Seedling miscarriage

[siggy]

I have one grow in progress going well; Happy frog soil, 600 watts LED, northern light seeds started in the soil. Started white widow 7 days ago, this time in rapid rooter plugs sitting in about 1 cm of water from my well, pH adjusted to 6.8 . After 5 days with no sign of life I opened a couple of the plugs, and found the seeds opened with the white root projecting out by a tiny amount- maybe a millimeter. I was extremely gentle, and closed them back up. Two days later opened them and saw the same thing-- no change from the tiny white bud of a root showing.

I read on this forum about seeds sprouting in 48 hours. I assume that at 7 days with only this much action, something is wrong? I've been trying to cover every base.... pH, temp of 74-76 degrees (F) in the room, no lapse in moisture... a couple specific questions: is 7 days pretty 'far out' for growth from seeds purchased from one of the recommended seed brokers? I assume that the lack of progress for several days, at this stage, suggests problems?

And finally- my water is from a well that is deep in limestone. The water is basic, expectedly-- pH about 7.8- and I've adjusted it with general hydroponics 'pH down' to about 6.8. But the water is very 'hard', with lots of calcium carbonate. Next time I'll use distilled water, but does anyone know of an issue with hard water? At this point, is there any possibility of getting things going again?

[Burny]

What do you mean you opened the plugs? The rapid rooters I use are open at the top and you drop seed in and it comes out open hole.

[Burny]

Take them out of the water and just mist the rooters as they dry. They just need to be moist not wet. If you have the hole covered on the rooters remove whatever you are using.

[siggy]

I dropped the seeds in the holes. I think I kept them too wet; I kept the rooters in a cm of water for the entire time. The seeds were not under the water level, but the rooters were completely waterlogged and swollen after a week. When I say I opened them, I carefully cut into them with a sharp knife (a scalpel that easily slices through them), so I could see the seeds without disturbing them. The tiny root bud came out and then everything stopped. Again, I assume I drowned them, poor things .. thanks for the advice about misting.