How to Harvest Sage

An established sage plant can be harvested year round, so you rarely have to wait for a special window. Look for firm, healthy gray-green leaves and pick as you need them. Sage that is a few years old and full like this one gives you plenty to work with. Grab a little for tonight's dinner or a bigger handful when you want to dry some for later.

Hold a sprig steady with one hand and snip it cleanly with garden snips or pruning shears. Make the cut just above a set of leaves, right at a leaf node. That is where the plant branches out, so cutting there tells it to push two new stems from that spot. Tearing sage off by hand crushes the stem and leaves a ragged wound, so reach for the snips.

A small handful goes a long way with sage, so don't strip the whole plant at once. Harvest from the soft, leafy top growth and stay out of the thick woody stems near the base. That old wood won't push out new leaves the way the green growth does. Leaving most of the plant intact keeps it strong and ready to give you more in a week or two.

Those purple flower spikes are edible, so don't overlook them. Snip a few to scatter over a salad or to use as a garnish. If you cut them while they are young, you may coax the plant into a second flush of blooms later in the season. The flowers also draw in bees and other pollinators, so leaving some standing is good for the whole garden.

A couple of times a year your sage may look tired, usually at the end of a hot summer or a cold winter. When temperatures ease off and you spot fresh growth at the base, give the plant a hard prune with pruning shears to wake it back up. Follow it with a layer of fresh compost. New growth should push out and the plant will fill in again.

Fresh is where sage really shines. Chop the leaves on a board and add them to soups, roasted vegetables, or a pan of browned butter. It plays well with parsley, rosemary, and thyme, so mix and match. Don't save it only for the holidays. A few chopped leaves in a weeknight dish add a lot of flavor for very little effort.

If you cut more than you can use, dry it. Get the leaves fully dry in a dehydrator or freeze dryer, then store them whole in a labeled airtight jar. Crush them just before cooking and they will hold the most flavor. Dried sage tastes stronger and a little different from fresh, so start with less than a recipe calls for. For the full method, see how to dry sage.