Sometimes plants started indoors need a little extra help. This celosia seedling would have no trouble shedding its seed shell if it was growing outside because the rain and wind would take care of that naturally. But inside it’s a different story. If you suspect a plant is having difficulty freeing itself from its seed shell, the best thing to do is to gently spray water on it a few times for a day or two. That usually helps moisten the shell enough that the leaves inside can push it off. It’s risky to attempt to remove it with your fingers because one wrong move and you’ll snap the entire head off your plant (not that I know anything about that…).
Something else plants don’t get when you grow them indoors is wind. Blowing a fan on your seedlings occasionally, or stroking the tops of them with your hand will give you much stronger, sturdier plants. It also improves air circulation and helps prevent fungal diseases like damping-off disease. I use a clip-on fan from Charley’s Greenhouse because I have quite a few flats and need to move the fan around a lot. You can use a small box fan or oscillating fan or you can even temporarily set them in a room with a ceiling fan. The soil can dry out quickly after blowing air on your plants, so check it regularly. I usually turn the fan on my plants once or twice a week.
Most seeds sprout just fine under grow lights. But if you’ve planted some that still haven’t sprung to life after a week or so, it could be they need a little more warmth that only the sun can provide. When I have a lifeless flat of soil, I bring it upstairs and place it in front of a sunny window for about an hour. Because the flats and packs are black, they soak up heat pretty quickly. I always remove the clear plastic dome before I place the flat in the sun so the soil doesn’t get too hot and cook the seeds to death. If you still have no signs of life after a few treatments in the sun, it’s time to reseed (that is if you have any seeds left to sow). I usually get very good germination with seeds from any of the major seed companies, but every once in awhile I encounter a bad batch. Sometimes reseeding is successful and other times it’s best to just surrender and try growing something else.