Gene Mirro, you are right about the Lopezia seeds. They were sowed indoors and got too leggy due to high temperatures and not enough light. The picture was from when I started with using vermiculite. Have to adjust the article. Will do that as soon as my health will allow me.
Now I know that I have to keep the seeds on a cool and not sunny place. But anyway, it had nothing to do with sowing in vermiculite.
Now I know how to handle seeds that germinated in the vermiculate , I can keep them in the vermiculite for at least 2 weeks up to several months after germination, until I have time to transplant them.
Fixpix, maybe your vermiculite was too wet. My experience is that it is much easier to transplant seedlings from the vermiculite than from other growing mediums. Roots are not so easily damaged. And I didn't approach it in a scientific way, I'm just an amateur who is very happy to find out that vermiculite is working perfect for me.
And yes, it sticks to your fingers, but I never touch it when sowing the seeds. And yes, if the vermiculite drops on the floor or on a surface, it sticks. But after drying it's very easy to remove. I can do the sowing in my kitchen instead of in the stable or another place. Soil does give a lot more mess. And don't forget: sowing in vermiculite is cheap and not so time consuming. You never have to water the containers until you are going to transplant the seedlings.
Hoy I never disinfect the seeds, that's really not necessary. In the '70s vermiculite was not pure and it often contained asbestos. Now it's really reliable.
The last few years I sowed about 1600 -1800 containers. I only had liverwort in 1 and moss in about 10.