Novice cut flower grower looking for seed starting advice :)

hey fellow gardeners
was hoping someone would be able to help me out. My partner and I are starting a small scale cut flower operation this year and I have just set up my seed starting room. I put a wildflower seed mix into a starting tray (and a few foxgloves) with vermiculite and sphagnum peat moss just to see how they would germinate and the germination rate was great under the light setup I have. However, the seedling stocks are literally the size of a hair and the cotyledons are only a millimetre or two long.. They are nearly 3/4 inch tall. Might be silly to be so concerned perhaps they are slow growing.. But I have never ever seen seedlings so small. If it is a problem with the lights I want to nip it in the butt before I plant the seeds I'm hoping to harvest from. Humidity dome was on until sprouting then placed 1.5" under lights between 21-25c during the day and 16-17c at night. 16-18 hours of light a day. No heat mat. Around 40% humidity in the room.
Thankyou in advance for any advice you are able to give me :)

Your set up sounds great.
How long ago did you sow those?
It might be they need a dilute fertilizer?
Vermiculite and peat are good seed starter mediums, but they do not have much nutrients.
But do go easy on the fertilizer as seedlings can not take it unless it is dilute.
Use one quarter or less than the directions.

Tiny seeds make tiny sprouts. You should probably do some research on the time from seed to bloom for your choice plants - it can vary a lot. Meanwhile, keep your grow lights just a few inches above your little plants and raise them as they grow.
You are supposed to move your little seedlings from the seed flat into the first size of little pot. No advice here, I was always terrible at this step, and usually started the seed in their first little pot.

Aren't "wildflower mixes" likely to be mostly perennials, hence small, slow-growing seedlings? I don't actually know that, I just know that some perennial mixes I bought had multiple biennial and perennial varieties, plus maybe a few heavily-reseeding annuals.

Maybe it would be helpful, next time, to also plant a few annual species that you know are vigorous and grow rapidly. Then you'll know that your conditions are good, and it is just the variety of seeds that start out small and slow.

There is some saying that's supposed to be easy to remember, about perennials that start out slowly. Something like:

"First year, they sleep. Second year, they creep. The third year, they leap.”

It sounds like you could get a lot of mileage out of saving seeds from this year's crop, to start next year.

Or you might find a local "seed library" that will let you check out a few packets of seed this year, if you try to save a dozen packets and return those to the library for sharing next year.

"Seed Library" locator:
http://www.seedlibrarian.com/

Wow! Thanks so much for that link. I found a seed library in our small town (city) of Placerville.

We started a seed library here last year. Some of the more popular varieties ran out and didn't get adequately restocked. But I think it was a good first year effort and hopefully we will get the bugs worked out.

(cough cough)

I see, Evelyn! Since you "hardly have ANY seeds", cough-cough, a seed library could let you stock up and fill holes in your collection.

(trying to keep a straight face)

I thought that even after giving away 2/3rds of your seeds, several times, you still WERE a seed library in your own right!

Seed mixes can be hard to grow inside. The plants have such different growing conditions. It's hard to grow them together not knowing who is who. Some may need different conditions to germinate, like stratification. And even the timing on that can vary. I direct seed mixes wildflowers in the fall/winter. I think doing each type separately would be much easier, especially if your looking for flowers and not plants.

Don't choke on those seeds, Corey!

It's more like being buried alive. My Hog Wild Piggy Swap bag arrived recently, and I'm in a seed-induced coma.

Lol, Evelyn and RickCorey......(Miss seed aholic here, lol, I've been going thru mine and starting them). Yup, perenn. seedlings are usually small to begin with, Rick is correct, 3 year for a mature plant tho some can beef up in yr 2. If you have the garden space you could do both annuals and perenns. How much garden space do you have to work with? Start perenns now for future use and this year concentrate on annuals...things that reseed year to year are a bonus. I've often thought about doing a cut flower business also, who knows maybe I'll begin this year.... Put me on your list somewhere and if your interested I could share some, (or a bunch) of seeds for next season, shipping to Canada would be cheap...less than $5 US. Kathy (send me a dmail if you like)