right, well that is a good question and I will look into it some more (into natural cycles). I have thought that light is not needed for germinating and focused on keeping temperatures and humidity around 80. Not now, the rH is around 40 and temperatures at 75. the bulb is 3' above the tray on 18/6, i sowed them 1/4'' in a moss/humus mix, and drizzled them all with whole aloe leaf...
Untill the coyts open up, there is nothing to process the light. And really the plant will not start the chloryphyl process till the first set of true leaves. Till then they live on the plant version of an egg yolk. Myself, I put em into rooter plugs, then leave my tray and dome n top of a bank of T5s(works a shot ton better then those "death by griddle" heat mats)When they sprout(break ground) they go under the T5s.
yeah, i soaked some paper towels and set on top of the tray to see how long it will take under tthe light, i am pleased with 5+ hours of dampness
I think it works better without light, naturally seeds germinate underground in darkness and then seek out light.
thanks for chiming in. I have the paper towel cover, thinking about going to the deli and get a newspaper to soak and use as a humidity dome.
well this is it, 3 days later and i have around %60 sprouts. the other seeds have surfaced but are not doing much, so i am maintaining wet paper towels over the pot's with these stragglers. This germination has been one of the toughest one's, i believe due to the low humidity, which has been around 35 and a couple spikes in the bathtub. it will be a test of the next day to see if the true leaves on around %50 of the sprouts will begin to develop. In the future, I may also add more sand, silt and clay to the seed soil. For better results