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I'm starting seeds for basil, oregano and thyme tonight, in Jiffy peat pots. Can someone tell me what they like? Wet; not too wet; bottom heat; no bottom heat; under a dome; no dome; etc. Didn't have much luck w/ my rosemary seeds (had them too wet, apparently) so I'd like to avoid mistakes w/ these. Thanks!

Bottom heat, staying moist but not wet. If you use the dome, take it off as soon as the (first) seeds germinate. All these herbs are mediterranean plants, they don't like their soil to rich or wet, but they like lots of warmth and light.

Sounds like 2 sets of Christmas lights might be in order for bottom heat w/ these. Only used 1 set for my lettuce, spinach, peppers, parsley and rosemary; everything did OK except for the rosemary, which I left too wet.

I can move them directly under the lights when I see the first hint of something popping up then? [b]YES RBG[/b]

I just started growing basil and oregano myself. although I am not using pots, I have a small bed for them. I am planting the herbs in my small veg. garden, I don't think that they will harm the other plants

I'm growing all three of these for the first time.. I have the thyme and oregano in pots and the basil is in the vegetable bed with the tomatoes/carrots/onions. basil is supposed to work well with all these plants, none of them have germinated yet so I think I may get some info out of this topic as well

[quote="shaefins"]Sounds like 2 sets of Christmas lights might be in order for bottom heat w/ these.

How do you set that up? Do you cover the lights with a towel or something and the put the plants on top. I hadn't thought of Christmas lights, but have tons around.

There can be controversy over using holiday lights for this purpose - so use at your own risk, please!

I have outdoor lights in a rectangular metal cake pan. I have a metal cookie sheet over that pan, and the tray my seedlings are in goes right on the cookie sheet. Works well for me! And, yes, they're plugged into a GFI outlet and well protected from water.