It's the part of moving those teeny little things (taproot down) around that always gets me--much to their detriment. With the rooter plugs they usually take me about 3-5 days to sprout but they will sprout quicker with heat like Turtle says (I have had them sprout out of the plugs in 48 hrs with low heat) . Do go for damp, not wet--don't let the plug sit in water. If you use heat check them more often for drying out--moist always!. I have used these plugs for about 30-40 seeds to date and the only one that did not sprout was one that accidently fell out of the little hole and I didn't notice (did I mention that I am clumsy??)