Herbs can be harvested as needed throughout the growing season once there is enough foliage on the plant to support growth. Snipping the plants regularly help to encourage new growth and keep the herbs healthy. Limit these harvests to less than one-third of the plant so it keeps growing and producing more foliage. The ideal time to harvest most herbs for the best flavor is early in the morning right after the dew evaporates, but before the sun’s rays evaporate the aromatic oils.
When to Harvest Herbs for Peak Flavor and Aroma:
Herbs that you plan to dry for storage should be harvested at their peak to conserve the herbs’ natural oils responsible for flavor, aroma, and medicinal properties. The timing depends on the plant part you are harvesting and how it will be used:
- Foliage: Herbs grown for their foliage should be harvested before the plant blooms. The flavor of the leaves turns bitter after the plant flowers and begins to go to seed.
- Flowers: Herbs grown for flowers have the highest oil concentration and flavor when picked just after flower buds appear but before the blooms open fully.
- Seeds: Herbs grown for their seeds should be harvested after the seeds mature and dry on the plant. They will usually turn dark brown or black when ready.
How to Gather Herbs:
Choose healthy foliage, flowers, or seeds for drying. Use scissors to clip off the stems cleanly. Discard any moldy, diseased, or insect damaged parts.
- Leafy Annual Herbs: Harvest leafy, annual herbs like basil and marjoram by pinching off leaves from the tips of the stems right above a pair of leaves. The plant will sprout two branches above the leaves and continue to grow. This is also called “pinching off” and encourages the plant to become bushy and produce more tender foliage. Harvest leafy tips frequently and clip off flower buds to keep the plant producing. Harvest the entire plant before your first frost.
- Leafy Perennial Herbs: Perennial herbs such as thyme, sage, and tarragon can be harvested by the stem or sprig. Harvest the herb by cutting the stems 3-4 inches from the base of the plant. Harvest herbs with long stems like parsley and oregano by cutting the stem near the base of the plant. Harvest rosemary by cutting stems above a pair of leaves and it will branch out and continue to grow. Continue to harvest perennial herbs until about 4-weeks before your first frost. As winter approaches, allow the plant to focus on winding down for the season before going dormant.
- Blossoms: Some herbs have single flowers, while others present their blooms in clusters along a stem, or spikes. Single blossoms such as chamomile, calendula, and feverfew are harvested by picking the individual flowers when the flower is opened fully. Harvest spiky blossoms when some of the flowers are open by cutting the stem several inches from the base of the plant or above the top set of leaves.
- Seeds: Herbs harvested for their seeds, such as anise, caraway, coriander, and dill are dried mostly on the plant. Allow the herb to form flowers and go to seed. After flowering, seeds swell and ripen from green to brown or black as they dry. Seeds are ready to pick when they are dry. Most often, seeds will spill out when the seed head is touched. Hold a container under the seed head and clip the stem so the seed cluster falls into the container along with any seeds released.
- https://growagoodlife.com/harvest-dry-herbs/