Seedling Advice

The last burnt Spinach plant on the right

Most of my seeds have come up indoors. My main problem is getting seeds to survive my family. Here is my advice....or maybe pet peeves for handling seedlings:

1. Please!!!! refrain from from touching these tender plants! The oil from our skin does not do well with many edible plant leaves. This is why you see gardeners wearing gloves. They not only want to keep there hands clean but also protect their plants.
2. Refrain from over-watering seeds. Seeds can drown in soil conditions.
3. Be kind to seedlings when it comes to the process of hardening them off. In other words, wait until their true leaves appear. The first two leaves of a plant are not their true leaves, these fall off once the plant is old enough and have enough leaves to capture more sun.
4. Do not set seedlings outside, with the clear lid on your portable greenhouse, when it is over 45 degrees! I know this and did it anyway.....just burnt up all my beautiful seedlings.
5. Make sure the seeds are planted deep enough so that the plant doesn't shoot up very tall, but have a shallow root system. This causes the plant to die very quickly.