“I used Jiffy this year, for the fourth year and it worked fine. You do have to stay on top of the watering.”
I have tried Jiffy, watering from the top because I didn’t think of wetting it before I put the seeds in. Then, I started more seeds, wetting the Jiffy before I put the seeds in, and only one cup has anything in it and that one just started. With Espoma, the seeds I started at the same time as Jiffy, the seedlings are so thick now, I’ve got to transplant into larger pots with only that one bit up with the Jiffy.
I don’t have to prewet with the Espoma as the water is sucked up into the cup by the next day after I planted the seeds. The only way water gets into the cups using Jiffy, is to water them from the top.
This was the first time I wet the soil before planting. I usually water from the top since that is where the seeds are. After they get a root system going, I switch to bottom water to keep from wetting the leaves.
I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Starting from seeds can be a trying experience at first.
I was outside today and noticed a vine growing from an abandoned container that we brought with us when we moved here. My wife and I agree that it is a blackberry vine. We have set aside a plot out back by the other road to grow native SE Texas wildflowers. I am going to put it in the center of that patch and let it spread across the ground. We will have the same blackberries that we are accustomed to, the native kind. I noticed this last year, but the yard guys weed eat around there so it didn’t get a chance to catch on.