Rosemary tends to have poor germination, freeze unused seed between sowings to aid in germination. However, I have never had any germ rates over 40%. Some grower friends have suggested that if you alternated day night temps 70/55 F it would increase germ, I have not had any success with this though. As if to add insult to injury it grows nonuniformly from seed, lightly shearing the young plants can help to bush them out. All in all, take cuttings, I get 100% rooting, they are uniform and takes much less time. PS They need light to germ.

I have used and tuned lots of two cycles over the years. I get no lag when i accelerate from idle. Idle is slow enough to prevent chain rotation and still purr. problem is that even with new gas and vent lines I'm not getting consistent fuel flow apparently. I have ordered new check valves. That is the only part that I Have not checked. I even went so far as to remove the vent plug (porous metal filter on end of return air line) and that didn't change the problem. I suspect it is the check valve because when I open the fuel tank I find that the system doesn't cut off. In case anyone is going to say something about the exhaust, I have run this saw pretty cleanly so there is absolutely no carbon buildup on the muffler (BTW, it would take one heck of a lot of rich fuel operation to foul a significant percentage of the muffler screen - speaking of this as a likely problem is a real red herring).

Sage should do fine as long as you purchase the correct variety but as for mint you should be able to find a friend to donate a few shoots and Rosemary is best from a plant. I a few years you will have too much but should keep taking cutting for new starts in case your parent plant should suddenly die. They are easy to start cuttings in a pot kept in a light shaded area and the light soil should not dry out. This will change once the cutting takes off If you can find a friend who will give you cuttings that would be the cheapest way to go.

My light set-up is similar to those that others here have described except my shelves are white plastic. I have two shop lights hanging above each shelf, and each fixture holds 2 fluorescent bulbs. They are on chains with hooks so we can raise them and lower them as needed. This is important because plants growing too far from the lights stretch and get leggy. Leggy plants are weaker and harder to harden off to outdoor conditions than shorter, stockier plants. We put hooks in the ceiling above the uppermost shelf so we could hang two fixtures above the top shelf and raise seedlings there too. My shelves easily hold three flats per shelf but with creative placement and squeezing flats in tightly, I can get 4 flats per shelf for a total of 20 flats of seedlings on the shelves at one time. It is really easy to over-think this and to spend way too much money on some fancy and expensive lights that you don't need. That just isn't necessary. Simple shop lights with the cheapest bulbs you can buy have worked just as well for me as more expensive bulbs designed specifically for growing plants indoors under lights. I used those more expensive Grow Lights on one shelf one year and its plants didn't grow as well as the ones growing under cheaper shop light bulbs. All my light fixtures are plugged into power strips so they are easy to turn on and off. You can use a timer to turn them on and off if your schedule is erratic. I used to start seedlings in standard black flats, but several years ago I switched over to aluminum roasting pans....like turkey pans or lasagna pans. Since they are shiny metal, they reflect more light and heat onto the plants. I buy them in packages of anywhere from 12 to 20 at Sam's or CostCo. There really isn't a right or wrong way to set up your seed-starting shelf as long as you have it in an area that doesn't freeze, that has good air flow and that is easily accessible so you can pop in and check on the plants and pop back out again. You just have to figure out what works for you in whatever space you have available. If you have indoor dogs or cats who might enjoy sleeping on your seedlings, eating them, tearing them to shreds, etc., keep that in mind when you chose a place to put your shelf. My cats are totally banned from the room with the light shelf because they like to eat plants, but our large dogs (a Rottweiler mix and a Lab mix) sleep in the room with the light shelf and have for several years and they don't bother the plants at all. Be careful when putting it in a garage. Even if you think there are not any mice in your garage, you might find out you have them the hard way....when you walk into the garage one day and discover your plants have been used as Mice Chow. This is a fairly common issue for folks who start plants in a garage or some other sort of out-of-the-way area where humans spend little time in general. Starting seeds indoors is so very simple despite the fact that we humans sometimes over-think things and make it harder (and fancier and pricier) than it has to be. Just keep it simple and I think you'll be delighted with your set-up and your home-grown seedlings. Dawn