Learn to Grow: Pruning Herbs to Increase Their Yield

Herbs are a great entry point for first-time gardeners and a cornerstone of any avid planter’s plot. However, they can be a bit of a fickle friend. You patiently wait for them to grow, but then -- in a flash -- they start flowering! While these flowers are beautiful, they present a bit of a problem for gardeners looking to increase the yield they’re get from each plant.

The most successful herb gardeners, like Misilla on “Learn to Grow,” know just when to harvest and prune these kinds of plants so they taste best and keep giving all season long. In this episode, she shares a few tips on pruning and harvesting herbs to help you along the way!

When a herb plant is focusing its energy on flowering, it causes the leaves to grow slower and smaller than before. That’s why it’s important to harvest herbs before flowering or continue to prune them back once flowering begins. Not to mention: if you plan on drying herbs, it’s best to harvest them now before they blossom. Otherwise, it’ll deplete the plants of compounds that give them their aroma and flavor.


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Marion is a digital content manager for RFD News and FarmHER + RanchHER. She started working for Rural Media Group in May 2022, bringing a decade of digital experience in broadcast media and some cooking experience to the team.

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