From here, it sounds possibly like overwatering. Overwatering can cause basil to wilt, (but I'm not sure what the "brown leaves at the base" you refer to are about) - which causes gardeners to think the plant needs more water... was the soil sufficiently dry on the same day before watering a second time that day? It needs to be dry down to 3/4" in a 10" or larger pot, about the same if in soil. What it needs is to dry out on soil surface between waterings, and the only way to tell is to insert you finger in the soil and feel for moisture.. . usually once it wilts from overwatering, it has succumbed to water molds, and it's usually a goner, I'm afraid. I've had to water a 2nd time in same day, but only in small nursery sized pots, 4", before I've had time to plant them. Once they are planted, it isn't very likely to have to water them again for at least 4-7 days. Is it possible you don't have the plants in an appropriate size pot? They won't do well unless the pot is the right size for the roots, not too big, not too small - or you won't be able to get the watering right. (This is true of all plants ; container culture has it's own set of 'rules' to learn!) I hope this gives you some ideas for troubleshooting....

IT IS MORE THAN "a" PLANT. There are about half a dozen plants in there. It is ok to have two of them together but not 6 or 7 of them like that. I would try just pull out the 3 small ones on the RIGHT/FRONT. Then divide the rest into TWO groups. Then plant them either in separate pots. Or you have big pot , space them abot 10 inches. Plant them slightly deeper, add little bit more potting soil around the stems and gently pack it .... FERTILIZE ! Those SWEET BASILS can get quite large, if well taken care of and planted in larger pots. What you see now are just seedlings.

curdoroy, I concur that it might be an overwatering or moisture problem. I wouldn't be concerned about losing the occasional bottom leaf, but if you say that the spots are appearing on leaves higher up, then you might have a problem. I think your plant would be happier outside. Though it gets plenty of sun in your south-facing window, it would benefit from the fresh air outdoors. The gentle winds and breezes would also strengthen the plant. What I would do is move it to a shaded porch for two or three days and then move it out into the sun gradually. Snip off the top two leaves to encourage bushiness. Also, fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer such as 30-0-0 weekly at the recommended dosage. If you prefer to have an indoor plant, take a cutting of about 1/3 off the top which you can root in a glass of water and then replant in a pot and grow in your window. This does not guarantee that the black spot problem will not reoccur. Newtoherbs, You can plant the oregano and thyme in the ground since they are perennials and will come back next year. The basil is an annual. You can also plant it in the ground or keep it in a pot. If you collect the seeds, you can sow them next year.

I wouldn't worry about putting insulated pots over in-ground bushes for the cold. Blueray is hardy to zone 4b and Legacy is zone 5. I rarely have much winter dieback from my blueberry bushes, maybe a small tip here or there amongst all of them, but not enough to harm them. For the rabbits and deer, though, yes, a pot can be helpful in the winter to protect the tender tidbits, but I prefer a bunny wire cage year round for tiny, tender plants when critters are in play. (My poor Bluegold gotten munched almost to the ground the fall after it was planted. It was a set back, but it's recovered and is almost big enough to fruit now.) The pictures in the original post look normal for new plants adjusting to their environment, particularly if they were mail order, as they had to endure shipping as well as climate and soil changes. Not getting bigger in the first few months is also normal. (I prefer to pick up my plants at local nurseries; you can get a bigger plant that's used to your climate for the same price as the mail order plants.) It sounds like you've moved them to a container now, since you mention bringing them in? I find containers more difficult for blueberries, particularly overwintering. I had a TopHat die wintering in our screened-in porch; we're not sure if the pot was too wet over winter, got too cold, or something else - it wasn't worth figuring it out, we just pulled it and put something else in the pot (probably a tomato). I now have two Sunshine Blues in pots that I picked up on clearance last year. They overwintered in the basement (around 50°F). (Hardy to zone 5 but that's risky for a container in zone 6, and they have shorter chill requirements than northern highbush, so wonky weather can bring them out of dormancy early.) They need very little water during their dormant months. I think they only got a tiny bit of water a couple times all winter in teeny tiny pots (I don't recommend that part.) They looked terrible when they went into the basement; they looked okay when they came out of dormancy, and they are lovely small plants now ... not big, but healthy. They are in potting soil since they are in containers. If you've transplanted yours into containers, they should be in potting soil, not top soil. Potting soil is usually around a 6-6.5 in pH (most will say). Mine claimed a target pH of 6.2 and I made no amendments for the Sunshine Blues. (My other bushes are all in-ground northern highbush.) When you transplanted it into the pot, that is a setback to the plant's growth. (You started over basically.) If you include new pictures we can give better advice based on the current state of the plants.