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What herbs should be started from seed?

I live in central Florida and looking for some tips on. Basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, parsley, thyme,chives, and lemon balm.Which should I buy or sow from seed? any special attention? Last yea I didn't do so hot. I cook a lot with herbs and would like to have a great herb garden. All the herbs will be in pots..

Public Comments

1. You will find it easier to buy the smaller plants and grow them out in your pots and be happier w/the results. You'll get lots of basil so make pesto and freeze it.
2. basil grows great from seed; sow very shallow almost on surface, do not allow to dry out. the small black seeds turn gray and swell as soon as they are wet; if that gray gelatinous substance drys your seeds are toast, moist not wet! don't let your basil bloom, it gets bitter. i pinch the buds and use them as you would the leaves in my sauces. parsley is hard to start from seed, try soaking the seed in warm water over night, plant seed on good friday, old wives tale; but the moon is right. not much experience with chives, the rest i buy plants, they are very slow from seed and unless you want 1,000s of plants it pays to just buy the plants.
3. Parsley is real easy to start from seed. Chives too. Chives also propagate easily from divisions. I've also grown thyme from seed but I found that it didn't germinate nearly as well as parsley. But basil can be tricky because the seeds won't sprout if they dry out once they're planted. Until you have more gardening experience you may want to buy small basil plants. Good idea to grow the lemon balm in a pot. It's in the mint family and mints can spread and take over the entire garden. I've not grown lemon balm, but my experience with other mints would indicate that it can also be easily grown from seed. Rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano are herbs I prefer to buy as small plants. Rosemary can be a little tricky - it doesn't like to be overwatered. Make sure you use a well-draining potting soil. In general, herbs don't need a lot of special care. Matter of fact, many herbs do better if you sort of ignore them.
4. I find them all easy to start from seed every year with the exception of my favorite and not on your list, French Tarragon - yum. Its a perennial here in zone 4 but you can't start it from seed, only cuttings. It doesn't do well in pots however, I've even tried it under HID lighting. RScott