I suspected that it wouldn’t work at least not as well as I’d dreamed. The sprouting trays I’d so carefully set up with clear plastic lids kept in enough moisture that the surface of some peat pots is now covered with a downy coating of mold. The good news however is that all of the Jack-o-lite seedings are up as well as a good number of the muskmelon and some of the Delicata squash. Once there are actual leaves, I’m going to take them out of these containers and place them in a Set-Up-That-Has-Yet-To-Be-Arranged where the seedling can get full spectrum light really close to them. One reason why this set up has yet to be determined is because the light source ideally shouldn’t be farther than about 6 inches from the leaf surface. Any further away and there’s a good chance the seedlings will stretch themselves out too much and get “leggy” as they reach for the sun.
But back to the mold. I bet it’s partially caused by the peat cubes being so nutrient rich and partially caused by keeping the pots nearly sealed up in a little terrarium. A bit of air circulation couldn’t hurt so I took the lids off the containers today. I just need to remember to keep the pots wet. When I’ve started a far more extensive number of seedlings in the past, I’ve set up a circulating fan that kept air moving nearby the pots and seedlings. That set up was quite impressive: a nice three foot fluorescent lamp that I could raise as the seedling grew. I grew most of my seedlings for a couple years, especially for the strange seeds like odd varieties of tomatoes and hot peppers. I also would do it again if I was starting a large quantity of herbs since scrawny little examples seem to sell much more expensively than garden variety vegetables. Otherwise, for the most part, I’m pretty happy buying healthy organically raised seedling from one of the many farmers at the local Farmer’s Market.
And for those who are counting up the minutes, of course it didn’t take twenty minutes for me to take the lid off the planters. But I did have to fret for a moment about the mold. And then “oooh” and “aaah” a bit about the sprouts. That must have added up to twenty. Right?
