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Troubleshooting Seed Starting
When you venture into growing from seed you will run into some issues ..
Sometimes no matter what you do , some seeds just won’t germinate or grow.
Seed Starting 
This is why I have created this page to help troubleshoot some issues you may face during your process of growing from seed.
Below will be what I have learned over the years.. take it as a guideline . I always say though what works for one may not work for another . This is true for most things in life.
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Germination Issues: Germination Heating Mats
If you are having uneven germination, then the thing to ask is do you have constant heat or warmth on your seeds?
You can get by with a sunny window or top of a warm appliance.
But to get more consistent in germination , as you want the seeds germinating pretty much within a few days of each other.
What is recommended is a heating mat , heating mats give off bottom heat at a consistent temperature. Plus you can increase your growing much faster .
Definitely worth the investment!
Germination Heating Mats
Sometimes however maybe your seed is old . Using the paper towel method to check a few of the seeds for germination will help you and save you much needed headaches and time down the road.
Soil Issues-Seed Starting Soil
Is your soil staying too wet?.. Is it causing your plants to look yellow or are your plants dying???
What is recommend for seed starting is a soil-less mix , which usually consists of peat and vermiculite.. sometimes perlite as well.
Sure you can try whatever you want , but be fair warned you may have some issues with soil, like topsoil, compost, etc..
The thing is the soil-less mix is as it sounds no soil. There will not be any pathogens of disease in a soil-less seed starting mix.
Seed Starting Soil
Some people do not like peat, but I have used it for years and it has worked fine for me. There is some other products on the market that may work as well .. Just do some research on it for seed starting before you decide to use it..
Dampening off-Air Flow Circulation
What is damping off >- a plant disease occurring in excessively damp conditions, in particular the collapse and death of young seedlings as a result of a fungal infection.
Identification
Seedlings fail to emerge from the soil.
Cotyledons (the first leaves produced by a seedling) and seedling stems are water soaked, soft, mush and may be discolored gray to brown.
Seedling stems become water soaked and thin, almost thread like, where infected.
Young leaves wilt and turn green gray to brown.
Roots are absent, stunted or have grayish brown sunken spots.
Fluffy white cobweb like growth on infected plant parts under high humidity.
Management
Sterilize all used pots and trays in a solution of 10% household bleach by soaking for 30 minutes.
Use new Seed Starting Soil
Clean all tools that will be used in planting and maintenance of the seedlings. Store them in a clean location when not in use.
Use Germination Heating Mats
Wait until garden soil has reached optimal temperature for germination before planting outdoors. This temperature varies depending on the plant
Use a potting media with good drainage. Water to keep potting media moist but not soggy. Use pots with drainage holes to insure good drainage of excess water.
Keep hoses and water heads off the floor.
Use clean (like tap water) warm (68 – 77F) water to water young seedlings. Cool water (50F) slows plant growth and increases the opportunity for infection.
Do not apply fertilizer to seedlings until several true leaves have developed. Then apply 1/4 strength standard soluble fertilizer. Many potting mixes contain slow release fertilizer and do not require any fertilizer application.
Provide 12-16 hrs of light from a soft white fluorescent or grow light to seedlings. Light from a window is rarely sufficient.
growing light fixtures
Stretching- Lighting-growing light fixtures
Stretching happens with a few situations , like too warm of a area where your plants are growing . Your lighting is not adequate. Your artificial lights are not close enough.
Solution: Put your lights at least 3000 light lumens light bulbs about 2 inches from the top of your seedlings.
growing light fixtures
If you have a cooler place in your home, use it.. set up your lights there. An example mine are in my basement it is cooler area.
There is also plants no matter what you do will stretch anyway as they have a tendency to grow fast.
Plants getting to big too fast (long or tall) such as vines, trailing seedlings – so some of your plants may require trimming . You can trim your seedlings once they have a few sets of leaves.
This will create new shoots to form on each side of the cut . From there your seedling will become a full more dense plant. Making it stronger and grow into a much nice looking plant once mature.
How to fix stretching plants:
Some seedlings like tomatoes, peppers, zinnias , those that tend to get a long tall stem.. don’t worry so much about those, you can bury them down to the tops of the first set of leaves when you plant them outdoors.
Fungus Gnats:
Fungus gnats are small flies that infest soil, potting mix, other container media, and other sources of organic decomposition. Their larvae primarily feed on fungi and organic matter in soil, but also chew roots and can be a problem in greenhouses, nurseries, potted plants and interior plantscapes. Adult fungus gnats may emerge from houseplants indoors and become a nuisance.
IDENTIFICATION
Fungus gnats (Orfelia and Bradysia species), also called darkwinged fungus gnats (Sciaridae), are dark, delicate-looking flies similar in appearance to mosquitoes. Adult fungus gnats have slender legs with segmented antennae that are longer than their head. Their long antennae distinguish them from the more robust shore flies, which are also found in greenhouses, associated with algae and decomposing organic matter, but have short bristle-like antennae. Although a few species are up to 1⁄2 inch long, fungus gnat adults commonly are about 1⁄16 to 1⁄8 inch long. Wings are light gray to clear, and the common Bradysia species have a Y-shaped wing vein.
Because adult fungus gnats are attracted to light, you first might notice these pests flying near windows indoors. However, in comparison with more active species such as the common housefly (Musca domestica), fungus gnats are relatively weak fliers and usually don’t move around much indoors. Fungus gnats often remain near potted plants and run across (or rest on) growing media, foliage, compost, and wet mulch piles.
Females lay tiny eggs in moist organic debris or potting soil. Larvae have a shiny black head and an elongated, whitish-to-clear, legless body. They eat organic mulch, leaf mold, grass clippings, compost, root hairs, and fungi. If conditions are especially moist and fungus gnats are abundant, larvae can leave slime trails on the surface of media that look like trails from small snails or slugs.
DAMAGE
Adult fungus gnats don’t damage plants or bite people; their presence is primarily considered a nuisance. Larvae, however, when present in large numbers, can damage roots and stunt plant growth, particularly in seedlings and young plants. Significant root damage and even plant death have been observed in interior plantscapes and in houseplants when high populations were associated with moist, organically-rich soil. Thus, a houseplant that is wilting may not indicate a lack of water, but rather root damage by fungus gnat larvae or (more commonly) other causes of unhealthy roots. However, too much or too little water, root decay fungi, and improper soil conditions (e.g., poor drainage, or waterlogging) are much more common causes of wilted plants.
Serious fungus gnat damage is more common in greenhouses, nurseries, and sod farms. Although larvae also feed on plant roots outdoors, they don’t usually cause serious damage.
Info courtesy of http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html
LIFE CYCLE
Fungus gnats develop through four stages—egg, larva (with four larval stages or instars), pupa, and adult. The tiny eggs and oblong pupae occur in damp organic media where females lay eggs and larvae feed. At 75ºF, eggs hatch in about 3 days, the larvae take approximately 10 days to develop into pupae, and about 4 days later the adults emerge. A generation of fungus gnats (from female to female) can be produced in about 17 days depending upon temperature. The warmer it is, the faster they will develop and the more generations will be produced in a year.
Fungus gnats have many overlapping generations each year. Outdoors, they are most common during winter and spring in interior areas of California, when water is more available and cooler temperatures prevail. They can occur during any time of the year in moist coastal regions and indoors.
MANAGEMENT
Most of the fungus gnat’s life is spent as a larva and pupa in organic matter or soil, so the most effective control methods target these immature stages rather than attempting to directly control the mobile, short-lived adults. Physical and cultural management tactics—primarily the reductions of excess moisture and organic debris—are key to reducing fungus gnat problems. Commercially-available and naturally-occurring biological control agents can also control this pest. Insecticides are considered an important control option in some commercial plant production but generally aren’t recommended for fungus gnat management in and around the home.
Monitoring
Visual inspection for adults usually is adequate for determining whether a problem exists. You will see adults resting on plants, soil, windows, or walls, or you might see them in flight. Besides looking for adults, check plant pots for excessively moist conditions and organic debris where larvae feed. Yellow sticky Traps
Water and Soil Management
Because fungus gnats thrive in moist conditions, especially where there is an abundance of decaying vegetation and fungi, avoid overwatering and provide good drainage. Allow the surface of container soil to dry between waterings. Clean up standing water, and eliminate any plumbing or irrigation system leaks. Moist and decomposing grass clippings, compost, organic fertilizers, and mulches are also favorite breeding spots. Avoid using incompletely-composted organic matter in potting media unless it is pasteurized first, because it will often be infested with fungus gnats. Improve the drainage of the potting mix (e.g., increase the proportion of perlite or sand in the mix). Minimize organic debris around buildings and crops. Avoid fertilizing with excessive amounts of manure, blood meal, or similar organic materials. Screen and caulk leaky windows and doors to help prevent pests from coming indoors.
If you have infested plants, don’t move them to new areas where flies can emerge to infest other pots. In some cases you may wish to toss out severely infested plants.
Purchase and use only pasteurized container mix or potting mix. Commercial growers often treat potting soil with heat or steam before using it; this will kill flies and the algae and microorganisms they feed on. Home gardeners can solarize soil:
Moisten it.
Place it in a bag of transparent plastic or black plastic.
Make the pile no deeper than about 8 inches.
Place the bagged soil on a slightly elevated surface, such as a pallet in a sunny location, for about 4 to 6 weeks.
Trapping
In home situations where fungus gnat adults are a nuisance, it may be possible to reduce the problem by using sticky traps available at retail nursery and garden centers. Yellow sticky traps can be cut into smaller squares, attached to wooden skewers or sticks and placed in pots to trap adults. Also, raw potato chunks placed in the soil are very attractive to fungus gnat larvae. These may be used not only to check pots for larvae but also to trap them away from plant roots. After a few days in a pot, remove infested chunks, dispose of them, and replace with fresh ones.
other commercially available nematode species. Mix Bti or nematodes with water, and apply as a soil drench, or spray onto media using a hand-pump spray bottle or other spray equipment, following label directions.
Several natural enemies help to manage fungus gnat populations in outdoor systems, such as landscapes and gardens, and indoors in greenhouses and conservatories, including the predatory hunter flies, Coenosia spp. These flies catch and consume adult fungus gnats in mid-air, and prey on fungus gnat larvae in soil while developing as larvae themselves. Conserve these and other natural enemies by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticide applications.
More Helpful Info ===>Growing from Seed Instructions Seed Germination Charts Are My Seeds Still Good? Know Your Zone
Buy Vegetable Seed– Buy Flower Seeds– Buy Seed Starting Soil– Buy Heating Mats– Buy Seed Starting Trays & Pots– Buy Growing Lights