I posted this under the seed starting thread as well. Jiffy Seed Starting Mix works fine and easy to hydrate if you do two simple things: 1) microwave distilled water to 130-140 degrees fahrenheit or max hand hot temperature. Using a liquid measuring pitcher place 1 quart of Jiffy SSM in a clean container like a one gallon zip lock bag. Then add 1 cup of hot water to the bag or container. Expel any excess air and zip bag up. 2) Using your hands grip and massage the bag. This step takes 2 minutes max. You will now have hydrated Jiffy SSM. Want to do a whole bag? Add 4 cups hand hot water. Wash and dry your hands and one arm up to elbow. Plunge hand and arm into mix and grip and squeeze Jiffy SSM. Be sure to get all of mix fully hydrated. Remove hand and arm and wash. This step takes 5 minutes max. You now have Jiffy SSM fully hydrated at the correct hydration. When you add the water to the mix it will seem like it is not enough but after 2-5 minutes of mixing you can squeeze a handful of the mix and just barely get a little water out. I only use Jiffy SSM. I have had trouble with some of the other seed starting mixes ( Schul.. et al) over the years. I have not tried the other expensive mixes mentioned above. I go cheap. Works great. I grow plants from seeds under lights most years 50+ flower varieties as well as some bushes and trees etc. Rick

Do you mulch your plants? I'm wondering why you don't find seedlings, and wondering if the seeds don't become buried... It would have been better if you had sown fresher, but it doesn't mean your seeds are trash - they are about at the stage they would be if you had purchased them commercially packaged. Did you read through this thread of growing from seed and note the timing by BruceNH, he's just a zone different than you, I'm not sure his method would be significantly different Z4. You could try these indoors rather than wait for the next crop. Soak overnight or until the seeds begin to look more plump. Put them in a teaspoon or two of sterile moist sand or sterile moist vermiculite in a tiny zip lock, date and leave it on your desk approx 6 weeks. Then move to the refrigerator approx 8 weeks....then the harder part for sowing them indoors for me, sow and try to provide a cool temp of around 50ish for germination. You may have to try two complete cycles of all three temperature periods, in order, before they will germinate. I prefer to sow fresh in pots outdoors here giving them a wide range of temperatures, and temperatures that drop at night. Late summer sowing will reliably produce seedlings by late winter in my cool summer Z8. Last year I rec'd some seeds from a source that had me giving them the 6 weeks warm inside, I then sowed and placed the pots outside about mid Feb, two of those pots did not germinate even though our Spring seemed almost an extension of winter, long, chilly, wet. I held on to them, and noticed this week one of the pots has a seedling - so don't ever give up, give them at least 12- 18 months before discarding the pots :) Here is a link that might be useful: Seed discussion, note BruceNH

Sometimes white mold just happens. Be sure you aren't keeping the growing medium too wet and be sure you have good air flow in the area where you're starting seeds. I keep a ceiling fan on 24/7 in my seed-starting room, open the windows during the day as needed to keep the room cool and to have good air flow, and will put a portable oscillating fan in there sometimes to ensure the seedlings are getting enough air to have air movement. My soil temps in my garden are warm enough now to germinate spinach seed in a week to ten days, so I wouldn't be starting any of it inside at this point, but you're likely farther north and your soil temps may not be as warm as ours are here. I have started spinach seedlings inside before and they stalled after they were transplanted, so I don't do that any more. We love spinach, but rarely freeze any because we eat all we raise about as fast as we can harvest it. It does better for me as a fall crop than a spring crop because we often get so hot so early here that the spinach season can end pretty abruptly. Or, in some cases, I just hurry up and harvest it because I want the space for warm-season crops.

I tried making my own seed starting mix this year. I wont do that ever again. When you have peat and perlite there is really nothing there to supplement the seedlings. I dont like feeding seedlings with ferts because its easy to over fertilize, so I like to use something that is light but will carry the seedling through the seedling process. So I went back to my favorite seedling/starter mix which is Light Warrior from Fox Farms. I dont know why I tried to make my own seed starting mix when I get such great results with Light Warrior. Plants now look dark green and healthy as can be. Damon