Looks like yo have no idea about growing plants from seeds! The seeds/plants you mention, do best when started indoors in small pots with sterile soilless mix. That means no dirt or potting soil. The use of a soilless mix is things like shreaded coconut and peatmoss which are great for starting seeds. Because you don't want young tender plants to die from bugs or diseases, thats the reason for sterile seed starting mixes. Thinning refers to removing smaller seedlings nearby others that are growing better and bigger seedlings. For instance, if you were to plant a very tiny seed like a Portulaca, which is smaller than a grain of salt, its very hard to plant just one seed in one place. Hence, because the Portulaca seed is very tiny (fine), they do best if just dropped onto the surface of the seed starting medium (the sterile soilless mix). Some larger seeds are actually casings or tiny fruits where inside there may be more than one actaul seed, like in the case of cilantro and even beets. Becuause you will see several seedlings emerge, you would have to remove some to 'thin' out the plants, so they are not crowded. Allowing plants to crowd will reduce the sizes of the seelings and if planted outdoors, you will have difficulty seperating any seedlings that are clumped together. Some plants like to have a lot of space between each, while some like closer spacng. Make a row 1/4 inch deep, and make another row next to it spaced 1 inch away, also 1/4 inch deep. This method is obviously for planting seeds outdoors directly in soil, and is something used for small sized herbs or flowers. Most every seed packet has some planting info in it, regarding their needs as to sun, fertilizer, watering, plant spacing, and seed depth. No two seed types are the same in most cases. Aslo some seeds germinate (sprout) in darkness, while others like bright light to sprout. Some sprout in cool areas below 65 degrees, while others sprout better in warmer areas above 75 degrees. Transplanting is the method used to get plants a head start in very early spring indoors, and then give them a few days outside in the sun to get used to the outdoors. The plants are started indoors in small pots, and then are 'hardened off' by exposing them to the outside for about a week. Then, you sinply dig holes in your garden where you want these plants to grow, and then remove the plants from the small plastic pots they were started in, and plant them in the holes you just dug. Thats what transplanting means. Bay, is a tree, and will probably not grow well in your climate. Seed slzes vary greatly, compare small basil seed to a carrot seed, which is smaller, and a pumkin or suquash seed as being big. The bigger the seed, the deeper the seed should be planted. Some plants/seeds do not take to starting in small pots and moving them outside to transplant into a garden, so they usually say to direct sow these. I cannot elaborate any further, whithout going into very fine detail and describe each and every plant you want to grow. In most areas of teh world there are libraries as well as thousands of books on seed starting, stransplanting and growing all kinds of plants. Suggest that you head to your local library t o learn more about some of the very simple terms mentioned here. If your unsure abot seeds, your better off buying plants athat have already been started in a professional greenhouse, so you only need to dig holes in the soil, and plant these (transplant) into your garden. Keep in mind a 5 inch tall plant, may grow to well over 3-4 foot tall, as in the case of things like tomatoes. If these are planted close together, the tomatoes will be small and will be in shrt supply. Richters can only give simple generic instructions on every thing they sell, as the individula instructions for every single seed type sold, could fill volumes, and overwhelm most people.

I second Ksroger's advice about buying seedlings (baby plants) if you are such a beginner at gardening. The advice about spacing rows is not usually applicable to the ordinary person who wants one or two plants of something. When you grow from seed, you'll get a lot more than that! Too many for most kitchen-gardeners.

If you DO want that many plants, there's an easy way of planting very tiny seeds. Put some fine river-sand into a jar. Poke a largish holesin the lid of the jar (just large enough so that the sand will flow smoothly through them). Put the seeds into the jar, give it a shake to distribute the seeds into the sand, and slowly pour the sand in a thin layer along the row you have prepared. Water gently but thoroughly. This helps to space out the seeds, and reduces the need for thinning out later. Thinning out is simply removing excess plants to allow more space between them so that they don't crowd each other out.

Transplanting is simply moving a plant from one place to another, usually from a pot into a larger pot or into a garden space. When transplanting, you need to be careful not to disturb or damage the baby roots too much, so you use a small garden fork or tiny spade to lift the whole plant, intact, out of its original growing medium (soil, potting mix) and then place it into a hole you've already prepared which is twice the size of the hole you've just made. You should never bury the plant any deeper than it already was. If necessary, fill in the new hole until the depth is the same - there's be a line on the stem, below which is the dirty bit - keep that the same.

Fine seeds? If they can't easily be picked up between thumb and finger, it's a fine seed! Can't be more specific than that. Seeds can be very tiny indeed. As a general rule of thumb (brown or green!), the smaller the seed, the more shallow it should be planted. In some cases, you just sprinkle the seed over the top of the growing medium, and press gently down with the palm of your hand - just enough to create contact with the soil.

You need to do a lot of homework to find out which seeds need light, and which need dark, to germinate. Each plant has its own requirements.

Your local nursery (where you'll buy your seedlings, since you've decided against sowing your own!) will be able to advise you and perhaps demonstrate for you. I suggest you join a local gardening club, where you'll learn enough to satisfy the most avid beginner.

Go to your local library and browse through the gardening books there. Take a look at Gardening for Dummies - which can be purchased by ebay or Amazon quite cheaply. Browse through the posts here in this forum and learn from your reading. TAKE NOTES as you read!!

As a beginner, I definitely would avoid trying bay from seed. It requires special treatment to get the best germination. Even then, germination is quite variable and can be very low. Do yourself another favor by not growing mint from seed. Mint is quite variable when grown from seed. Peppermint is sterile and does not make seed. What you find labeled as peppermint will turn out to be spearmint. The best smelling and flavorful mints are propagated from cuttings.

Read books, learn from experience and figure out what works best for you. If you read the posts on this and other forums, you will see that there is more that one way to do things. I'm sure that my methods will spark controversy and debate as they fly in the face of "conventional wisdom". I only mention them to illustrate there is no one right way to do things. As you read and learn more, you will find commonalities among seemlingly different methods.

For instance, I have found that nearly all herbs and veggies as well as many flowers (I grow over 200 completely different species of herbs, veggies and flowers, over 400 if you include cultivars and named varieties) will germinate in a dark room despite what the seed packet says.

My method (which may seem advanced or antiquated depending on your view):
I use a sterile, soil-less growing media (Pro-mix). For most seeds I use a standard open flat (10 x 20 inch tray). I fill the flat about 3/4 of the way. I create 12 evenly spaced rows per flat by pressing the corner of a square aluminum bar, cut the same length as the width of the tray, to create a "v" shaped depression across the width of the flat. The seeds are sown in the rows skipping a row between varieties. For things like nasturtiums, chives and leeks I sow directly into small pots.
I only barely cover large seeds, generally no deeper than the diameter of the seed. I water my newly sown seed with a very gentle squirt from a kitchen sink sprayer just enough to moisten the soil. The flats are covered with a clear plastic dome and stacked 3 or 4 trays high on a heat mat in a dark room. The heat mat is set at 75F for most seeds. Some seeds benefit from the bottom heat by giving better and/or quicker germination. Germination ranges from a few days to two weeks depending on type.
Once there is the first sign of green poking from the soil (if I miss a day then the seedlings will be really stretched), I remove the cover and put them under lights in my basement. The room is kept at approximately 65 to 75ºF and has a fan to keep the air circulating but not blowing directly on the seedlings. Because I have a lot of lights, the temperature often rises considerably from the heat they generate.

For my light benches, I use cool white fluorescent -60 watt tubes, 8 feet long-8 tubes (4 fixtures per shelf) spaced 3 inches apart-on for 14 hours/day. The bottom of the bulbs are about 6 inches above the shelf which puts them about 3 to 4 inches above the top of the seedlings.
There are many on this forum that will say it can't be done this way, that the light is not good enough to grow quality seedlings and that you have to use special "grow lights". There are just as many on the "growing under lights forum" that swear by cool white fluorescent lights. I grow tens of thousands of seedlings every year like this with terrific results.

Hmmm, a big thanks to all of you. I def. need to read more on gardening. But at least now I know that Bay and Mint are cut out. I'll just buy the plants in April or May.

Don't give up on all seeds-- just try some simple ones to start while you learn about herbs. Nasturtiums are simple, and fun to grow. The seeds are large and can be planted out after the frost ends. Calendula is also very easy to grow and can be planted right in your soil.

I agree on the library-- check out books on herbs and learn about them:)

I agree with moonsanity..don't give up on seeds, just do a little bit of research and keep asking questions. After all my years of gardening I still enjoy computer searches on various seeds I have not tried before.. this year its petunias and geraniums..and I think it will be the last year for petunias too..lol.. they are such tiny, tiny, little, bitty plants when they emerge! very fragile.

If you are a new gardener and wish to try herb seeds, try annual types of plants first. They tend to be rather easy to start from seed. Some of these include the calendula and nasturiums already mentioned. Also dill, coriander/cilantro, basil, anise, chervil, etc.

Some perennial/biennial herbs like marshmallow, lemon balm, catnip, salad burnet, clary sage, feverfew, and sorrel are nearly foolproof to start from seed as well. Some catalogs (like Richters) note the ease of starting from seed and can help you to pick easy to start items.

FataMorgana

Start small. This will build up your confidence. Try your basics (basil, parsley, dill, fennel, thyme, some veggies). As you convidence builds so will you expertise. Heck, I was a novice. The first plant I ever grew was a marigold, and in 1989 I started my nursery and since then I have grown thousands and thousandes of plants. The secret of successful seeding is warmth/light/water from bottom/air circulation(Fan).