Joanne, I asked Jonna that specific question in an email. She said she usually pricks the seedlings out and transplants to soil when they are around 2 true leaf size. The lids stay on until transplanting, so they never need watering. If larger sized seedlings hit the lid, she takes it off and mists the seedlings daily.
I had doubts about tiny, dust like seeds, like begonias, falling too deep within crevasses in the vermiculite particles, but Jonna assured me that it works well for dust like seeds.
This is an interesting experiment for sure. So far I'm pretty impressed by 3 echinacea sprouts in a week's time. Many people find them hard to germinate, but I've generally had good (or at least acceptable) results wintersowing. These particular echinacea are supposed to bloom the first year, but I don't believe they would if wintersown. That's why I decided to try these particular seeds. I didn't treat the seeds first (like soaking), I just sowed them. Prepping and sowing the 3 containers probably took about 10 minutes total.
Karen
