How to Harvest Tulsi
Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) is a highly revered plant in Hindu culture, where it is also known as Holy Basil or the Queen of Herbs, and a home garden is considered incomplete if it does not include tulsi. Tulsi is an important herb in Ayurvedic medicine and is used to restore balance, reduce stress and revitalize. Tulsi can be grown as a perennial in a tropical environment, or as an annual in cooler climates. It may also be grown indoors in a sunny window or in a greenhouse. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Wait until the tulsi plant is large enough harvest. Like many herbs, tulsi will continue to grow after you harvest some of the leaves, and will produce more leaves for a later harvest. Tulsi can grow up to 24 inches tall.
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Harvest leaves in the mid-morning, after the sun has dried the dew but before the heat of the day has set in. Herbs like tulsi have a stronger flavor if harvested earlier in the day, before the sun has the opportunity to dry out some of the volatile oils.
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Using a pair of sharp scissors or garden shears, snip the leaves off the tulsi plant. Never remove more than 75 percent of the herb's leaves, and try keep your harvest to 50 percent or less. This way the tulsi plant will have the energy and resources to survive and regrow more leaves.
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Rinse the tulsi leaves only if they are visibly dirty. Washing may remove some of the volatile oils and will reduce the flavor. Use cold water if you must wash.
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Use fresh tulsi in teas or as a poultice. You may also dry tulsi in a food dehydrator, in the oven set very low, or on a baking sheet set out in the sun. Fresh tulsi will keep in the refrigerator for a few days in a plastic bag, and dried tulsi will keep for several months in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.
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Comments
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That's what I thought, Gaura prabhu, but what's happening is that the tiny seed pods seem to be falling off the flowering manjaris before they dry up. So just a dry stalk remains.
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the flowers wither up and seeds form then become dry, tulsi seeds are very very small they are ready when the seed heads are fully dry best to leave only one or 2 flower heads going to seed at a time to conserve tulsis energy
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Could some kind soul please tell me how to extract seeds from Tulsi flowers? My Tulsi is flowering, but not sure at what point her seeds are ready for planting.
