Basil has turned out to be one of the easier plants to start inside. I
don't even fool with starting it outdoors. First I mix a starting soil by
adding 30 percent sand and some extra perlite to a light potting soil. I
use 3 x 3 (9 cells per) starter trays set in a larger plastic tray with
ridges on the bottom so I can bottom water.

I fill the pots, leaving room for another 1/4 inch of mix. Add the seeds (2
per cell), top off with 1/4 inch mix, and then lightly compress. Bottom
water, and confirm that the soil at the top of the cells is good and damp.

I toss the whole thing on a seed starter heat mat and get great germination
in 72 hours - even though the seed pack states a 5 day germination period.
I often turn off the heat mat on day four, and follow up with a 4 tube
flourscent light placed as close as I can get it, timed for an 18 hour day.
From this point on, bottom water or spritz as needed. Thin as you wish.

Transplant 2 weeks after the frost date for your area - new basil plants
often don't like temps under 40 - 45 degrees F.

Probably not the only way to do it, so just my .02, but it works pretty
reliably for me.

Cya! Wacko!

"Darwin Vander Stelt" wrote in message
...
I have had problems getting Basil to start from seed in a raised bed
outdoors. I even covered the seed with a peat moss-soil-vermiculite
mixture
that wouldn't crust. I sprinkle it once or twice a day . .could it be
that
the new seedlings, which have very tiny leaf surfaces, are getting
destroyed
in the sprinkling? How do you do it?