When to "uncover" seedlings?

Growing 3 autos in a tent under CFLs. The seeds I planted spouted in 1 day. I had planted them in their buckets with Saran Wrap over the bucket to hold the humidity in. They looked great when they sprouted

After they sprouted, I took the saran wrap off and raised the lights so I wouldn't burn them.

The next day they looked wilted. For sure not as happy as they did that first day. I misted the soil and put plastic containers over each seedling to keep the humidity in.

Should I have kept them under cover longer? How long should you keep new seedlings "covered"?

Tent temp with the lights on is ~82F.

You should never cover new seedlings as it makes them humidity dependent and as you have experienced is difficult to acclimate them to a normal environment. Mist them frequently and leave the covers off. Good Luck

CaretakerDad said:

You should never cover new seedlings as it makes them humidity dependent and as you have experienced is difficult to acclimate them to a normal environment. Mist them frequently and leave the covers off. Good Luck

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Thanks. It was one of the few details I hadn't researched.

Any idea when the "cover" should come off?

You need to 'harden" them. Pop cover off for an hour first day. Two hours next day and so on.

I never cover seedlings... Just keep the soil moist and you are good

Thanks for the replies. Noob mistake. I'm learning.

I did uncover them right after they sprouted. I believe it was a heat issue in the tent that caused the wilting. I will dial it in.