Basil turning yellow and dying from bottom

[Celimanu]

Hi everyone. This is my second time trying to grow basil. I’m in Southern California.

My basil is on my balcony and gets about 5 hours of sunlight, temps from 60-80 F. All of plants started off lush and green the first month. Just one month or so in with about 6-8 leaves per plant, the lower leaves started turning yellow, then brown, and falling off. Then they all just withered away.

I watered every several days if the top of the soil was dry and had it in a container. Do you think it was root rot? Im having so much trouble growing basil.

Attached a photo before it went bad to see my set up. (I dont have one of them dying)
Thanks in advance!

 

[Chuck]

I cannot tell from the pictures how deep the soil is as it needs a minimum of 6 inches. It also appears that the plants are suffering from nutrient deficiencies. What are you feeding them and how often?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Yes, basil likes it wet, and it is easy to wash the nutrients out. They say water it in the morning rather than the evening too.