To all the people who recommended cutting the entire plant, and hanging
upside down to dry, how do you all deal with the dust that settles on
the plants. Please dont say "I put them in an area that isnt that
dusty". It would seem unless you live in a home that is extremely tight
and uses an air to air heat exchanger with filtration or something dust,
and good amounts given the time it takes basil to dry, would be in most
every home. All the dust that settles on your drying basil is ground
right up with the basil unless you can somehow dust the plant without
shattering the leaves when its dry.

While I am not affraid of eating dust, as it was part of my proffession
in the construction trade for many years, with all that we put into our
gardens to include lots of dust in the final product doesnt seem right.
For this reason alone we rarely dry anything out in the open anymore
even dried flowers that are not to be eaten.

Mark

Allan Matthews wrote:
When I planted my new raised garden July 15, I bought a left over
withered basil plant and stuck it in. Now it is 2 feet in diameter, 2
feet tall and dense with leaves. How is the best way to dry
this?Thanks