Stunted seedlings for sale

 

Seed starting is always a challenge with damping off disease, fungus gnats, etc.  This year has been horrible with no apparent reason. My whole tray of peppers just stopped growing weeks ago.  In a last ditch effort to save them I transplanted 100 seedlings into new potting mix.  I have never had this happen in over a decade of seed starting.

I was about to chalk it up to my error, until yesterday... I visited a large local greenhouse.  They were selling plants that were smaller than my stunted seedlings for 4 dollars each.  I have never seen such small plants for sale in my life.  It was both peppers and tomatoes.  The broccoli, cabbage, and lettuces were normal size.   Is something else going on with frequency to stunt these plants?