Hey lou m,I noticed that you didnt say anything about the humidity conditions-did you/do you have any type of clear covering over your seeds/seedlings? I do that when I start any kind of seed,cuttings,or if someone gives me plantlets.IT creates that "Greenhouse effect".I have seeds that sprout in 5 days or less,it will perk up any plant that has suffered a variety of different things.The responce by Knittlin raised several excellent points about soil temp..certain seed need a constant 70 degees and as far as the lighting goes,heck,I just have a old floresent fixture that used to be a Beer sign! BUT,it must be as close to the pots/tray as possible,raising it only when the plant height deems it.All in all,I'd say your soil temp is the main problem added to not enough humidity.I use a variety of re-cycled things to cover pots and trays.One of the best is 2-3 liter plastic drink bottles- you remove the label around it,cut off the bottom right before where it starts to curve inward,then set it over the pot.OR depending on pot size(6-in.),set directly onto soil.For smaller pots,use 20oz. bottles..experiment!..for whole trays,get dry-cleaning bag,anything big enough and prop up with sticks,plastic knives,etc.Also,I dont think using the pre-fertilized mix is a good idea,because the seed has everything it needs inside of it's little self!And here's one more thing-it is better to have short healthy seedlings than tall spindly-looking ones while they're growing under artificial light..you want them to have thick,healthy stems and the rest will follow.I dont know how experienced you may be,but I do hope I have helped in some way..heck,I've had the same or worse problems! Good Luck to you and your little friends(that what I call my plants!) Caren

GDDs are the number of days where the air temperature is above a certain minimum temperature required for growth in a crop. # needed varies from crop to crop. Like Zones and DTMs they are intended to be very GENERAL guidelines only but the greater the number of them the better the overall garden growth should be. While it would be nice if the seed companies provided more accurate DTM that would be quite difficult to do. Not only the research and adjustments for unseasonable weather each year, but to produce a seed packet with info applicable to all parts of the country/world. Instead they expect the gardener to have at least a basic gardening knowledge of their area and climate. That includes among other things learning how to measure their soil temperature since it is the most accurate guide to when to plant and when to expect results. Soil temperature, not air temperature controls growth. Measuring your soil temperature is cheap and easy to do. It requires only a simple thermometer of any kind that can be stuck in the soil and ranges from at least 32 degrees up. Soil temp at seed planting depth will determine your germination and at 6" your growth rate of seedlings. Charts are readily available to the soil temp required for each crop. I linked one below. Optimal soil temp for lettuce growing (not seeding) for example is 65-70 degrees so if your soil temp is still 40-50 degrees you won't see much if any growth until the soil warms up. Patience pays off. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Soil temp charts

Fertilizing seedlings does move them faster, but there are also advantages in not overdoing it. If you're like me, you like to get a feeling for what's going on as soon as possible, and a bunch of dark green seedlings won't tell you much. If you let the fert wear off a bit you can see colors and markings at a fairly early stage. Too much, though, and they stop growing, so you have to find that happy medium. Of course if you're just growing out species and/or planning to keep all of them then it doesn't matter. This is only useful if you're doing hybrids of Neos or some other types with colorful foliage and plan to do some culling.

Zsolt, another fantastic series! 'Blondy Screw', wonderful. 'Lakatos' is super as well.