seeds Germination Dome

Helldozer

Helldozer

Hey all. It seems every year (all 3 years) I have issues with my germination dome, or how I handle it. So, most of what I read, says to take the dome off once any seedling hook appears. Then leave it off. If I do that, the rest of the seeds dry out, or because they dry too easily, I end up watering them too much. If I leave the dome on too long, the early seedlings rot at the root and die. Not all, just some. In the past, I've transplanted seedlings out from the dome. However, I think that transplanting the seedling too many times is not good. I'm trying to minimize my efforts and not over think this. However, I'm not having much luck, without losing some seeds or seedlings.

Would anyone be able to shed some light on this, please?
 
 
The medium I'm using this year is 2 parts Coco, 1 part worm castings, and one part perlite. First years using coco,and man that stuff seems to dry out fast.
 
Thanks!
 
I realized this time that my dome has an adjustable vent on each side and on the top. So when the first hook showed I opened the vents wide open and stuck a 6 inch fan close to one of em and had no problems. I think I got it for a few bucks off ebay from hydrofarm
 
The advice everyone has given is sound.  I have these large domes with adjustable ventilation ports on the top... so i find that I can leave my seedlings in thee dome for a little longer than others ( I wait until most of them come up to transplant them all at once).  But technically the mothod the previous posts have offered are slightly better.  Its just that you will be doing the process of transplanting more often instead of one giant operation like I am presently working on.
 
Try your $.99 store for 12 cell mini greenhouse OR 9 cell inserts.
 
They allow moving stuff around to where they need to be.
You only have to deal with 12 cells or 9 inserts at a time - more easy to deal with.
 

 
inserts
 

 
They fit 72 or the 54 cell trays.
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Both allow for saving more sprouts by being able to treat 9 or 12 cells at a time.
 
I REALLY LIKE BOTH a LOT.
It also allows you to separate 9-12 cells that contain similar sprouting peppers - Annuums in a tray,Chinense etc.
 
Cutting up a 72 cell tray was bad news.It wasn't made to be cut up.
 
Heidi was helping me with making sure I got the pics right.
:)
 
As a side note,I also think going from the starter to the biggest sized pot you have room for is good.
The top mini was 3-4 seasons old - the clear top yellows.
What do you want for $1.09 ?
 
Use individual pots/plugs and remove each seedling as soon as it sprouts and get it under light. The ones that haven't sprouted still need that humidity and heat. If it's too late for that, then transplanting the seedlings is just fine as long as you are careful and they are going into the same growing medium. It's much better than leaving them in humidity and darkness.
 
PrimeTime said:
I use jiffy pucks in my dome. once an individual pops i take it out of the dome and it goes into a 3.5" square pot with potting mix under lights. Leave the rest covered in dome to pop.
Click to expand...
This is what I'm doing now as I have many more seeds to germinate and only so much room in my propagators. At first I was just starting them in the solo cups so I did not have to transplant for a while, and that was working good for me, but now that I find myself getting behind, I'm using the jiffy pucks for more room. That's 144 starters compared to the 70 I was doing at a time.
 
As soon as they pop they go in a solo cup with Fox Farms Warrior Lite and under the lights. The cool thing is I'm not wasting pre-labeled cups. The cups are not labeled until there is an actual live plant in them. But I do not use the lid or dome they come with, I just put the tray in a larger plastic container like a sweater box and keep it cracked open about a 1/2 inch at one side. This seems to keep the air circulating with out any moisture lost, and has helped to prevent fungus or mold. 
 
I leave mine on unless I see mold starting to grow or the seedlings show they don't like it. I've left the last dome on until my seedlings grew too high for the dome (not leggy--they were under light). When I have to take the dome off, I water the empty cells before they dry out. 
 
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