Is it worth treating non-germinating seeds, or should I just toss them? Watering new seeds?

Question

I have some seeds of Sage and Parsley in two separate pots. I tried to plant them as the seed bag recommended, but nothing has come out of the dirt. In some other pots, I have Basil, Dill, Cilantro, and Oregano, all of which have come up and are about 2-3 inches tall at this point. I would estimate it's been 25-30 days since I planted them (all of them, at the same time).

I think the time has come to give up on the Sage and Parsley, but is there anything I can do for it? Should I pick the seeds out of the dirt and soak them in water or something?

Should I have been watering dirt with seeds in it? I gave all my seeds the same process. First, I soak the dirt that will go in the pot overnight so it's very saturated. The next morning I put the dirt in the pots and let it drip through the bottom hole. A few hours after that I sowed the seeds to a depth recommended by the particular seed bag. A few of the seeds were soaked in a cup of water beforehand, as recommended by the bag. After I did that, I covered the pots with plastic wrap, put them in the window, and left them alone until I saw shoots come up, then I removed the plastic wrap. This worked fine for most of my plants but for Sage and Parsley, nothing happened after a week or so, so I dripped a bit more water on to the top. Was that a bad idea? The top of the soil felt dry but I'm a bit of an amateur so I'm not sure...

Edit: I forgot to mention, my Rosemary (treated similarly) has also not sprouted yet.

Answer 1

Parsley can be very slow to germinate - better results are achieved by soaking the seeds in warm water for 12 hours or so before sowing, but its worth continuing to water - they can take up to 2 months before starting to grow.

Sage takes about 3 weeks usually, but quite honestly, you won't have anything useable off the sage plant for at least 2 years, they take a while to get to a useful size, so it's usually easier to propagate vegetatively from an existing plant or just buy a small plant. Once they've got going, they're a woody shrub, but your winters might be too cold for it, depending where you are.