Well, I never know either, but I’m always willing to experiment - keeps it interesting, I think. LOL
I just snip those things off the basil plant. If you leave them, they will become flowers. I’m not sure what the spots are. I have harvested bunches and bunches of basil this summer from just 3 plants. I cut them back to about 6 inches and they just keep on going.
I’ll prune the one in a pot that I’m bringing in. One little packet of seeds, and only planted 3 of those and I have more basil than we can use in a year! I’m thinking I’ll give the kids some dried basil at Thanksgiving. I usually give them each a home grown lemon at Christmas.
That’s what I was afraid of - they’d become flowers. I slid about 10 off each stalk - they were stacking like crazy.
There are some new, broad green leaves at the bottom (near the bottom) of one - but they don’t look like Basil leaves (well, sorta, on a package of living basil I bought at Sprout’s grocery store).
Haven’t smelled them yet to see what they’re like.