seeds 40 seed tray under dome some sprouted

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Wildchicken

Hello everyone I have been lurking around for the past couple weeks and have found this community to be awesome and very informative. I looked around to see if my question had already been answered in another thread but that did not seem to be the case.
 
I have a tray of maybe 30-40 seeds under a dome and with a heat mat. Everything seems to be progressing well and today I noticed that some of the seeds have started poking out after about 4 days under the dome. The problem is(and obviously poor planning on my part), that not all of the seeds have germinated. The flat is such that I cannot just put individual sprouts under the light, its either the entire flat or nothing. Fearing damping off I put the entire flat without the dome under some T5 HO lights.
 
Should I have left everything under the dome until all the seeds sprouted or is it better to get the sprouted ones under lights as soon as possible at the expense of the others that have not?
 
Thank you
 
I hate those trays. I cut mine apart the one year i used one. Have used jiffy pucks in a different tray since. My opinion is they come out as soon as they break ground but i know others do it differently. You can transplant them out but it will be delicate work.
 
Sorry not much help here unless your willing to cut the cells apart.
 
:welcome:
 
They may be fine under the lights.  I would cut the heat mat off and watch the soil a little closer.  The lights will probably dry the soil out faster than when using a dome and the lights should keep the non-sprouted seeds warm enough to make them happy.
 
Thank you for the answers! After work I will take a look and see what I can do. Putting some plastic wrap on the non germinated ones seems like a great idea, though I am guessing for me it will be a work in progress since the lights might cook the seeds if I am not too careful.  I am really excited to grow some peppers since it is my first time.
 
Wildchicken said:
 
Click to expand...
The lights won't "cook" the seeds. People germinate with 90F+ soil temps i think you will be just fine. 
 
I put all my plants under light once the first ones sprout (like you did) and they are doing well.
(see glog)
 
Leave the dome off, keep the sprouts/non-sprouted cells on the heat mat, keep the lights close to the new sprouts.  I would not transplant any seedlings until they have at least 2 true leaves.  My opinion only, and so far all are doing well.
 
Without the dome I have to water 2x a day, but love to see the wee ones pop their heads.
 
I wouldn't bother with saran wrap.  Too much work.  Haven't had any damping off - ever. 

What are you growing?  Sounds like you're off to a good start.
 
Reassuring to hear that my actions probably will not kill my plants....yet. I keep reading that its over attentiveness that kills more than the other reasons but it is hard not to tinker.
 
I am growing thus far:
 
Bhut Jolokia
Jalapeno Traveler Strain
Joe's Long Cayenne
Habanero Red
Orange Thai
 
From what I remember from this morning that at least one or two from each type was coming up except for the Bhut Jolokia. 4 days seemed absurdly early for any pepper so I am not supprised that one is not up yet.
 
One thing to help prevent dampen offs is air circulation.  You could raise the front of the dome up to help let some air in and still maintain some humidity.  
 
My watering technique on my germ tables is to mist the trays.  Plants that are up I just don't mist as much.  I have left plants under the dome until they have hit trues before without having a dampen off issue.
 
Good luck.
 
I'm struggling with the same issues, having started everything in trays too. All of my trays have been without the dome for about a week, and some that hadn't sprouted are coming up now. I started a several more this weekend, but put them in 3oz dixie cups, with drain holes. I packed them together in a bottom tray and covered with plastic wrap. They are on a heat mat, while the others are under lights with no mat.
 
Another issue I am noticing is that under the t5 lights the dirt dries out crazy fast. Probably since the tray is only maybe 3 inches of dirt if that.
 
T5s are powerful. A lot more so than T8s. I have found my sprouts will turn purple and slow if kept any closer than about a foot from their canopy.

Mist your sprouts more if they're drying out too quickly.


(My t5 is 4bulb x 4ft)
 
That makes sense, I think I will move mine up. Under the light it is about 80+ degrees. I have been trying to mist them a bit more in the morning so they are not dry when I come home from work.
 
i would get a little thermometer and place it next to your plants so you will have a idea just how hot it is under the lights and as stated make sure that you keep the soil moist so that the other seeds will come up, I would mist the plants with a peroxide water mix as it will help stop the damp off,  also a fan will help stop the damp off too. be careful how close you have the T5 lights to your seedlings as they can burn the tops right off your seedlings, if the soil keeps drying out too fast and you are still using the heat mats I would pull them off of them, as the lights will give them plenty of heat. If you have any problems with the seedcoat sticking to the to of the seedlings mist them real good so that the seedcoat will go ahead and split off else wise you will have to cut it off by hand.
 
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