I will start basil off this week in small pots on a sunny windowsill - their roots hate being disturbed so I use 3 " pots instead of seed trays. Ditto for parsley. I try and keep my parsley in cooler place indoors than basil - I've noticed in the past that otherwise the seedlings get too leggy. As for mint, would suggest you start from a root cutting or by using a small plant to get you going - I tried mint one year from seed but never again - it took far too long, but more importantly, the seed wasn't true to species. One tip on basil - the warmer, the better! I gave both my coldframe and mini-greenhouses last year over to the production of basil - the extra warmth and control over excessive rainfall, etc... made them absolutely take off - consuquenlty, I made around 80 jars of pesto genovese (which we're still happily eating!) The intensity of flavour from the leaves was both devine and unprecedented i.e., my outdoor crops were never quite as pungent...
