How to harvest herbs?

[Anonymous]

My kids have been making a habit of picking and eating the basil I just planted.

I'm a newbie to all of this. When is it ok to start picking some of the basil, and when I do, how do I do it to encourage more growth (from the top, bottom etc)?

[Anonymous]

Pinch it off as it grows. This encourages it to stay shorter and bushier. How big are the plants now?

[Anonymous]

OP here. They're small; just a handful of leaves. I planted them this past weekend - purchased from Lowe's.

Pinch it off from the top? Pick the leaves I want from there?

[Anonymous]

Let them grow taller, then remove the tops. This is called 'pinching off' and the plants will branch out. Also remove any flowers that develop. This will keep the leaf production up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let them grow taller, then remove the tops. This is called 'pinching off' and the plants will branch out. Also remove any flowers that develop. This will keep the leaf production up.

Thank you!