You are growing mold which is killing your seedlings. I agree you have plenty of water. You need more air circulation to stop the mold growth. As soon as any seeds germinate take off the domes and increase the air circulation and the amount of light. Al

What kind of medium are you using? It sounds like you might be using garden soil. I would try the soil-less mix.
Loren

If you wish to grow under lights,(which I do)you should get yourself a small elect. fan just to create a bit of air circulation. Rai

I just started some chicory and cupid's dart in the same 36 cell flat. I have the dome top slightly off center to allow some air in.

Here is my QUESTION:
This chicory has germinated (in 2 days) and the cupid's dart has not. I have the same white mold problem and it is more so on the cupid's dart cells for some reason. I am using peat pods. Should I remove the cover for good even though the cupids dart hasn't germinated. Or should I move the cupid's dart to a different flat and keep covered but then what about the mold?? HELP!!

Tastefullyjulie your problem is starting different seeds in the same flat which ties your hands. I start all my seeds in four inch pots covered with cling wrap. If I need more of a plant I will plant more than one pot with that seed. I have a small muffin fan, like electronics use for cooling hanging over my seed starting bench to keep the air moving. It is much better to avoid damping off than to try and stop it. Al

I know, I like the 36 cell flats because they fit in my setup but I usually only do 18/18. I try to choose 2 varieties with the same germination time but so much for that. I uncovered 1/2 of the flat and I added a fan. The mold is gone now I only worry that it's too cold for the cupid's dart. TIme will tell I guess. Thanks for the advice!

Julie

LiliesOfTheField,
Did you use fertilizer? Crispy seedlings sounds like too much fertilizer. They burned. The white mold isn't horrible in my experience. Just open the lid and let it dry so that the top layer just lightens in color. Provide a little gentle air circulation with a small fan or something similar. Don't over do the fans because they will quickly dehydrate the small seedlings. Don't leave it on all the time.

Hi Lil

I've had that happen too. If one is sprouting and the other isn't, I take the sprouted ones out of the dome or whatever you use and set them in a plastic butter tub or something on that order. That way you can keep the unsprouted ones covered. Also good advice about fans.

Don't be like me and get so excited about my seedlings that I forgot to mark them so now one group are "mystery plants." LOL

I do all my growing on the dining room table because it gets tons of sun there. Everyone knows not to expect any big family get togethers in Feb.-April because the table is in use. :)

I'd like to put in a plug for vermiculite. Mixed into the top layer of peaty seedlings soil, or just sprinkled on top, it stops the surface of the soil being waterlogged which is bad for seed and good for mould. Its quite possible to grow on simply seedling soil, but the vermiculite makes it easier. A good rule is to have the soil drier than you expect and to enclose it under plastic to keep up the humidity until germination. After you remove the plastic, water from the bottom at least at first so that there is plenty of water in the soil but the surface can stay quite dry. As soon as you see any leaves, there is already a root an inch or two long so the top bit of soil can be allowed to dry out.

Crispy is bad. I couldn't quite tell everything that might be going on based on your description, but if you have left the lid on your flats for longer than about a day after your sprouts started to appear, that could be the problem.

Take the lid off.

Also if your system has a heat mat to warm the soil, turn that off when some seedlings appear. Even if not all the seeds have germinated. Once seeds start to germinate, you're finished with the mat.

TJ, I always end up having to juggle different types of seeds in the same flat because of space limitations, but the truth is that most seeds will tolerate quite a wide variety of germination conditions and a little compromise here or there won't make a difference.

One thing I'm thinking, though, is that maybe cupid's dart needs to be cold stratified. If everything else comes up except those, chop out those cells from your tray, put them in a plastic baggie, and stick them in the freezer for two weeks. Then take them out and see what happens. As for the mold, since nothing has sprouted there, you could spritz the soil surface with full strength alcohol, peroxide or garden fungicide. Or just let the soil dry out completely.