this is take two...arg. anyway, this time i did the paper towel sprouting and then planted the sprouts into 3-4 inches of peat moss with the intention of repotting them into pots with soil under fluoro's and cfl's when they broke ground. but they still have not broken ground!! in my first run i just went straight to soil and some plants took a week or more to break ground (old bag seed) now i KNOW they sprouted beforehand, but there still no sign of the stem or seed pod with cotelydons (sp?). and it's been 5 days. what's up with that? is the peat moss no good....should i transfer them to the soil pots asap? there are 20 seedlings.
How deeply did you plant the sprouts in the peat? Tap root down? Also, do you have any lights on them now? I've only done a few grows, but I believe that 100% peat may be a little 'heavy' for sprouts. Not that they won't grow (to my knowledge), but it may not be ideal. Imo, it probably would have been a good idea to mix in some fine perlite. Another point is your temps - specifically below ground at this point -- is there anyway you could put a mild heat source beneath your pots? This would encourage the little girls to grow a bit quicker Good luck.
about 1/2 inch - 1 inch. tap root down as much as possible, although some of them i felt were "good enough" rather than playing with them too much. yesterday i unearthed the first one i planted just as an experiment, and it was bigger and growing. so i'm thinking that peat just isn't nutritive enough. in the last few hours i've transferred them to pots with soil. (with the peat still around them to protect any roots that have grown) i did not notice any root hairs in any of the peat. it was still VERY WET. so i put a fan on it and put it under 6 cfl's and two fluoro's to help dry it out a bit. i have an hps but am hesitant to turn that on, although it would generate some heat to evaporate some of that water and make it a little cozier. right now the temp is 74. should i turn on the hps too? it seems like a wasteful way to heat things up. i wish i had a space heater er something. edited to add: this is crazy. i'm an avid outdoor gardener who starts seeds indoors every year. i can't believe our grow hasn't taken off yet!!!!! the weed has officially humbled me!!
Im in the same boat, really. Outdoor growing techniques don't always lend themselves to indoor! - you'll get it. You will probaby notice them dry with the fan on them. - I wouldn't panic just yet. Again, if you have a heating pad or blanket- put it under them.