What Am I Doing Wrong?

Question

Hey so I’m a noob when it comes to gardening , I just started this fall and have enjoyed it very much so and it was going super well too but lately my plants are having hard time.
My rosemary, I bought it from Walmart and have had it for a few months and everything was going fine but with time the bottom of the rosemary starting wilting leaving just the top of it healthy; recently I had to buy more because I was gonna make some rosemary oil, I bought two more and repotted them along with my first rosemary into a bigger pot. My first rosemary has being going strong although only the top part , the other two however keep dying and I’ve had to replace them but the same keeps happening. What can I do? I recently put her in a heating mat so it stays warm but the two still died. What can I do?

I also have a mint, I had its day when it would get droopy but it would always pop back up but a week ago it got droopy and never recovered, it just started wilting. I bought a new one because I want to make oil and am going to repot it together with the old one but what can I do to make the one pop up again? I also have them on the heating mat.

I have some echinacea seedlings that keep getting droopy and I don’t know what to do to keep them alive. I don’t have them on the heating mat but I don’t have them in a cold place either.

I have some thyme and catnip that won’t germinate.
The thyme I have on the heating mat and the catnip I have near the window where it is colder.

My chamomile seedlings recently died, I had them the same as echinacea, in a neutral place. A few have sprouted again but what can I do from preventing them from dying again?

I had 5 lemon balm seedlings, 2 of them suddenly died and I don’t want the remaining 3 to have the same fate. I have them on a neutral temperature.

I also have a spinach which I have next to the window where the cold is, it is doing wonderfully any tips?
And lastly I also have some cayenne pepper which have just started germinating any tips?

I’m sorry I asked so much questions, but I love these plants so much and want to give them the best of the best so I’m trying to find out what I’m doing wrong so I can fix it.

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Answer 1

Seedlings can be problematic because of damping off, a fungal infection. I wonder if that is going on. Here is more info:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/what-is-damping-off.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/seedlings-after-germination.htm

Here is an entire page of links to articles about growing herbs, which will help with your rosemary, mint, echinacea, thyme, chamomile, lemon balm and catnip. You may also want to search our site for the individual plants for more specific growing requirements.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/search?q=grow%20herbs

As to the spinach and cayenne, I'm putting a link here that explains how to grow vegetables in your basement. That may not be exactly what you're doing, but these veggies are commonly grown in outdoor gardens or, if indoors, in a space where there is plenty of room. I hope this will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/containers/growing-vegetables-in-basement.htm