My first grow last year i germinated a seed, put said seed in peat pot. You know the ones you soak in water to expand. As soon as it had multi leaves i put it and the peat pot right into some ffof soil. It took off like it should. Fast forward to this grow… I tried it a bit different. Germinated seed, then stuck it in fox farms light warrior soil. Supposed to be made for starting seedlings. Came up fast then stopped, then it died. no wilt, fresh soil so no pathogens from previous grows. So planted another and went back to the first way. It germinated but never came up. So germinated another. It came up fast then stopped again! The starter leaves began browning. It basically stopped growing for a whole month! With just the browning first leaves to support it. It transplanted into ff ocean forest like the first time and watched it, then it finally took off!
I guess my question is, does anyone have a foolproof way of getting seedling to start right? Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Not for this grow, but just for future reference… musta just got lucky on the first one lol!
We see a lot of issues with peat pots because they retain water too well. Chronically wet soil is by far the most common cause of seedling loss. Roots need oxygen and all a seedling has is a tap root. The tap root is not capable of extracting oxygen from the soil if it is wet all the time. It’s best, once they are in soil, to not water the soil at all and instead use a humidity dome. A cut pop bottle of a clear Solo cup works fine. Mist inside the dome a couple of times a day. The plant can get all of the water it needs via the humidity in the dome. Begin watering a few ml of water per day after the seedling outgrows the dome. When the plant is big enough to withstand a full watering, then do so and then let the soil dry out before watering again. Cannabis will withstand dry soil far better than soil that is wet all the time. This is true for the entire lifecycle of the plant.
Get some fox farm happy frog soil, and solo cups. Moisten the soil, and fill the solo cup. Plant the seed directly into the soil (not very deep), spray a little water on it to settle the seed, and stick a baggie over the top to make a little greenhouse. Keep it warm, and it should break ground in about 3 or 4 days. Stick it under your light on low power, and don’t water until dry. When seedling is as wide as the cup, transplant into a fabric pot of happy frog, and use the nutrients that you prefer. Me, I’m all organic, so I won’t advise you on nutrients.
The Fox Farms Light warrior is a seed starter that is ok for starting seeds, but as soon as it gets its second set of leaves it needs to be transplanted into something that can feed the plant.
Light Warrior is a peat product and has absolutely no nutritional value so you need to either feed your seedling a starter fertilizer or you need to repot it.
I tried using Light Warrior and had similar results to yours. Then I started filling a cup 2/3 full with soil and seed starter on top 1/3 so that the roots had something to grow into. Finally I gave the seed starter away and place straight into a cup of Fox Farms Happy Frog.
Great info guys! Ive been to other boards, but i love the vibe here! You guys and gals rock! I love that nubees can feel welcome here without the typical condescension of other internet groups… many of us are learning together. Ive learned more from you guys than i have from all other sources combined…
it’s pretty chill here. Most of us feel no need for the toxic hubris. We like what we do, and we get pretty good at it sometimes 
good luck with your grow! I also use the jiffy pot peat pods to start seeds. I have had mostly great luck. Some seeds sometimes just dont pop. That’s why I have over 40 strains and probably close to 500-700 seeds.