I love the idea of potted herbs, but I never had luck with basil, even with abundant sunshine. My basil never gets deep green or grows well. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Even my parsley never really took off. I gave up and just haven't bothered growing herbs in several years, except for the various mints and lovage that came back every year when I had my own house. I sure would love to grow basil and a few other herbs in pots so they'd be easy to manage, but I'd hate to spend the money and not get a decent crop.