Gardeners share harvesting tips that will encourage growth without harming your basil plants.
He explained that this method encourages basil to grow all summer long.
Gardening experts share tips for harvesting basil. Photo credit: instagram/back_yard_bountiful
The gardener (@back_yard_bountiful) has been going viral after sharing some gardening tips in a post.
When it comes to basil plants, he explained that it's pretty common for novice gardeners to “mess up” the harvesting process.
He started by checking his basil plants to see if they had flowers and were ready to be pruned.
If the plant hasn't yet produced flowers, he advises leaving the plant alone and allowing it to grow more.
Anything that's flowering is ready to be pruned, and the hack allows you to prune at the peak of the plant to allow it to regrow.
He counts three nodes from the bottom of the plant's stem, then takes a pair of scissors and cuts the plant above the third node.
“Use that basil in your cooking,” he said.
“See those buds on either side of the node I just cut? They'll grow into new stems.”
He showed off a basil plant he had previously pruned, which was growing new stems and even blooming.
He repeated the node trick with the scissors, cutting off the basil above the third node.
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“If you keep doing this, you'll have a harvest all summer long,” he said.
The gardener recommended using fresh basil in salads and as a topping for Italian dishes.
The novice gardeners were grateful for the advice.
“Thank you so much! I've been doing this wrong all this time!” one commenter said.
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“I always wondered why mine never lasted. This is very helpful, thank you!” another user commented.
Others shared additional tips and tricks to avoid damaging the plants.
“I was told not to cut basil with metal,” one viewer said.
“Pinch the stem with your fingers. [your] Thumb nail.
“Exactly!” agreed an experienced viewer.
One commenter suggested picking off the flowers if you don't need the basil right away.
While some people thought the technique was unnecessary, the gardener explained that it was very important to him.
“This is unnecessary, just pluck the flowers, no need to count or chop them up,” one viewer said.
“I don't agree. We want bushy plants rather than tall plants, that's why we do it this way,” replied the gardener.
His go-to technique is to avoid damaging the plants. Photo credit: instagram/back_yard_bountiful
