Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008

I have 3 basil plants and one mint plant on my window sill.  They
needed to be moved to larger pots so I went to my parents house, dug
up some dirt from their back yard, filled 3 planters and put the dirt
next to my vibrant plants, ready to transfer once I had some time.
Well I never had the time and 2 days later there were ants moving
between the new dirt and my herbs.  I immediately got rid of the
backyard dirt, and had to throw away one of the basil plants.  The
ants are gone but now the leaves on my herbs have these tiny black
specks on them, the plants are wilting and the base of the stems have
brown spots.  Does anyone know what this is and how I can rectify the
situation?  Any help is appreciated.

rookie