Question
Leroy:
First, can you recommend a good book about herb gardening? When to plant, when to harvest?

I have a basil plant that flowered then four of its stems turned brown and died.  First time thats ever happened.  Whats up with that? What should I do when a basil plant flowers? Should I cut the flowering stem down to an ince or two from the ground? Or leave it up til it falls itself?

The same goes for Coriander. I have  a wild coriander bush growing.  I think it grows like Cilantro...with tall flowering stalks.

The plant flowered three weeks ago and still has tiny white flowers on it.  But teh lower leaves are starting to brown and wilt. So the same question I have for Basil stands for Coriander...what to do when it flowers? What is the propert management of these two flowering herbs?

What about oregano? Its growing nice like a carpet vine.  Whats the best care for that plant? Same question applies for parsley, thyme and rosemary.

Thanks a lot, Leroy.

Answer
Ken:
I recomend any book by the organic gardeners. Try the herbworld.com web site for literature. Also herb magazine"The herb Companion". If cilantro and basil are flowering,cut flowers off at 2" below the stalk. The coriander is called cilantro and chinese parsley. It will keep producing flowers as long as temps are 80's and above. To keep fresh cilantro growing you must sow more seed every 2-3 weeks. Give early morning sun and rest of day shade. Don't give too much water,allow the rain to do it. The key to all of the plants is to prune them. Cut 1/3 off each branch with new growth every 3 weeks. Place in brown bag to dry, place in blender and store in jars away from the light. Plants will grow faster and be more healthy. Basil really need to be cut constantly. This is the first to die in the fall.Cut that oregano like crazy, it will give you more growth and return next year. Same for thyme. Rosemary will too if it is a hardy variety(Arp or Hardy Hill),the tender varieties will sometime make it if protected from the north winds, they will take below 10 degrees. I feed all my herbs organic fertilizer such as liquid fish from home depot, Lowe's garden centers.