I've tried growing basil so often without marked success, despite following the instructions on the packet, that I should be an expert on how NOT to do it! Not in the greenhouse - it shouldn't need it by May. Not in full sunshine, it'll dry out all too quickly (well, it does here, but I guess we have higher temperatures than Yorkshire gets in summer). Keep watered each day if the pot is closely planted and above all else, keep well fed with a high-nitrogen liquid feed - it's a greedy plant. Keep the main stem pinched out if it shows signs of wanting to flower. Above all else, keep your fingers crossed! ;-)

All I can say is up here it needs to be grown on an inside window sill and is still a pain to keep alive!

Basil usually thrives on plenty of sunlight, think of the countries such as Italy that use a lot in their cooking. I grow mine in a south facing window, not outside. I always water from the base (the leaves don't like getting wet) but let the compost dry out before giving the base a good soaking in a bowl of water. Pinch out the tips of the plants to encourage bushy growth and prevent flowering. And above all enjoy the marvellous smell as you eat a few leaves straight from the plant as you know that you have not sprayed them with any nasty chemicals :-) Beware white fly seem to love basil and I've had lot of white fly early this year following the hot spell in march, even the unrelenting weeks of cold and rain have not kept them at bay as they resurfaced this week so I'm going to treat my flowering plants with good old anti-bacterial fairly liquid (diluted) tomorrow which they don't seem to like the taste of, but neither do I so no good for basil I'm afraid!

I would grow them outside in a generous pot, in the sunniest south or west facing exposure possible, and, as Gattina says, keep them well watered and fed. If the seedlings are soft and spindly, due to lack of light, they will need to be hardened off gradually to the sun exposure.

I grow loads of Basil every year to make Pesto, and I keep it in an open plastic greenhouse facing east. I find if I put it outside it becomes 'leathery' and unpleasant to eat - as well as being a magnet for every slug from miles around! I pinch the tops out - as Gattina and Julie have said - and water approx. every other day, but never waterlog - and I grow it in anything I can lay my hands on! I've gone for milk cartons (washed out of course) with one side cut out this year. They are 4" deep and stack together perfectly - unlike round flowerpots! Good luck with yours, Andrea. :o)

I forgot to mention that, Tug - I still have mine in a semi-shaded spot to break them in to hot sunshine (assuming we get much more of it)

Snag is all you folk who are doing well growing basil live where it is really hot in summer... now right at this moment it is hot here too but this is the exception to the rule. Yorkshire isn't that hot most of the time either! If you've grown lots of basil Andrea try pots in different places and see what works and what doesn't.

Wow...lots of great tips there...thank you all very much!!

Good luck!