Basil

I love fresh herbs. We grow some in the garden but some do best when grown on the kitchen window sill. I particularly like having a fresh pot of basil available for inclusion in my culinary activities. I am now going to share my secret for getting the best crop of basil from a shop bought plant.

1. Get one from Lidl. For some reason the basil from lidl seems to last a really long time. I have tried different ones from different supermarkets but Lidl's seems to have the best. Perhaps they use top quality basil or perhaps the soil is laced with fertilizer. I know not, but it lasts a long time. And from Thursday they are selling a camping toilet for under £30! (Though that fact is unrelated to the basil).
2. Keep it on a window sill that is light but not in direct sunlight.
3. Place the pot in a bowl to catch the water you water it with.
4. Water it each morning with the cool water left in the kettle from last night. This will be at room temperature and will not give the basil a nasty shock.
5. If there is water that is not soaked up into the pot after a few minutes poor it down the sink.
6. Enjoy trouble free basil. Of course if you harvest too much it will die but on the whole we find it lasts ages.