We don't use the ziplocks when we germinate. We just use glass pie pan that you'd use to make a pie in. Pour the water/peroxide in the pan and start folding in 1/2 the coffee filters, writing the cross on them, add the seeds, fold and insert into the water.

Layer them so it's easier to check all the crosses. Every day we pour off the fluid and add new. Start planting some in 3-4 days and continue until 10-12 days pass.

The ones that don't sprout are put back in cold storage and once/week take a look see and pinch seeds. Throw away the bad seeds, plant the few that germinate and replace in cold storage. Repeat until they are all bad or planted.

They are not just moist. They are actually surrounded by water at room temperature.

We plant them as they just start to germinate. Maybe 1/8 of white growth from the seed. We plant straight into the beer cups. THe vast majority of them will grow (95%+).

Make sure you add some water soluble fertilizer AFTER 2-3 weeks of vegetative growth. Soiless mixtures aren't very fertile.

When they are young first 8 weeks you just have to guess. They use so little water when small. I'd say we water once a week then. Once they really get going it's about every 3rd day it seems. You want the top dry, but 1/2 the cup still moist before watering again. If you use clear plastic beer cups you'll see moisture through the cups beaded up on the plastic. When that is gone it's time to water.

Hope that helps. FWIW

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Garden and Seedling Website (updated)

I'm not the expert here, but this is what I do and it has worked for me. There are a lot of ways to go about germinating the seeds and some ways are better than others, but different methods do work. As for me......I add a few drops of NO DAMP to my peroxide distilled water solution. I do think this helps deter molding of seed. My towels are very wet, but not dripping wet. I sandwich the seeds in the towels and place in a ziplock bag. I have an unused bathroom that is on the cool side. I put my seed in batches into rubbermaid food storage containers and put the lid on,and place them in the bathtub and shut the door. Usually within 7 to 14 days I start to find sprouted seeds in my baggies (I check at 5 day intervals). If I find towels aren't damp enough I spritz them again with my distilled water solution and put them back in the bag. Any sprouted seeds are put into 18 oz plastic cups filled with promix and the cup is marked with the cross. I use a pencil to make a hole in the soil about 1/4" deep and then nudge some potting mix over top of the planted seed. I put a baggie over the top and rubber band the baggie down to conserve moisture. My cups all have holes along the bottom side edges and are placed in a pan or tray containing 1 1/2 inches of water. I usually leave my baggie tents on for a few days after most of the seeds are showing green above the soil and then remove the tents. At that point I will mist the top of the soil when necessary to keep it from becoming to dry. I never let seedling soil dry out, but you don't want it to get overly wet either. At any rate that is pretty much how I do it. There is also some great info in the earlier seed starting posts, and various methods are mentioned. Good luck with your seeds.

Linda