Hi gardening people, wonder if you can help please; I occasionally buy a pot of Basil from the supermarket to keep on the kitchen windowsill. I've never managed to keep one alive for more than a couple of months - they always seem to become rather pale and sickly looking and eventually die altogether. How can I get them to last longer? Should I feed them - if so what with? Am I overwatering? ( I give them a drink as soon as they start to look a little wilted)
Any suggestions gratefully received. Cheers.

They are not really designed to live long, usually a load of individual shoots made to look like a thriving plant. Don't over water and don't water at night. They don't turn evil or anything but don't like being to wet so if you water it, do it in the morning.

Did you repot it or just keep it in the container it came in from the supermarket? Most of the time those plants are in desperate need of repotting by the time they reach the supermarket shelves. We have a basil plant that we brought from Morrisons in the summer and moved into a bigger pot and it's still thriving :)

Also once you've repotted it, water it from the bottom (i.e by standing in a dish of water for 20mins or so) - the leaves get very sludgey when they get wet.

Thanks guys. What sort of compost should I use if I'm repotting?

Can I add to this thread! I had the same problem with basil, but I grew some from seed which went really well until I got a fly infestation! I'm going to try again next year, is there something I can spray it with bearing in mind I want to eat it?

Cheers folks!

Any sort of multi-purpose or potting compost will do the job Halibut - I can't remember what I used, but I'm sure it was nothing special :)

I've never seen basil attacked by pests (other than slugs :mad: ) before! Any idea what kind of fly it was, Becky? (greenhouse whitefly maybe?) To be honest I think you were really unlucky and I think chances are if you try again next year with clean pots etc you'll find you won't need to treat those plants!