bigdog

Kyle, that was a fantastic how-to tutorial! The only thing that I would add is that some may want to use plastic storage boxes with a tight-fitting lid instead of the baggies. It seems to me that sometimes there isn't enough air in the bags when the seedlings germinate, or sometimes they germinate right up against the bag and get too wet. Both work fine if you leave enough air. In any event, you do want to start checking daily after 2-3 weeks for germination.

When using a box, and transplanting a seedling from the box to a pot (try to use a sterile medium when they are this young to prevent fungal attacks!), I use my finger to gently push down into the medium with one finger about 1/2 inch from the seedling. Hook your finger underneath the seedling as deep as you can. Then grab the seedling with your other hand, and lift it up with the finger that is in the medium. Do not pull it up by your other hand, or you may risk damaging the roots! You might damage a root or two anyway, but I've not lost one yet doing it this way. The rule of thumb is to be gentle! Seedlings are very fragile, and won't easily recover from too many roots being damaged.

I have given up on using flats and trying to germinate in the greenhouse. Invariably, fungus gnats become a problem quickly. If you do want to germinate in the greenhouse (or outside), make sure that the cover of the box has holes in the top of it! Either that or set it where the sun won't hit it. I have lost one seedling in the greenhouse from cooking it the day after it germinated, on a cool, sunny winter day, where the temperature under the humidity dome must have been into the 100s Fahrenheit.

I have not had any luck with non-sterile medium, although there was a study that had better germination with it. I can't stress enough how important it is to start out with a sterile mix, sterile box (or bag), and to sterilize the seeds (like Kyle said) before sowing. If it isn't a sterile medium, you don't know if there are any pathogens in there just waiting to attack your seeds/seedlings. Especially if it is a rare seed or seedling, you want to give it the best chance possible. I'm sure some have had great success just throwing some seeds in a pot of old soil, LOL, but I'll bet it was a pretty common seed like Musa velutina or such.