Hello Everyone:
I have sacrificed about 10 seedlings now through over-watering but I think I now have a better understanding of starting them properly. My new seedlings just broke the surface and I put misted clear domes over them. I mist the domes a few times a day. At what stage of the seedling’s growth do I remove the domes and start giving the babies water? How big should they be? How many leaves? Thanks for all your advice!
I wait until the leaves almost touch the humidity dome. Using clear 16oz solo cups. Then, I start watering with maybe 2-3oz in a ring where the rim of the cup sat, every 3 or 4 days. I increase amount every watering or so, and widen the ring until I’m watering closer to the rim of the vessel.
Assuming this is for soil.
Yes, it’s soil. Excellent advice, ty
@Borderryan22 has you covered. Personally, I rarely use humidity domes but that’s just me. I’ve only used them on my volunteers that I pulled from the rocky yard and they barely had a single root. When I water seedlings, I literally give them 1 Tablespoon of water every other day until the roots are. Don’t water near the stem… water at the “drip line”… think about the leaves as the outer edges of an umbrella. Where the water would drip off of the umbrella, that’s where the water should go. You can increase that distance to force the roots to seek out the water which makes them develop quicker and stronger.
Good advice. One thing I noticed is my seedlings are stretching with the domes on. Is that normal? I lowered the light to about 17 inches above plants and turned it up to 100%. The light is a 90W 50/60HZ and they are ina 2 x 2 tent. Thank you for your assistance.
Sometimes, the domes can block some of the sunlight. I know people who, after a few days with the domes, cut a quarter or more size hole in the top to let the light be at 100%. Like I said, I use the domes if I have one struggling with establishing roots but once they start ‘healing’ I remove it. Also, the humidity of your environment can also dictate you sing a dome. We are usually around 25-30% humidity and it seems to be enough. Pot truly is a weed lol
EDIT - what kind of light are you using?
Thank you Caligirl! I’m using a bloomspect 1600, 250 pcs leds, 90W, 50/60HZ. I did some research and it looked like it was suitable for a 2x2 tent. Learning alot, having fun too. jm
That’s a strong light for seedlings. I use a T% but you can turn that light down, correct? Not too familiar with that light. The T5’s can literally be just inches from the seedling that’s how gentle they are.
Yes you can turn it down. I’m 17 inches above plants right now.
As long as they look happy, I wouldn’t worry. They will definitely tell you if something is wrong 
EDIT… that above should have read “I use a T5”
best advice i ever received on overwatering is that its about how often u water that causes over watering, not how much u put in the pot
can usually go a few days without watering till the soil dries up
Thanks Hershy. It’s very hard to get the “I’m not sure so just water! - it can’t hurt” mindset to change, but I’m doing much better!