Starting Seedlings?

[NateTheBookie]

Hey all,
I'm a bit behind on my crop, seeing as I didn't even start the seedlings until last week (I had a busy holiday season and forgot to order seeds!), but I'm counting on the ultra-long summer here in Texas to give me enough time to harvest anyways. My question is this though, I started the seedlings about a week ago, and I haven't seen any change, I realize that's not much time, but surely something should have changed (I can still see the individual seeds if I look hard, and not one of them has sprouted anything?) I have the plants in my garage under a grow light (set on a Timer for 13-hour days) in peat cups with good starter soil mixture under them and the seeds sprinkled on the surface, as I've heard you're supposed to do, any ideas/suggestions??? How long did your seedlings take to start?

[Dane C]

How damp is the soil? Also, how much heat does the lamp produce? Here in So. Cal. I moderately pressed down the soil, wet the soil and then laid the seeds on top (this was last year) and put the trays, with a clear plastic cover, out in the sun daily and most of the plants sprouted in about 10 days.

[NateTheBookie]

The soil is pretty moist, I used peat cups in a tray, with their bases in a pool of water, so they could wick it up as needed. I pressed the soil slightly and then put the seeds on top. The lamp itself gives off practically no heat (it's fluorescent), is that needed?

[Frank]

The lamp itself gives off practically no heat (it's fluorescent), is that needed?

It depends how warm/cool it is in your garage. Covering the trays/pots with plastic creates a mini hothouse keeping warmth in the soil and a humid environment, which is what you want.

[KurtHuhn]

I also recall reading somewhere that tobacco seeds need a warm environment to sprout - the soil has to reach a certain temp before they even think about growing. I can't recall what that temp was, however.

[Smitty]

If you are leaving the lamp on all the time then that might cause a problem with them germenating. They need to be kept warm and dark until they sprout. That should help them out. check on them in a day or two and if they look better then go back to using the light. The florescent light really doesn't give the plants the right UV light for good growth. If you can set them close to a window it will help them along.

[NateTheBookie]

Thanks all, I think it was the warmth issue, we had a heat wave last week, so I moved them out to the 80+ degree shed, and they've sprouted right up. A couple of varieties are a little slower, but the Tenessee Red leaf and Orinoco are doing quite well.