One member of my household, who shall remain nameless, is a pesto nazi--nothing but fresh and homemade will do, and if we don't have it at least three times a month he feels hideously neglected. In the winter, our basil bills add up, so I came up with the brilliant plan of getting a light shelf and keeping my plants going indoors. From a distance it looks maybe ok, but up close you can see it's a total disaster.
In an effort to maximize my success, I brought one healthy (or seemingly healthy) plant indoors in early fall, took cuttings from two other healthy-seeming plants, and sowed some seeds.
I'm getting nowhere. It's partly my fault. My seeds sprouted, but I got busy at work and they dried up, no doubt screaming in pain. My cuttings are just languishing, and my formerly healthy plant is has about three green leaves at any given time.
I think it may have something to do with the temperature indoors, which peaks at 67, and goes down to 57 at night. I put a heat mat under my plants but I don't think it provides enough warmth. I may have to try putting some plastic around my shelves, to try to create a slightly warmer microclimate that suits basil a bit better.
Basil likes it hot and humid. It sounds like your house is cool and dry. I make do with basil frozen in olive oil and add the other pesto ingredients to that. It's not the same, but it's not bad.
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