have I lost my seeds?

[plit]

Please help me with a first time grow.It seems as though my seed has stopped growing before It ever got started.
I germed my seed with a moist paper towel and in a day or two my seed had about a quarter inch or so tap root.I place the seed root about a 1/8" down in some soil in a 7oz cup.I used a 26w 1600 lumen 6500k cfl bulb about 2 inches away from the soil.The soil I felt was never very dry or wet I would give the seed about a cap full of bottled water every 24 hrs or so.The problem that I have is that my seed managed to push it's way to the top of the soil in a few days but had stalled there.I was checking the soil today when the seed had kinda rolled on me.I noticed the root tip of the seed was brown and the root had just growing in a small circle.Has my plant died now?What could of gone wrong for future reference.Is there anything that I could do know to save this little bugger? thx...

p.s. temps where a steady 80 degrees.

 

[RooRman]

Sounds like two thiings could have happened...

You planted the seed too deep. If the seed is too deep in the soil it will use all it's starting energy to try and break free from the soil, but fails in doing so. Plant the seedling taproot down just below the surface of the soil. If you can see the very top of the seed casing, that's ok too.

You watered too much and this could have caused the seedling to be "washed" down deeper into the soil.

However, the worst thing you can do is keep digging at the seed to check on it's progress. This is tearing the tiny roots trying to connect to the soil and is making it that much more difficult for the seedling to root itself.

 

[plit]

Sounds like two thiings could have happened...

You planted the seed too deep. If the seed is too deep in the soil it will use all it's starting energy to try and break free from the soil, but fails in doing so. Plant the seedling taproot down just below the surface of the soil. If you can see the very top of the seed casing, that's ok too.

You watered too much and this could have caused the seedling to be "washed" down deeper into the soil.

However, the worst thing you can do is keep digging at the seed to check on it's progress. This is tearing the tiny roots trying to connect to the soil and is making it that much more difficult for the seedling to root itself.

I had used the pencil eraser method to find my depth for the seed and I lightly pushed a little over the top.

The amount of water that I had used was from a small cap full from like a 20oz bottle maybe a tsp worth

As far as digging in there I had never touched the seed in the past this time the soil was a little dryer and exposed the root to me.

Do you feel that with the tip of the root having a little brown to it that the plant is now dead with no chance of reviving it?

What could I do better in the future thx.....

 

[RooRman]

Given the amount of water you said you used, now you have me thinking the opposite. I was thinking you drowned the seed, now I am thinking you didn't give it enough water.

Seedlings like the soil moist and the humidity slightly on the high side. It also helps to heat the root zone a little. This is why they sell heat mats for the exact purpose of cloning/propagation.

Another possibilty is your soil could be too compact. If your soil is very compacted this makes it hard for the taproot to penetrate the soil and root. The taproot may have grown up and around itself because it simply had no where else to go, and roots should never grow towards the light.

Last, it could simply be a bad seed. It happens.

 

[Stix]

I don't plant my seeds until I see the first set of baby leaves. Yeah, I know they say to plant when you see a 1/2 inch of taproot. I use to do that. But, for the past year or so I just put the seeds in a wet paper towel folded over onto itself. place it on a plate. Wrap it up with plastic wrap and wait till the thing is basically a seedling. Then I plant it. Never fails.

 

[Racefan]

sounds like it was washed out of the soil and the air killed the tap root to me. If the root died it's dead.