Thanks again, We had a disgusting explosion of large grey moths about 2 weeks ago. I literally couldn't turn a light on outside without them bouncing off my head- they covered our courtyard. Our garden has been up and growing (and expanding) a little over 2 months now and I have yet to see a hornworm. We were out there pouring over the plants every day- especially after the moth invasion- and we were unable to find one little bugger... until we found the three cutworms. Here's the funny thing: we didn't have any damage to the tomato stems (our stems are quite massive now, I don't know if that was the reason), but we cut milk cartons and gingerly stapled them around the base of our Early girls (the plants we had all the holes in) and the holes, for now, have stopped multiplying. I assume that, what ever it is lives in the soil. Today, however, I was frightened to see tiny holes riddling our Marigolds. I think my worst fears may have come to fruition- I believe we, once again, have Tobacco bud worms. Some gardeners on GW talk about TBWs like there normal little garden pests, I don't know if maybe the climate here is more conducive to the (#%&*) grey moth that spawns them or what... but I have never met a more disastrous foe in a garden. I just dosed the Marigolds, geranium buds, and borage in Safer brand BT. I hope to God this year it works. I hope to God that they are not responsible for the holes in out tomatoes... because, in my experience, they are hard to find and harder to kill. Thanks so much, again, for all of the information. I'm going to look into D. Earth... maybe it will help out with TBW should we have them again. It's the only thing I haven't tried. Darcy

I dry mine in the dehydrator and store in empty spice jars. I have read that freezing them in ice cube trays is a great way to preserve basil. After they are solid, you can pop them out and store in a freezer bag. Nice serving size :-) I have no idea on the worms, maybe spray them off with a water hose?

Basil is a plant requiring outdoor conditions like full sun. Top problems for such plants indoors --- not enough light and too much water. I would suspect both are problems. Looks like some sort of pest infestation too. FataMorgana

Growing in hydroponics, the plant needs water, air, and nutrients. Did that system come with some nutrients? If not, you should buy some liquid nutrients and add it directly to the water. It's okay that the roots are sitting directly in the water because that's how a deep water culture system works, although the water needs aerated. I would put more water in the system with a straw sticking out so you can blow air into the water, but I'm a noob to this, so like Sophie said, a hydroponic forum would provide better answers. Here is my setup. Notice the hoses? They are hooked up to airstones in each bucket. Another thing is that light builds up algae, so I would either paint your jar black, wrap black tape around it or something to keep light out.