5yo Old seeds - Slow Growth

Hi All,

After a 3 year break from growing I'm back at it. I have some seeds that are pushing 5yo and I've not had a lot of luck in germinating them (high failure rate). The ones that have germinated are growing at a snail's pace (i.e one is 1.5" tall and only has one small set of 'real' leaves - this plant is a week old).

My question is could the age of the seeds be the problem?

I'm growing in soil - premium organic composted potting mix with 15% worm castings and 20% perlite. Water PH is kept to around 6 and I have 2 x 85w 5500k CFLS and 1 x 150w 6500k CFL (total 320 actual watts). Temps sit at around 25-28deg celcius (77-82F) and RH at 25-40% depending on the day.

Am I best off ordering some need seeds? Thanks.

It mostly depends on the atmosphere your seeds have been kept in for the past x years, but just the fact that you got some to sprout is a good thing.
Soil PH should be 6.5 to ensure the proper nutrient uptake. Your other variables sound fine. Make sure you have the CFL's as close to the plant as possible.

New seeds sounds good but in the mean time I would continue with the old seeds and see what you can get going.