Can basil leaves be dried in the microwave?

Believe it or not, basil leaves can be dried in the microwave. It’s both quicker and more effective than using a conventional gas or electric oven.

Why dry basil leaves?

In my experience, basil leaves can only be kept for about 7 days after harvesting (in a refrigerator) before they turn bad. Drying the leaves and storing them in an air tight container will mean you can keep the leaves for a much longer time.

	Step 1: Harvest the leaves Harvest the leaves around midday. I had quite a lot of leaves here to dry! After they shrivel up and dry, you’ll be glad of having so many!
	Step 2: Prepare for the microwave Place a paper towel on top of the plate and place a single layer of basil leaves on top. Try and use leaves which are around the same size so they dry at the same speed. Place another paper towel on top of the layer of leaves. Put the plate into the microwave and put on high for a minute. Then continue with 10 second intervals until the leaves crumble easily between your fingers. Be prepared for a small flame if you leave them in the microwave for too long!
	Step 3: Remove the leaves and crumble Once the leaves have dried, remove them and crumble them into a powder using your fingers.
	Step 4: Store in an air tight container That’s it, you’re done! Store the leaves in an air tight container and use whenever you like. They’ll store for a very long time! This tiny container of dried basil is the full contents of the container shown in step 1!

Since we’ve just moved into a new year, I decided it was time to trim the garden back a bit. I’ve removed many of the smaller basil plants and re-potted them. I’ll be giving them away to anyone who wants one.

The basil plants are now individually potted in Styrofoam cups with soil and a little perlite on top. To help them through the transplanting phase, I’m using a 15W 12 LED grow bulb. This bulb uses very little power and has a mix of red and blue high powered LEDs at the correct wavelengths for photosynthesis.

Living high up in a condo unit means I don’t have any traditional gardening space. I’ve managed to maximise what little outdoors space I have. For example, this urban jungle sits on a piece of wood which lays over an outside aircon unit. Although I call it an urban jungle, it’s really more of an urban farm!

This page documents the progress of the jungle. New plants are being added regularly and the layout is changing quite frequently depending on which plants grow tall(e.g Pole Sitao) and which require a little more room to the side (e.g Squash).

Some of the plants were started from seeds under fluorescent lighting while others were just started outside.

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Time Line

19th Nov 2009 – This is the beginning of the urban jungle. Right now the pots are just placed outside on an aircon unit.

22nd Nov 2009 – The jungle is expanding although still not very green. Space is becoming limited!

28th Nov 2009 – The jungle is starting to look a bit greener!

30th Nov 2009 – I managed to find a piece of wood which fits into the space very well, I’ve now got more room and the jungle has expanded!

8th Dec 2009 – The jungle is coming along..

11th Dec 2009 – The squash leaves are really starting to get big. The leaves of the Pole Sitao had previously wilted a little, they appear to be okay now.

12th Dec 2009 – A night shot of the urban jungle. You can see I’ve rearranged some of the plants and the addition of another tray. The basil in the new tray was previously growing in plastic bottles, hence why those at the edge are having problems standing up.

14th Dec 2009 – The squash plants are getting a bit greedy with space. Their big leaves are trying to take over the jungle!

21st Dec 2009 – The cress has been removed. The chilli and basil have started to grow quite big after a little pruning.

12th Jan 2010 – It’s been awhile since my last update to the Urban Jungle. The squash plant has been temporarily moved inside until I can find a permanent home for it (hopefully in someones garden!) because it was getting far too big and taking over the other plants. Some of the sugar pea plants did not make it through the holiday period and the snake grass eventually died from the fertiliser that was accidentally mixed with the soil. I’ve added some perlite to the top of the pots to hopefully help with water retention. Ideally the perlite would have been mixed in with the soil from the beginning

19th Jan 2010 – Shortly after this picture, I trimmed back most of the plants. Due to space issues, I dramatically trim back the pole sitaeo every few days.

28th Jan 2010 – One of the basil plants is starting to bud so I hope to see flowers soon.

29th Jan 2010 – Close up of the small white flowers growing on the basil plant.

I've added an 18W CFL above the jungle. The light is hooked on to a basic 3M 'stick on' hook and I just plug it in when I want to use it. Simple! The urban jungle lit by the CFL. It highlights the jungle at night (if plugged in!) and makes it easier to water the plants.

25th Feb 2010 – Despite being so high up(don’t see many bees and such like up here), the chilli plant managed to get pollinated and has started to bear fruit.

28th Feb 2010 – A night shot of the jungle. Some of the older basil plants were removed and replaced with clones. The chilli and Tomato plant are bearing fruit. Everything else is doing pretty good also.

Why?

The Philippines has an abundance of sun light so why start seeds under fluorescent lighting? During testing, I had much more success starting seeds under fluorescent lighting than outside in the sun. This grow will document the growth of plants under fluorescent lighting and also compare it to those started outside under sunlight.

What equipment is being used?

For the ‘humid pods’, I’m using cheap plastic food containers with holes in the bottom for water drainage and holes in the top for air. Styrofoam plates are used as trays for the pods. I’m using standard potting soil. The lighting is a basic fluorescent fixture with built in reflector which holds two 20W daylight tubes. When a source is found, I’d like to replace these tubes with grow tubes made specifically for plants.

Below you can see the 8 pods, seeded and watered.

Echinacea Pole Sitao Squash Chamomile Feverfew Bell Pepper Lettuce Egg Plant

Seeds planted in their humid pods.

Placement – 29th Nov

The pods have been put under the fluorescent lighting and the comparison pod placed outside in the sunlight.

Seeds started under fluorescent lighting. The fixture holds two 20W tubes which are running for 12 hours a day.

Seeds started outside under sunlight. This pod will be used as a comparison between those under sunlight and those under fluorescent lighting.

First sprouts – 1st Dec

The first sprouts have appeared from the Pole Sitao pod. The pods have managed to keep their humidity high, causing droplets of water inside which has kept the soil damp.

More sprouts – 2nd Dec

It’s 4 days since the seeds were planted. There is significant growth of the Pole Sitao since yesterday. You can also see the squash next to it has grown about an inch. There are also a few green dots to be seen from the Chamomile and Lettuce.

Transplanting the Pole Sitao – 3rd Dec

The Pole Sitao had another growth spurt overnight and is now being transplanted into its own larger pot. The Squash plant is also doing quite well.

The Pole Sitao has been transplanted into it's own larger pot and placed outside. There's a DIY trellis for them to wind into.

Transplanting the Squash – 5th Dec

The squash made it's appearance a little later than the pole sitao but quickly grew large leaves. It's now ready to be transplanted outside.

The squash has been transplanted into a larger pot outside, hopefully large enough for it's aggressive roots!

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Conclusion – 15th Dec

The sugar peas which were placed outside as a test against the fluorescent lighting didn’t grow. All the plants under the fluorescent lighting did well although the Squash and Pole Sitao were definitely the fastest growing.

As another test, I started some seeds using the same pods but inside on a window sill. These did grow but much slower than those under the fluorescent lighting. I’ll definitely continue starting seeds under the lighting and getting them to a good size before moving outside.

Below is an updated picture of the Squash and Pole Sitao moved outside. For a better look at the life line of these plants and a few others, check out the urban jungle page.

The squash plant now has reasonably large leaves and nice thick strong stems.

The leaves of the Pole Sitao have become quite long and the stems are becoming taller day by day.

I decided to also try some grows in standard soil rather than purely hydroponics. These plants will be outside while my Hydroponic plants will remain inside.This grow started Nov 19th 2009.

What / Why?

I bought potting soil from White Plains (Libis) for P80, a long soil container for P120 and a few pots for P40 each. I already have the seeds.

19th Nov – Sowing the seeds

Whilst growing in soil is simpler to set-up than Hydroponics, there are also disadvantages. For example, they'll be growing outside and will be more susceptible to pests.

19th Nov – Placement

Since I'm living in a condo unit, I don't have a garden. The plants will be growing on an aircon unit outside. This unfortunately means sunlight exposure will be limited.

22nd Nov – Some growth

3 days after sowing the seeds we can see some growth. As expected, the cress has grown extremely quickly. The basil is also starting to pop up quite well. There's not much life seen from the other seeds yet other than a few green specs from the spinach plants.

23rd Nov – Basil coming up

Perhaps a bit soon for another update but there is some progress. The basil is definitely starting to make itself known. There's not much activity elsewhere. It's possible the spinach is showing itself but it could just be stray cress/basil seeds.

28th Nov  – Chilli is showing life

The chilli appeared quite suddenly. The cress has continued its rapid growth and the basil is slowly coming along. There's also a few green pin pricks starting to appear in the Tarragon area. So far the Spinach hasn't appear. I've turned the pot around but also moved the labels so it's still clear to see what is what.

8th Dec – Bushy cress

Although the cress hasn't grown much taller, it's growing outwards and become very bushy. The tarragon is still quite small but definitely more noticeable since the last update. The chilli is really starting to show itself with relatively rapid growth recently.

20th Dec – Consolidation

I decided to consolidate my grows into an urban jungle. All updates will now be on that page instead.