Harvesting Herbs 101

August 10th, 2011 - Thanks to Mrs. Cartwright (for everything!), I've been able to learn how to harvest herbs since it is almost the end of the season and school is just coming around the corner (yay...). She has been wondering when I would start harvesting my herbs and she told me that I had to do it ASAP because the plants would soon die. That's when I got to work.

Mrs. Cartwright explained to me that you should harvest the herbs before they start flowering and that you should harvest little by little as time progresses because that's when the herbs taste best. In addition, herbs continue to grow as you keep harvesting little by little. She also recommended using a "snipper", a tool used to easily cut off the stalks of plants. Here's the jist of harvesting each type of herb...

ROSEMARY: Cut from the bottom of the stalk to obtain a whole stalk filled with rosemary leaves. When cooking, pluck off the leaves.

THYME: Same as rosemary.

OREGANO: Same as rosemary and thyme.

BASIL: Cut off stalk or pluck off leaves right from the plant. Harvest before it flowers.

PARSLEY: Pull plants out of the ground when ready. Remember, parsley needs drainage in order to survive.

CILANTRO: Harvest before it flowers. If it does grow too much, cut off the leaves from the bottom of the plant; these are the herbs used in cooking.

DILL: Harvest before it flowers. If it does grow too much, cut off the leaves from the bottom of the plant; these are the herbs used in cooking.

It's best to use the herbs when they're fresh. But if you wish to store them, you can dry or freeze them for later on. Happy Harvesting!