I have found that Basil is a really heavy feeder for an herb- and justaguy2 is right- Basil LOVES Fish emulsion. I spray my Basil plants with a fish emulsion mixture every week until they are established, then every 10 days. ...But, I also think your problem is climate. When it's too cold for Basil to grow it won't (I used to live in Minnesota so I know all of the "too cold' scenarios- believe me, I've killed or retarded just about every plant once :) Basil likes the nights to be over 60 degrees, preferably over 65, otherwise it simply stops growing. It will freeze in size and if it doesn't warm up in a few weeks the leaves will mottle and all further growth will be slow. This is what I did in the Midwest: I would transfer my seedlings to 8-12" pots (3-4 little in each). I set them outside as soon as it got warm out in the spring. That way when they started acting too cold I brought them into my garage for the nights and set them back out when it got warmer. They grow into bushes together in the pots- especially if you use Fish Emulsion. When I finally planted them in the garden they were really healthy, full, bushes that- if you cut them back when they start to flower- they'll last through a midwestern summer.

Hi - would like to trade for your sweet william and balloonflower; could I send you my list [includes herbs] Doreen.

Both chives and cilantro taste like lawnmower clippings when dried. Blech! So I make chive butter, rolled into a log and popped into the freezer. Perfect for baked or mashed potatoes. Or on top of a steak or fish. You can also add some minced shallots. Cilantro I just toss into a zip bag and freeze. Squeeze the air out of the bag and it is less bulky in my over-stuffed freezer. Basil is also frozen this way. Parsley is dried in a dehydrator and then kept in the dark or the color will fade out. The micro method works too, or you can put a cookie sheet in the oven and dry them. Same for thyme, rosemary. (But I do bring the pot into the house for winter and can cut fresh. It sits in my living room.) Karen, dig up some chives, root and all, pot it up and bring it indoors. If they start to get lanky and floppy, shake the pot or put a fan on them to strenghten them. Now next season, you will have triple the amount in the ground to give to neighbors. In about 3 years, they will run and hide when you come by!

In addition to the above mentioned plants, I've also read that the BST will eat cow parsnips, Golden Alexander, and Queen Anne's lace. At my place the BST butterflies lay their eggs on the rue, fennel, and parsley. One year when I planted carrots, a couple laid on those, but it didn't seem to be their favorite plants. We didn't get many BSTs this year. They haven't laid on the parsley at all this year. It seems like here their favorite plant to lay on is the rue, but it makes me itchy so my daughter has been taking the BST eggs/cats and GST eggs/cats off of the rue and also picking it to feed them. It's the easiest thing to feed them and holds up the best out of the things that I have for them. The rue plants have more substantial leaves than the parsley or fennel and the rue lasts longer in water for me.