Watering germinating seeds and seedlings

Greetings fellow newbies sand the experts kind enough to help us!

I have some seeds that have just been planted and I am wondering how much I should water them? They are in an organic mix of limed peat, worm castings, kelp and lava rock for aeration. They are under a T5 light and sitting on a heating mat. They are in clear solo cups so that I can see what is going on. I soaked the seeds and several had popped just before I planted them.

Currently there is a slight film of condensation on the sides of the cup, maybe extending 1/2 to 2/3 up from the bottom. The soil was damp but not wet when I planted them. I spritzed them after planting yesterday and have spritzed them this morning.

My plan is to water them lightly but frequently, but I am wondering how frequent that should be and what indicators would tell me that I am overwatering? Could I go by the condensation on the sides of the cups? Or, is there a more schedule -type of method? Right now I am concerned with rotting the seeds because I can't see them. Later when they are seedlings I can go by droopiness and will know whether or not that is caused by over- or under-watering depending on how much I am watering, no?

In terms of environmental conditions, they are in a basement with a relatively stable temperature (19-21C or around 70F) but with low humidity (45% or so).

Thanks for any suggestions.
BD

How do I grow weed? Anyone? Really?

I am here to help. How to grow weed easy.com. Read and read more and when you think you know it all you can start learning hands on. We all went through it. so can you. Be brave. Try what you read and if it doesn't work, try something else. I swear young growers are so fing lazy these days. Maybe we need a weed growing video game....

Love,
Novice 1 year grower.

Cigarviper has you on growweedeasy.com Read it while you wait for them to start.

I hope you cut a few drain holes in your cups. Danger on the watering. Don't love them to death. If you have humidity in your soil, don't water until they break through for a bit. Let them work a little, but not too much.

Good luck.

Having clear cups so you can see what's going on will also let in light. The roots need to be kept in darkness. If soil feels wet with your finger, don't water. If it feels dry then water.

do not water them frequently. i watch the top of the soil and you can see it get lighter brown. if you see condensation on the sides of the pot, then thats great. if you don't have holes in the cups, then i would cut some. the seed mat will keep the condensation on the sides of the cups when theres moisture and you will notice less as it dries out and you'll notice the soil on top will be light brown.

when you water them, be careful to let the water sprinkle on the soil or have the water hit the soil so the water can is almost touching the soil so the water doesn't dislodge the seed and push it down further into the pot. forceful watering will disturb the soil and you'll lose your seed. i think that your seeds will pop before you need to water again. i was watering every other day till the seeds got the first real node of leaves and then it was about once a day. i had them in solo cups half filled.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.

I suppose that I haven't looked elsewhere because I have found the knowledge here - which I've been ghosting since OG went down - to be so good and useful. True, other than following the ex ROLS/LOS members who have departed, I've neglected other sources. I won't any longer. What might help would be a stickied thread that lists these places along with some comments about the strengths and weaknesses of each. You up for that viper?

Thanks Tycho for the advice re: holes in the bottom. I will carefully do that. I don't have any water in the bottom of the cups, just slight condensation on the sides,so they are in no danger of being overwatered. And since I have an excellent extra-peat seedling mix - thanks to thailer - I don' think I'm headed for problems. I should have explained that I am trying to seal in the moisture already in the soil by watering very lightly using a spray bottle to mist them. Not the best approach as I now see. And yeah, loving them to death is something I have to deal with!

Thanks very much Cannared for the warning about using clear cups. I'll get some coloured ones and slip them on like a sleeve. That way I can both see them when I want to and have the roots protected from the light.

Hey thailer. Thanks so much again for your fantastic advice! I'll follow your instructions precisely.

BD