Doing battle with my sprouts when we should be getting along....

Ok, I know that starting seeds in the middle of winter can be challenging, but this is becoming frustrating. I have been sprouting seeds with the wet paper towel/baggie method anf I have been getting some good results, long white root starters poking out and all that. I have been putting them in my peat pots with the white root thingy pointing down and covering with a little soil, like at normal seed length. I then put the pots under a bank of daylight 23w cfls. I have the cfl's about 6" from the tops of the pots and have been trying to keep the soil moist (not soaked) by watering them about twice a day, or whenever I notice the top soil drying out. my thermometer/hygrometer says that at the topsoil level the temp is about 84* and an RH of around 35%. However, the seeds seem reluctant to continue germination. I have had 12 seeds planted this way and only two are poking green up. It has been about 4-5 days since sticking them in the dirt. What would all you experienced growers here in RIU advise me to do? Am I being too impatient or is there something about my setup that is stalling the process? I appreciate your wisdom in advance.

might want to try a heat pad under them....worked for my clones

I have same problem . I brought in heat to bring the tems up , and the humidity went way down . I have a seperate cabinet for germinating in and starting my babies off which helps with the temps but for some reason the rate of successful germination has been slower , and then they dont all grow . I had nearly 100% success rate before now its like 30-40% . I have a heat pad but am affraid to use it cause people say you can cook them with it .

Pat the stoner said:

I have same problem . I brought in heat to bring the tems up , and the humidity went way down . I have a seperate cabinet for germinating in and starting my babies off which helps with the temps but for some reason the rate of successful germination has been slower , and then they dont all grow . I had nearly 100% success rate before now its like 30-40% . I have a heat pad but am affraid to use it cause people say you can cook them with it .

Click to expand...

Best thing to do is wait for spring imho.. Ive wasted a couple feminised autoflower seeds trying to do it now, but i got 1 to grow, and 1 big bud I cant wait til spring tho.

try and raise the humidity, wet towels or bowls of water

same here. i noticed the soil in mine was a lil chilly, warmth helps.

At 84 degrees the temp seems fine. Watering twice a day may be to much, these plants don't take over watering to well. Something else I'm wondering is what soil your using? If your soil has to much food in it that could be killing them before they have a chance.

higher temperature and higher humidity and when you plant it plant the main tap root up, this way it bends and starts growing down according to gravity as it should. this makes it easier for the tiny seed to bend straight up rather then having to stretch so much at first. gives more growth to the actual tap root which is what you want at the very start.

i would probably take the lights off it for now cfls don't give out much heat and it doesnt help with your humidity.

don't water so much stick your finger in it about 2 inches deep and see if its moist down there still

OutlawR6 said:

At 84 degrees the temp seems fine. Watering twice a day may be to much, these plants don't take over watering to well. Something else I'm wondering is what soil your using? If your soil has to much food in it that could be killing them before they have a chance.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, Outlaw. I am using an organic seed starting mixture (John Dromgool's ORganic Seed Starter Mix), that all the hippie heads at the local organic gardening store all swear by. I think that I have not been watering them enough, I did a finger check on the soil in one of the pots today and it was pretty darn dry, so I am upping the watering amount and will continue to monitor progress. I have three little green shoots so far, hoping for a lot more!

usually the cfls dry my dirt out really fast (I plant my seeds in a solo cup) I notice the dirt dries out fairly quickly and I end up watering more often in the beginning. I always wait till the dirt is dry before I water. I know thats not the answer youre looking for. sorry.