Do I need a humidity dome?

[Scottsquatch]

I see many people use them and some dont. Does it just depend on seasonsl/local humidity? How do I know if I need one? Also, they seem short and I was gonna put the germs seeds in solo cups. Are there domes tall enough for that? Lastly, how long should they stay in the dome. Thanks for the help.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Does it just depend on seasonsl/local humidity?

I have always assumed so. If you happen to live in the Dry Valleys area of Antarctica - where scientists believe it may have rained... two million years ago - and your indoor RH level isn't much better, then you probably need to take extreme measures.

By the same logic, if you're sprouting seeds in the Winter, and your home heating system doesn't have the ability to keep the indoor humidity level up, then such a thing may be helpful. Change "may" to "will" if you are likely to forget to check on your plants regularly (or, ironically, if you're the type of person who ends up wanting to do something to their plants every time they turn around, lol), I suppose.

You mainly just need to prevent the seed from drying back out after it gets initially hydrated, and to continue the "not drying out" until it has a minimal root system, IMHO. But if you run a one-room operation and, therefore, have hot lights and significant airflow in the very space that you're trying to sprout/grow seedlings, it can be more helpful (and for a slightly longer time).

Just my opinion. YMMV, of course. . . .

 

[SamSmith]

TS got you most of what you asked. There are different dome sizes available some of which may let you germinate in solo's. I germinate between paper towels under a dome with a heat mat set to 78-80F until I have a tap root going and the put it into the medium in a solo cup. I use 1 quart freezer bags (freezer because the bags are stiffer) opened up and slid just over the lip of the cup. This lets oxygen in but keeps the humidity up. I remove them shortly after the get their first set of leaves. My RH runs from low 40's to low 50's and I don't have issues getting them going that way.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Thanks guys, That's what I thought, but I wanted an experienced member of this forum to confirm it before I made any decisions.

 

[Emilya Green]

I have always had bad luck with humidity domes because at some point you have to wean the seeds out into the regular air in a slow hardening off process... if you suddenly take away the dome you can easily kill your tender little seedling. This, and dealing with this problem with 20 seedlings at once became such a pain in the neck that I stopped doing it, and it is now my opinion that seedlings forced to deal with the local environment without a dome end up stronger and faster than those that were babied along at first. This is totally my opinion though, and they wouldn't sell seedling domed starter kits if some people didn't see benefit in it.