"I have removed the domes after some seeds have emerged...is that the right thing to do?"

I think that depends. Like, are you in a humid or dry place, what is the outside temperature (outside of the dome), because if the ones in the center of the heat mat germinated first it possibly means you are losing heat quickly and the dome could help stabilize that. I always remove it when you did, when more than half of the seeds pop out, but the humidity is usually high here, and in a dry place the plants and the top of the growing medium would need it longer.

Good Luck!
PC

This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Fri, Jan 23, 15 at 12:25

thanks P...I have them in the house (62-70 F) and fairly dry air. I know you do not want your mix/pellets to dry out....right? I am deciding at what point I put the lights on (1/3 or so have sprouted).

I move my seedlings off the heat mat and remove any covering as soon as the first few have started to sprout. I also get them under lights, as close as possible to the lights, as soon as I remove the dome. The lights will warm the soil a bit. I made the mistake of keeping the dome and heat mat on too long once, and the seedlings began to cook and die.

MY EXPERIMENT:

My plant out date is about 8 weeks away. So it is too early to start sowing. But I have tried to do a couple of dwarves, as a pilot project.

Sowed followings on 1/4/15:
Dwarf Purple Heart. : Germinated in 10 days on 1/14/15. And has true leaves.
Hahms Gelbe Topftomate: It took too long. Threw it away. Sowed new seed on 1/14/15 : germinated on 1/30/15. I was just about to pitch it too. But I was surprised.

Seysonn
BTW: I started both in PT/zip bag.
I will do my main sowing around Feb 14.

S...I think you told us you do not use a heat mat? You might consider buying one. It does speed things up dramatically....from what I can tell. I actually had cucumber seeds sprout in 3 days! The Megastore has the small ones for an inexpensive price. I did not buy a thermostat...I really think it is unnecessary for what I am doing.

I put my seed starts in a large tupperware container. my seed starts are in ice cube trays with holes drilled in the bottom. I use heating pads as heat mats. I then cover the Tupperware with a loose fit, not snapped, then put a towel over it to insulate. This seems to unify the heat thru out a bit better. I will leave it that way for 24 hours after I see the first seedlings. Generally if I have uniformity in the depth I planted the seeds over 50% will germinate in that 48 hour range. Then I put the lights on, the covers off, heating pads stay on the lowest setting. Mine have 3 settings hi med low.My basement is about 45 to 50 degrees F. I watch moisture real close and spray individual cells with a spray bottle. I check them morning and night for a week . Then they are usually an inch or so tall and I water them collectively by pouring water in the tupperware beside the ice cube trays and allow the starting mix to draw the water up from the bottom. The heat pads are only used at night now or during cold snaps. Knock on wood this has worked fine for me , this will be my fourth year. Its still a bit early here. I'm averaging above 90 percent germination this way(all have been fresh seed each year) .I do Tomato, broccoli ,and peppers this way. I have the poorest luck with peppers, maybe 65 %.Hope this helps, and happy gardening.

Fireduck ...
I do have a heat PAD( for humans). I use it when I am germinating large quantity. However, I have done a lot of germinating in PT/ZB. I put them on top of lamp shade (padded) and control the temperature.
Right now I am germinating 12 peppers in egg C on heat pad.

Seysonn

5. my wife now knows that I am crazy

I can completely relate. My fiance thinks I'm obsessed with "my plants." I don't think it helps that I always seem to have GW open on my browser.

Sey...does that heatpad work good for you? Do you have any necessary "tricks" to make it work for seeds? I do not know what PT/ZB means. haha

Fireduck...
The heat PAD that I have (bought from Walmart) is Sunbeam brand with options:

-- 3 hour on >>shut off
-- Continuous on
-- 6 heat level settings.
-- Dimensions : 15" x 12"
-- COST: $29. +tx
I use heat setting ONE and on top of that I pad it with towel. I use a digital thermometer to check temperature at cells and adjust padding as necessary.
My average germination time is ~~ 8 days

It is small but big enough for me. I can germinate close to 30 cells at a time.

Seysonn

sounds good! thanks