I knwvm jumping into this discussion late but when I saw the basil comments I had to share. I'm a basil nut --- grow four - five different kinds each year from seed right along with tomatoes. Still have pesto in the freezer.
Basil seeds that are 1 to 3 years old will sprout in about 5 days indoors . It's the first plant that comes up when I grow seeds indoors. However, since basil seeds need a lot of moisture I never ever direct seed outdoors. It would mean watering two or three times a day. I have had a few volunteers self seed in pots occasionally so cold doesn't kill the seeds and I could see the potential of wintersow ing because that would keep the seeds moist. Anyways basil is incredibly easy to grow from seed if started indoors. So save your money and do a packet of seeds. Also the lettuce leaf basil, lime basil, cinnamon basil etc are hard to find in garden centers but easy to find seeds mail order or in seed swap. Just call me basil aficionado. Or basil freak.
