>> pressing the mix down with a coffee filter to drain as much excess water as possible.
Wow, squeezing it like a sponge?!?
>> just mist the surface
Me, too.
I've started putting a "capillary pad" under my seedling pots and trays. It touches the soilless mix through the holes and wicks away some of the excess water. It also makes it easy to bottom-water uniformly without pouring an inch of water in to the trays. If I get the cotton flannel good and wet, there is a little excess down in the grooves of the tray, and every cell can wick up as much water as it wants without drowning.
I killed whole trays full of seeds my first two years, and now I have a fast6 drainage/aeration fetish.
PTSD: Post Tray-Saturation Disorder.
