information provided by llIndigoll I usually bury seeds that have popped out a root tip with the root tip pointing down under about 1/4" soil. During the first 3-5 days the seedling does not need any light at all. Here's a step-by-step process that works for me every time with growing in soil: Here is what I use for germination: Seeds, Kleenix tissue, water spray bottle. These seeds are Northern Lights from an organic seed garden in Oregon. I spray the Kleenix with water until it is wet, but not dripping wet. Then I put the 4 seeds in the middle of the Kleenix, then fold it up so the seeds are surrounded by wet material. I use a glass jar to seal the seeds in. Then I put the jar into the cabinet (any warm, dark place will suffice). I check the condition of the seeds once a day. When the root tip emerges from the seed it is time to remove them from the wet Kleenix and place into the prepared soil containers. In this case it took 3 days. No need to remove the seed husk, in fact I'd suggest leaving it on until the plant discards it. This should be done the day you put the seeds into the jar. Sometimes I do not get it done until right before planting the seeds, but in this case I remembered to prep the soil in advance. The reason this is important is to avoid shocking the new seeding. I use: Black Gold Seedling mix, water spray bottle, 1-pint containers. I wet the soil before putting the 'popped' seed into place. This creates a moist environment from the top of the medium to the bottom. I use the spray bottle as I fill in the container to make sure it is wet all the way through. After the soil is prepared and has been at room temperature for 3-5 days I create a shallow hole with the end of a pen. This is where the seedling will be placed. Careful. At this point, damaging the root, seed head, or cotyledons could easily kill your plant. I remove the seed from the Kleenix and place the root tip facing downward into the hole I created in the soil. I cover the seedling with a thin layer of soil, just enough so I can't see it anymore. I use plastic baggies to cover the 1-pint containers. This works well because they are the perfect size. I poke a few small holes in the bag to help prevent molding, rotting, etc. It also keeps the moist soil wet enough for the new seedling to keep developing. I use a cabinet for the next step. The new seedling needs no light, and they seem to sprout faster for me without any light. I check the seedling once a day until I see 1-2 inches popping up out of the soil. This method has had a 99% success rate for me. No watering while it has the bag on it. After 3 days the seedling has sprouted, and it is now time to remove the plastic bag. This seedling is ready for some fluorescent lighting. If a plant takes more than 5 days to pop up out from the soil I assume that nature chose another destiny for it, and I re-use the soil and recycle the seedling (compost). The fluorescent lighting I use is very cool, so these seedlings do well being within 1" of the bulbs. I check daily for vertical growth to keep the seedlings from harming themselves. Still no water at this point, and I will not water them until I see roots popping out the bottom in most cases. On rare occasions I need to add a few squirts from the water bottle, but only enough to keep them from wilting. The thing I want them to focus on at this point is root development. 1 week old
