How can I get the most out of my sweet basil from Trader Joe's?

Question

From what I hear, growing basil is one of the easiest tasks known to man, however I have always had difficulty in the past getting my basil plants from Trader Joe's to grow beyond the first or second harvest. I leave it in the LA sun all day long and water it frequently. Some people have told me that I need to re-plant it with better soil, or harvest the leaves more often. Can anyone help me grow my basil??!

Answer 1

one thing you need to do is pinch off any flowers that start to form.  If it flowers it will bolt and die off fairly quickly putting its energy into flowers and seeds not leaves.

If it gets pot bound then it will not get bigger.  Some people say even if the roots run out of room in the pot, that transplanting it to a bigger pot will not see it grow any bigger.  It becomes stunted and will not grow more.

I have best luck with basil I put into the ground.