Beginner Gardening: Am I Overwatering My Seeds?, 5 by DeadNotSleeping

DeadNotSleeping wrote:
Hello,

I am entirely new to gardening and I just got a set up with a hanging T5 lamp over two 32-cell trays. I've learned a lot from employees at Stein Gardens and Gifts within the past few days but I'm very new to this so a lot is still over my head.

When I put the starter soil (Epsoma Organic Seed Starter) I wet the soil like the soil bag instructed me to. I planted my seeds in the cells yesterday (I have peppers, roma tomatoes, okra, cilantro, and basil). It's been probably 15 hours since they were planted. The light has been on the whole time, about 3-4 inches away from the trays.

The man I talked to at Stein told me that when the soil looks really dry I should water them just a little on the top. So my problem is I think I might have over watered them before planting, or maybe just some of the cells. The issue is that, because I'm new to this, I'm unsure how to tell. Some of the cells have some darker soil on the top that's moist to the touch, some of them also have some dry looking soil on the top with it (probably there because I was moving around the soil during planting. A couple actually look wet (producing a light shine under light).

Does this mean there's too much water or is this normal? Should I be watering the ones with lighter dry soil sprinkled on top a little bit more?

If I did over water them, I have some other questions. I want to put clear covers over the plants soon to keep them warm (they're in a basement so it gets a little cooler at times) but I understand its main function is the humidity. Should I wait for the soil to dry out? Or is my best bet to just redo the trays altogether?

Thank you so much for your patience and help. This is all very new to me and I have next to no intelligence when it comes to this stuff. I know it's all a matter of learning as you go, though.

I have some pictures attached of the setup I have and of the soil to give you a better understanding of what I mean.

This message was edited Apr 17, 2015 3:58 PM