I germinated all of my White Widow seeds (about 30 both fem and auto - trying SOG) in tap water in a glass bowl. Planted them in one gallon pots of FF Ocean Forest when their roots were about 1/4" to 1/2" long under approx. 1/4" of soil. For some reason, only 10 sprouted (one sprouted 4 weeks after planting and is doing fine). Two of the sprouts came up about a half inch but had no leaves. Tried to baby them along but after 2-3 days both just shriveled and died. What would cause the lack of sprouts and why would two sprout but with no leaves? The 7 that did sprout are looking great. I planted both kinds thinking I would just go to 12/12 when the auto flowers put out buds and force them all into flowers. I have a 1000 w HPS set about 2’ above the pots. I water twice daily since the pots dry fairly fast. My tent is 4X8X8 with an 8" exhaust fan. Temp stays around 80 degrees, Ph about 6-6.5, and light meter shows mid-range available. Can’t think of any other info needed. Oh, and prior to this my plants came up and grew so well I was constantly having to top or move away from the heat of the light and the harvest tasted great.
I think that’s to much light for seedlings. I use MH at veg, and it’s only 600w, and that’s 3 weeks after they break ground. Why HPS in seedlings? I will be using HPS for flower
@Haiwee I have always started my seeds in a humidity dome before i put them outside. They sprout much faster.
Wow. Thanks. I actually just got my dome from Amazon yesterday. I thought it might be a decent idea but your reply took it from decent to “gotta get some seeds and cuttings in here”. 
I thought that was maybe too much light and heat. I read in one of the guides here that a timer and CFL hanging above a humidity dome works to sprout and for clones. Since I have to keep everything in a back bedroom, warmth isn’t an issue but do you think the CFL will be sufficient? Trying to keep my electrical costs down since it’s kind of pricey here in Redding.
Just make sure your light isnt to far away. Or the plants will start to stretch.
If they sprouted with no leafs odds are they went in hole tap root up. That would also account for some of the low germ rate.