vitamins, sugars, carotene. It is useful for improving the functioning of the digestive system, helps relieve headaches, and increases the immune properties of the body. Prepare it for the winter, and during a nutrient deficiency in the diet, it will fill the body's need for vitamins. nine0003

We will tell you how to prepare basil so that it can complement a salad or a hot dish just as well as fresh.

Spicy basil dressing for winter

To use basil in salads in winter, use it as a dressing. This is a simple and convenient way to preserve the benefits and taste of the plant. In addition, in this embodiment, they are easy to replace salad dressing.

Ingredients:

How to prepare basil for the winter - recipes

Preparation steps

  1. Rinse the basil and lay on a towel to dry.
  2. Tear the leaves off the stem and place in a sterilized jar. Place chopped garlic cloves between layers. Do not crush the garlic, but cut into several pieces.
  3. Drizzle ingredients with olive oil until it completely covers the basil.
  4. Roll up and store. The dressing can be stored for up to a year without losing its freshness. nine0026

A variation of this salad dressing can be chopping garlic leaves into a smooth mass or adding other spices. For storage, it is better to use small jars - 250 or 300 ml. This is the perfect way to prepare basil for the winter and preserve all its beneficial properties.

Freezing basil for the winter

First method

  1. For freezing, take washed and dried basil leaves.
  2. Drizzle with olive oil, divide into portions and send to the freezer. nine0026
How to prepare basil for the winter - recipes

The second way

  1. Wash the basil, dry it.
  2. Remove leaves from stems.
  3. Pour boiling water over the basil and drain in a colander. So pouring will become more pliable.
  4. Divide into an ice-freeze mold, add water at room temperature and place in the freezer.

Ready-made cubes are used for hot dishes. This method is suitable for harvesting other types of greens. nine0003

Drying basil for the winter

Young greens are chosen for drying. It is better to start harvesting basil in this way at the very beginning of summer. At this time, the stems are not yet rough, and the plant itself has not yet bloomed. Its leaves exude a strong spicy aroma.

Put the leaves on a metal tray and place in a warm room, away from direct sunlight. After the leaves dry, store them in canvas bags.

Now you know how to prepare basil for the winter - this amazingly spicy herb with a characteristic slightly bitter aftertaste. Basil with olive oil is ideal for dressing salads. Dried grass is a good addition to scrambled eggs, baked beef and even cottage cheese. Basil cubes should be used in cooking various exotic soups. nine0003

You may also like:

Recipes for crispy cucumbers for the winter per liter jar

Homemade winter sauces

11 ways to use lemon

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Cooking with basil

Cooking with basil

In the mint family, there is an amazing basil plant with green, purple and purple leaves, exuding a pleasant tart smell with hints of lemon and cinnamon. Some varieties of basil smell like bay leaves, cloves, allspice, or tea. Basil greens contain a high concentration of essential oils, so it's no surprise that the seasoning has an oily taste and strong aroma. The homeland of this spice is Iran and India, where basil is still considered sacred. In the 16th century, it began to be grown in Europe as a medicinal plant, since basil essential oil has an antibacterial and analgesic effect. The use of basil in cooking began a little later, and now this spice, popular in the cuisines of the Mediterranean and Asian countries, is part of many spicy compositions - suneli hops, a mixture of Italian herbs, herbs of Provence, curry and Garni Bouquet. Basil not only gives sophistication to many dishes, but also has a positive effect on well-being, as it improves immunity and removes toxins from the body. nine0003

Basil in Cooking

Basil's properties are highly valued in cooking, as this plant makes dishes healthy and gives them a piquant spicy taste that combines tenderness, astringency and slight bitter notes. The dish turns out to be very unusual, fresh and not boring, even if it is often cooked. Basil is commonly used fresh and dried, but dried basil retains all of its valuable properties if stored in an airtight container away from moisture and air. The aerial parts of the plant are usually eaten, although basil seeds are popular in Azerbaijani cuisine and added to salads, soups, pates and drinks. nine0003

The use of fresh basil in cooking is especially appreciated. At the same time, young leaves and shoots are finely chopped and added to salads, snacks, sandwich mixes, omelettes, dumplings, marinades, pickles, vegetable, legumes, meat and fish dishes. Combined with tomatoes, spinach, sauerkraut, eggs, cheese and pasta, basil makes delicious pasta sauces. Italian favorite pesto sauce is prepared only with basil! It is hard to imagine ketchups, gravies, dressings and all kinds of salad dressings without this exquisite seasoning. Basil is also indispensable in the food industry - for canning, smoking, cooking sausages and flavoring alcoholic beverages. And sprigs of basil are flavored with vinegar, which is then used to dress salads and make sauces. nine0003

Homemade recipes from basil

Salted basil shoots are very tasty - to do this, cut them into small pieces, and then sprinkle with salt in a glass jar or pour vegetable oil. Basil pairs amazingly with tomatoes; if you fill tomato juice with dry leaves of a plant, it will acquire a pleasant aroma. Experienced chefs recommend not cutting the basil with a knife, but chopping it with your hands, adding the spice to the food in small quantities 5 minutes before it is ready. The average rate of fresh basil per serving is 2-5 g, in dry form about 0.5 g is enough. Basil goes well with rosemary, tarragon, coriander, mint, marjoram and parsley, creating interesting combinations that transform the taste of familiar dishes. nine0003

Try oriental rice with basil or spicy Uzbek tea to quench your thirst and cleanse your body. To do this, a handful of basil leaves is poured with a liter of boiling water, infused for 5 minutes and sweetened with honey. The simplest basil salad is made with chopped fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, fresh basil, mozzarella, olives and black pepper. The salad is dressed with vegetable oil mixed with lemon juice.

There are many dishes where basil is added, but there are no strict rules - you can use this spice in cooking buckwheat, mashed potatoes or rice.

Learn more