I lost all of my seedlings that I started in pots last year. I had good germination on all but in the course of the summer I lost all of them. I think this is due to two problems: fungus gnats early on and the inability to wet the soil after it dried out a bit. I would water and think they were watered but apparently it was mostly running down the sides.
I have better luck with baggies. I'm not talking about little sandwich bags but a minimum size of 1 quart. I make sure the mix is totally moistened (not soggy!) before planting the seeds. It is easier to control the humidity and prevent the mix from getting too dry (especially when I'm not paying a lot of attention!) I also notch a couple of triangles out of the sides above the soil line to ensure air circulation.
When the seedlings are pretty well established in the bag (lots of roots showing) I use scissors to cut the bag away and plant the gob of seedlings undisturbed in a larger pot to grow them out to a size that is easier to handle. If I am really feeling lazy they sit around in the baggie until the next spring.
