Indoor seed starting question

I've planted several kinds of seeds using one of those black trays with a clear plastic lid. I'm using 3 inch paper cups for each seed. Some of the seeds have germinated but others may still take a couple of weeks.
My question: should I remove the cups from the covered tray after the seeds germinate?

I'm new at indoor seed starting... I tried last year without much success. Many seeds germinated but after that didn't seem to grow much or even died.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Angele

angele, here is a link that will help you. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1068035/

Moisture is the key here, also don't just take the seedlings from the "incubator" plastic covered tray and put them out in the open, they need a transition from one environment to another.

ladygardener1, I'm a little red-faced. I figured there were some threads about this very subject but to see one so recently!!!
Thanks for the link! Lots of good info there.

There is a lot of information on DG, and wading through it can be a job in it's self. I posted the link since it has so much information I did not want you to miss it.

Enjoy your seed starting, I have been doing it for over 10 years and just can't stop.

I do not believe that you need to transition the seedlings from the incubator to your lightstand (if you have one) although it does not harm them to spend a little time under the dome after germinating. To keep them from getting leggy and damping off from excess humidity (while in the enclosed environment), I like to move my seedlings to my lightstand fairly quickly which is in the open air. You should try to bottom water your seedlings for a while and allow them to dry between waterings. Seedlings are very susceptible to damping off. I have watered with a weak solution of chamomile tea which inhibits the fungi that cause damping off. I also run a small fan in my sunroom which helps the plants develop strong stems. Hope this helps.

P.S. - Make sure your cups have holes poked into the bottoms. Otherwise, your seedlings will likely drown after you water them. I try to stay away from these types of containers and use plastic nursery pots. But I have used recycled yogurt containers in the past with slits cut into the bottom. It works well.

Cool tip about the chamomile tea. I've never heard that before.

Angele, here's a good article on damping off (which is what, most likely, killed your seedlings). http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/277/

I had problems similar to yours every time I tried seed starting. And then I read some information around here, and found some bricks of coconut coir in the seed-starting section at a hardware store. If it's readily available to you, you might try it and see what you think. You just add water and fluff it up. I put batches in the microwave to make sure it was sterile.

Another option with pots is to take a couple strips of newspaper, roll it up on a can, and tuck the bottom under. What are you growing, by the way?

Thanks for all the tips.

My little seedlings are looking much better than last year but the furthest any are is the first real leaves. The stems are looking strong and sturdy so I am optimistic.

Here is what has germinated & these have at least 1 true leaf:
Arctotis grandis, Dichondra "Silver Falls" Geranium "Summer Showers", Gazania "Kiss & Tell", Lupin "Morello Cherry" and Nepeta "Pink Dreams"

Echinacea "Double Decker' has just sprouted.
Heliotrope "Marine" is the only one of this first batch that hasn't come up.

I'm leaving the cover on at night & off during the day. Watering from the bottom only.

Sounds like a really good start!

For the next batch I'd like to try the rolled newspaper pots. I watched Dave's video on making them a few years ago but forgot about them. Have you tried planting the pots when they are ready?

Yep. Worked out just fine. Just don't water them a day or so before you plant them out. As long as they're dry, they're easy to handle. You can keep the paper on, or open up the bottom, or take the whole thing off. I just plopped them in the ground as they were and they did fine.

I used a pineapple juice can for many of them. But for some of the more vigorous growers that I started earlier, it wasn't big enough and I had to use a bigger can because the roots were popping out the bottom. Tomatoes and squash, that type of thing. Most of the flowers I started did fine with the smaller size.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

When you prick them out and transplant the seeds to a new pot....how deep do you plant them? Can you cover the baby plant stem all the way up to the first set of leaves?

Thanks

Debs, I think that depends on what you're transplanting. People suggest doing what you're talking about with tomatoes (and peppers, too) because they can form roots along that lower portion of the stem. So transplanting them deep enourages them to develop even more roots that they can use to anchor themselves and take up water and nutrition.

With anything else, I typically transplant them at the same depth or maybe slightly deeper. I don't bury them up to their first leaves. But if anyone who does comes along, please let us know about that.

Can I transplant seedlings when the first two leaves are fully formed?

The first two leaves, meaning the ones that first popped out of the seed? Or do you mean the first set of true leaves, which are actually the second set of leaves you see?

Most people recommend transplanting only after you have one set of true leaves, maybe more. I'm not sure why you'd want to transplant a seedling that is young and small, though.

I meant the ones that first popped out of the seed. So I need to wait until I see a second set of leaves?

Thanks for your help.

Debbie

Oh yes.

Can I ask what you're planting and why you want to transplant it so soon? Typically, you'd want to plant the seed in a big enough container that it can stay there for several weeks.

Now if you've made a mistake and need to correct it, that's a different story. For instance, I planted a cucumber seed in a very small container, somehow not realizing how quickly it would get big and outgrow that container. That, I did transplant, carefully, to a larger container. There's always a risk that you'll lose something when you do that. But I didn't worry about it because cucumber seeds are quick and easy to germinate. But if it had been one of the flower seeds that take forevvvvvver to germinate, and they're so teeny tiny delicate when they do, it would have given me pause.

I planted false indigo seeds, salvia seeds, and war axe penstemon seeds. They have all come up, but just have the 2 initial leaves on them.

The only one I'm familiar with is salvia. Should be good in whatever container you've got it in for quite a while.

This has helped me with this thread. Thanks eveyone:-)

I have purple wave patunias and New Geniea(sp) started in the same tray.

One of them are up, so I have to take half of them out and put them in a different tray with another dome.

I just have them on a heat mat in a window. Should I take the ones that are up and put them under the grow light?

Has anyone ever tried growing either one? How did they turn out for you?

I have a new greenhouse but no heat in it yet. So they will be in the house till the weather turns alot warmer. I can heat it at night for a month or so with a small electric heater but can't afford it for a couple of months.

Thanks again for all your help

Amos