Seeds germinate fine, but no sprouts... whats am i doing wrong

[Weedhound]

Sounds kind of like damping off to me. Not overwatering are you?

Weedhound Reviewed by Weedhound on 11-15-2006. Seeds germinate fine, but no sprouts... whats am i doing wrong I got some WW seeds via the internet. I put 6 of them in a small covered cup of water and stored in a warm area. Within 24 hours all 6 of them had cracked and had a white root emerging. Planted in schultz soil (specifically for starting plants) about 1/4" deep. Watered and put under 40W flouro in 16oz cups covered with cellphane. its been 4 days and 0/6 have sprouted. Rating: 5

[noty johnson]

i havent watered since they were planted 5 days ago, but i did get the soil very damp before planting.. im sure this is the prob, but probably not much i can do now. (i had cellaphane over until the sprout, so maybe it will dry out faster now)

the 16oz cup they are in has plenty of drain holes, but i did the finger check and its very damp at the bottom

[Weedhound]

Well I don't think the roots have reached the bottom in five days but when I had damping off problems with some seedlings it was more a question of good soil and drainage....mine sucked at both--the poor drainage because of the poor soil(too compact and clay-like) even tho I had alot of drainage holes also.

[noty johnson]

p.s. the soil im using is "Scotts Potting Soil for Seed Starting" It also says Fast-Rooting formula with phosphorus

[Weedhound]

That sounds good to me although I'm not very knowledgable about soil. I may not want to know the answer to this but how did you get your finger into the bottom of a 16oz cup filled with soil?

[noty johnson]

i couldnt get to the VERY bottom, but if i water from the top and feel a lot of moisture only a few inches down, i'm sure its not mysteriously dry at the bottom ;-)

[Weedhound]

You make an excellent point sir.

[noty johnson]

ok so here's the latest.. last night after determining it was way too wet at the bottom of the cup, i used a small metal rod i had to poke several deep holes for aeration. It seems to have done the trick because this morning the sprout is now standing straight up. It still hasnt grown any more, and the two original leaves are still only about 1cm apart, but at least its not flopped over anymore.

Hope she makes it

thanks for the help guys, i'll keep the updated and hopefully have some pics soon.

For other newb growers, make sure the soil is loose and dont over water!!!!

[Weedhound]

Good job!

[noty johnson]

well im home.. plant still standing straight up on its own.. it is no bigger though

leaves and stalk are green so i guess its ok.. the two "leaves" are still pretty much touching and havent seperated.. in the last 2 days it hasnt grown at all... i guess we'll see...