Is basil still good if flowers

[MattBaggins]

I threw a few plants in a raised box and now I have like thirty bushes of basil that I am thinking of freezing.

[beac]

1. Flowers will make the leaves turn bitter.

If the flowers are just coming out, you can pinch them off. If the plants have been in flower for a while, I'd sample the leaves and make sure the taste will still be acceptable to you before tackling a massive harvest.

Depending on which zone you are in, you might even be able to pinch the flowering plants (if they have been for a while) WAY back and still have time to get a new harvest of fresh, unbitter leaves. Basil grows like a weed... as you've seen. :)

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. We've found that it is a bit of an urban garden legend - we use flowering basil

and it is not bitter at all - tastes fine. In fact, we even eat the small flower buds. We've made multiple batches of pesto with it....it's all good. Maybe it depends on the variety, but we've not had bitterness issues with the many types we've grown.

Just to be sure, give it a test, though! We all taste things slightly differently.

[Puglover]

3. I agree. It's fine after it flowers.

The problem is flowers lead to seeds and once that is in motion the plant stops growing and focuses on the seeds. So I pinch them.

[Botany]

4. It is fine

just cut it in half ..... but i have used leaves from flowering basil and it was fine.


Trust me I got a 2.3

[WhiteTara]

5. Cut it back to the set of leaves that are

more than 2 and it will come back bushier than ever. Some of the top leaves will be good from these, but the flowers and top stems smell great as a bouquet of flowers.

[JCMach1]

6. I take the flowers and drop them in vinegar and sometimes olive oil

Of course, it flavors them... yum