My favorite tip for basil works well for a lot of other seed-grown plants, too... Learned this from the late Tom DeBaggio... clump transplanting! Sow seed fairly thickly in rows in a shallow seed-starting flat. When they have 1-2 pairs of true leaves, break a row of seedlings away and then gently separate the row into little clumps by "massaging" the roots... don't prick out a bunch of seedlings and gather them into a clump, just break away a little clump with their roots all tangled together. Pot up the clump, planting them deeper than they were growing in the tray, up to their first set of true leaves. In effect, your clump is like a well branched tiny plant with a lot of nice roots, right from the start!
