Herbs don't really need much fertilizer, maybe once a month, water regularly using the finger test, stick your finger in, if it's dry, water.

Use a tray under the pot of course

I don't container garden but I never-ever fertilize herbs. I will use compost in vegetable garden beds where I plant stuff like basil but still, ZERO fertilizers. Most herbs don't require that much fussing or rich soil.

FataMorgana

I have to grow my basil in pots in my greenhouse because outdoors it is just not hot enough long enough. I use a proprietory container compost and I don't fertilise at all. I don't get huge basil bushes but it's plenty for me. I water when it droops.

I typically just fill a pot with potting soil & sprinkle the seeds into the pot, then lightly dust the seeds with soil. I water a little the day after putting the seeds in the pot, then water subsequently only if it's dry. It pretty much takes care of itself. Grows very rapidly for me, too. I do about 30 to 50 plants every season because I use basil in almost everything.

I grow basil in containers. I use a potting mix consisting of pine bark fines, peat moss, vermiculite and perlite (Al's Mix). I have both self watering containers in our fenced vegetable garden, and a regular container of basil on our patio. In my zone, if I do not water the standard container every day, the basil will die. I also recharge the water reservoir in the self watering containers daily. The basil in those containers pull quite a bit of water. All are in full sun. Because I water the container on the patio to the point of run off daily, I find it necessary to fertilize regularly. Typically I add slow release fertilizer at planting, and then once every two weeks I water with liquid fertilizer. The self watering containers have fertilizer applied at planting. They are home made Earth Box type containers. In both cases, the potting mix drains freely so the plants are not standing in water. We have been in 90+ degree weather since mid May. My methods of growing basil may not work in other zones, but they work really well here. Perhaps you should check the label on the Miracle grow you are using. Some of them include fertilizer, and I believe in that case, you may not need to add fertilizer for up to a couple of months.

Up here in Boise we've had horrible weather swings. I thought I lost all my basil due to some really cold nights when the basil was outside. All of it's looking pretty rough, but I've been babying them, trying to keep them alive.

I've noticed now they all have new growth low on the main stem.. I'd like to cut back all the way to the new leaves so that the plant can put all of it's energy into the new growth. Is it alright to cut back that aggressively? I would leave only the new baby buds..

This is the first year I have grown mine in pots and they are growing like weeds! I used regular MG potting soil and once they were planted I put those MG pellets on top. I don't know if the MG did it or what the success is but they are awesome this year. I did find though that I was not so much over-watering but I would hose them and the plants couldn't take the pressure of the hose, I also wondered if the black came from getting the leaves too wet. I now try to just wet the soil instead and have had no problems. Not sure if I'm right but it's working for me :)