My neighbor in apartment 4B saw my basil and told me to pinch the tops more often.

I was watering my plants on Tuesday when she leaned over the railing and pointed at my leggy basil, saying 'You're letting it flower, that's why the leaves taste bitter now.' She explained that pinching off the top two sets of leaves every week keeps it bushy and tasty. Has anyone else found this works better than just harvesting the big leaves?

3 comments

3 Comments

amygonzalez1mo ago

Actually, pinching off just the top two leaves might not be enough if it's already getting tall. You want to cut the stem right above a set of leaves, further down. That forces it to branch out from that spot. If you only take the tiny top leaves, the plant just keeps trying to grow from that same tip.

the_val1mo agoMost Upvoted

My grandma always said to cut right above the fifth set of leaves for good branching. Amygonzalez is totally right about going further down the stem. I tried just pinching the very top once and the plant got all leggy and weak. It really does need that stronger signal to bush out from lower down.

jennifer_west2mo ago

Yeah the flowering thing is key, once you see those little buds the plant puts all its energy into seeds. Pinching the tops makes it grow out sideways instead of just up, so you get way more leaves. I got lazy with mine last year and ended up with these tall, sad stems and tiny leaves, it was a mess lol. Your neighbor knows what's up.