Amber, check with your local ag agent, or one of the well respected citrus tree growers/nurseries in your area, Maybe not the person you bought the trees from, as their knowledge sounds a little wanting. New citrus don't need a lot of fertilizer the first year, but after that year, you should start fertilizing in the early spring (after any chance of frosty temps have passed), then 4 applications during your growing season, which would be roughly February through Sept/early Oct. The spots - not sure, can't really see them up closely enough. Doesn't look like an insect. Looks more fungal in nature to me, which I find odd since you're in such a dry area of the country. The damage to the leaves in the first photo could be from snails, earwigs or other leaf-eating bugs. I try not to treat (except for snails, which I use an iron phosphate snail bait versus a metaldehyde snail bait, as metaldehyde is very poisonous to dogs, and dogs are attracted to it. No so for iron phosphate snail bait.) You can also use Sluggo Plus, which is iron phosphate and spinosad, which will kill sails, slugs and earwigs. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: UC IPM - Managing Pests in the Garden: Citrus

I am going to respectfully disagree with Turtle on many points and hope I don't confuse you. I admire the enthusiasm, and wish you good luck with growing and learning. First, correct on the temp for basil, but peppers prefer a higher temp for germination. Outside at this time of year in Boston would not qualify for either most likely. Both can be started from seed indoors, but without some grow lights, you're just not going to have good success and end up with very leggy plants. However, once it warms up--past frost free dates, and when the night time temps will stay above 50, you should be able to direct seed basil in your window box. I would recommend that it is the only one you plant there, unless you let us know dimensions and if big enough, you may be able to do the pepper too. Basil seeds are small--you won't need many in a spot, but you'll surely have more than one. Without knowing the dimensions of your box, it's hard to help with spacing. Second, while it is theoretically true that you can have multiple herbs in one pot (and you see them sold that way all the time), in reality, most just don't mix. You bought three very different preference herbs. Basil and mint both like moist, but well draining. But, as Bardamu said--mint just doesn't play well with others and will rapidly crowd out other herbs. Also, most mints don't reproduce by seed, but by cuttings to retain the flavor characteristics of the mother plant. What type of mint seed did you buy? Thyme is not difficult to grow from seed if you have the right conditions. It is prone to dying from "damping off"--a fungal disease common to seed starting. Also, it is slower to grow, so if you're looking for harvestability this summer, you're better off starting with a transplant. It is also perennial, unlike basil--the leaves will die down in your winter, but it would come back. It likes it's soil to be very well draining--I add a bonsai or succulent soil in with my potting soil to help prevent root rot. Because it wants to dry out more and will not use as much water, it's a bad candidate for combining with basil or mint. I would put it in it's own pot. Also, it is better to water the potting mix first, or even better--find a bucket or empty tote to mix the soil with water prior to putting in the box. Some mixes straight out of the bag tend to be hydrophobic--they'll repel water. You can end up with the entire center of the box completely dry, even if water is running out the bottom. Then, seeds won't germinate due to no water. Now, if the mix is damp to start with out of the bag, this will likely not be a problem, but I find that it's better to wet first. It also helps with not as much compaction or sinking. You also want to make sure you get a soil-less potting mix and not garden soil. If we know what you'll put in the box, we can help with watering tips then. Again, the size of the box and location it's going will also help--south facing, etc. Shade from trees or buildings?

Seeds are downright hard to start in the summer. I lost all 7 of my seed grown meiwa kumquat trees. Damp off killed 6 and the 7th looks just like yours a week ago. 6 months is a short period of time for seeds to tree activity. Plant more seed and start fresh. The new seeds will sprout and shoot right past your currant tree. Soil is why to heavy. Start out with mixing 3 parts of coarse sand to your soil. I get my sand from my street's gutter and i sift out the fine stuff. A spaghetti colander works great. Its all free. My cup has many 1/8 inch holes punched through the bottom and sides. I also fill the cup to the brim so that the soil surface dries quickly and the humidity is not sitting in the cup to damp-off rot my young trees. Keep in mind that an orange tree from seed will need to grow at least 12 tall to acquire the leaf node count needed for maturity.

I'm having a terrible time this year too. I use petroleum jelly at night with some success, but the real issue for me is that while working around the house during the day, I wash my hands a lot and it's not appropriate to reapply lotion many times, so they just end up dried out. The best solution I have at the moment is moisturizing soap wherever I regularly wash hands. For a while I was using Aveeno body wash (transferred into a decorative pump), but then developed a sensitivity to it. I usually use good old Palmolive since it's less drying and no reactions, but lately I've resorted to glycerine bar soap- that the best solution I've found over the years as it's like putting a little moisturizer on your hands each time you wash them.