Herb Urban Community - How To Collect Herbs (and Keep Our Garden Lush!)

We’re excited for you to share in our love of plants and enjoy this community garden! It's important to know how to harvest them without harming the plant.

When picking herbs, be gentle and careful not to damage the roots, and avoid harvesting any woody stems. With the right approach, you can encourage your herbs to grow even stronger and provide you with plenty of delicious flavours to enjoy in your cooking. Have fun and happy harvesting

BASIL

Have you ever heard of pinching your herb plants? It's actually a pretty simple way to encourage new leaf growth! Basically, you just remove the top part of the stem. If you take a closer look at the spot where a leaf meets the stem, you'll notice a little bump. That's called a dormant leaf bud, and it won't grow if there's already growth happening above it. However, if you remove the stem above the leaf bud, the plant sends a signal to the dormant buds to start growing! And here's a cool thing - plants usually produce these buds in pairs. So when you pinch one stem off, you'll actually end up with two new stems growing from the two leaf buds. 

Essentially, You will pinch the top of the plant to harvest leaves that you need for immediate consumption. By doing this, we’re constantly encouraging new leaf growth, which means there will be more herbs to go around! 

CORIANDER

If you want to pick some coriander leaves without harming the plant, there's a trick to it! First, grab some sharp and clean scissors - it's important to keep things sterilized to avoid damaging the plant. Make sure you’re cutting from the outside of the plant inwards, this means that the plant can continue to grow and you’re getting the most mature leaves. 

MINT

This is one hardy herb, we’re sure you’ve seen it growing in some pretty rogue places. You can either use scissors or simply pinch the leaves when picking. However, be careful not to damage the stalk.

OREGANO

When it comes to harvesting oregano, it's important to do it the right way to keep the plant healthy. One common mistake is to take it from the root - instead, focus on picking the healthy stems that are flowering just above a node. This will help encourage more growth in the future! Please be careful not to cut back more than ⅓ of the plant at a time. Over-pruning can be harmful, so take it easy and let the plant thrive!

PARSLEY 

Cut parsley under the root, near the base to encourage more stems later on. Remember to harvest from the periphery of the plant and not the interior. 

THYME

Thyme is an amazing herb because you can harvest it at any time of the year, as long as you're careful not to damage the roots. To pick the thyme, simply use a pair of kitchen shears or snip just above a bunch of leaves, which will also encourage new growth. It's important to avoid harvesting any woody stems. 

LETTUCE 

Pick your lettuce on an as-needed basis from the outside in, as with many other herbs picking this way means that the plant can continue to grow and provide. 

We hope these tips help!