little white spots on seedlings HELP

[pothead1289]

I woke this morning and i saw whiteish yellowish discoloring around the edges of one of my plants leaves.
this is my first grow
I am not using and nutes
i have 1 65 watt cfl 1 25 watt cfl and two 14 watt cfls
i am using some seed starter soil with 60/40 perlite/soil mixture
the plant is about 7 days old

can someone help me and tell me what is the problem
i have 3 plants all of them are healthy and grren exept this one
it still looks healthy except for the white coloring


first pic is of both plants before the discoloring (it happend overnight)[attachment=o183543]

second is of the white discoloring bad pic but I can put another one no batteries for the camera
[attachment=o183542]

[Weedhound]

Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants,pH and Pest Troubles - PlanetGanja.com (http://www.planetganja.com/highsociety/showthread.php?t=8778)

I don't grow in soil but here's a good link to try....see if it helps.

[daihashi]

I woke this morning and i saw whiteish yellowish discoloring around the edges of one of my plants leaves.
this is my first grow
I am not using and nutes
i have 1 65 watt cfl 1 25 watt cfl and two 14 watt cfls
i am using some seed starter soil with 60/40 perlite/soil mixture
the plant is about 7 days old

can someone help me and tell me what is the problem
i have 3 plants all of them are healthy and grren exept this one
it still looks healthy except for the white coloring


first pic is of both plants before the discoloring (it happend overnight)[attachment=o183543]

second is of the white discoloring bad pic but I can put another one no batteries for the camera
[attachment=o183542]

What kind of soil specifically are you using?

What is your soil run off ph?

How close are the lights to your plants?

Are you using Superthrive or anything similar (not any nutrient regimine)?

[pothead1289]

thanks weedhound that link was and will be very useful.
I checked the entire site and it kept pointing back to nute burn.
the problem is I am not using any nutes and there arent any in my soil.

I dont know what to do
ahhhhhh

[pothead1289]

I am using a seed starter soil I got at walmart.

I water with gallon jugs of purified water i get from rite aid.

Im not sure what the ph of the soil is im getting a ph tester in a weei have 4 cfls about 3 inches away.

I added a desk lamp with a 25 watt cfl it seemed to be adding about 8 degrees so i removed it i have about 7000 lumens. (will be getting more lights and redoing my setup this weekend)

I am not using any nutes or anything but straight water

thanks for the replies i appriciate the help

[daihashi]

I am using a seed starter soil I got at walmart.

I water with gallon jugs of purified water i get from rite aid.

Im not sure what the ph of the soil is im getting a ph tester in a weei have 4 cfls about 3 inches away.

I added a desk lamp with a 25 watt cfl it seemed to be adding about 8 degrees so i removed it i have about 7000 lumens. (will be getting more lights and redoing my setup this weekend)

I am not using any nutes or anything but straight water

thanks for the replies i appriciate the help

Again.. What type of soil specifically. What does it say on the bag word for word? (seems stupid I know but I didn't realize I was using bad soil until I posted everything on the bag word for word.)

When using purified/distilled water you want to supplement with calcium and magnesium. These are lost during the filtration process and are important to plant needs. Unless your tap water has a very high PPM I would suggest you just use plain old tap/faucet water.

Soil PH is also very important. More so at this stage than at any other. If you have to get the liquid test kits. They can be bought for super cheap.

Probably a good idea to remove that light, but how many inches are the lights away from the tops of your plants.

Don't forget to post the information on your soil. Walmart sells alot of seedling starting soils that still have nutes in them!!!! Yep.. just because it says seedling stating soil doesn't mean that it's nute free. I found this out the hard way.

[JeffersonBud]

Use Reverse Osmosis water. Stay away from other types of bottled water. The PH of RO water and other types can have a weird ph reading. Usually lower then normal. Some Deer Park RO water read 3.9 ph I believe but now I just use tap and let it sit for 3 days to get rid of the chlorine. Saves $$$ on cal-mag too. What is the ppm of your tap water. If less then 200 use it. You can get a water report telling everything in the water online from your water company. What is the temp of the growing area? also they don't need a lot of light at that stage so if heat is a problem then cut back on a few bulbs.

[pothead1289]

hey guys thanks for the posts
imnot sure of the exact soil bag because i left it at my parents house. ( it was theres)
i had no idea that a seed starter could have nutes in it.

the lights are about 2 1/2 inches away from the plants. i put my thermometer on top of the soil and the temp never got above 79 degrees.

im going to get new soil tomorrow and im wondering what is the best to get from a store like home depot or lowes because there are no gardening stores around here just flower shops.


the water im using now is just some "crystal lake" water i got from rite aid it actually dosn't say distilled or purified on it.
and my tap water has the following

chloramines mg/L: 1.93
Arsenic ug/L: .5
copper mg/L: .18
lead ug/L: 10
Flouride mg/L: 1.42
theres other things in the water but those are the ones that sounded important

Is the chlorine too high. that the reason i didnt use the tap water in the first place i was afriad of burning the plant in its fragile seedling state with the chlorine.

I cant find anything that says anything about PPM on the site

im also going to try to find a ph tester tomorrow

thanks everyone

[daihashi]

If your home depot carries promix then try using that. It's excellent for seedlings. It comes in a very large bale and will probably last you for as long as you grow from seeds (assuming that's all you use this for).

When transplanting after they're mature enough (3-4 weeks) you can put them in just about any soil you want. Fox Farms is the best, but Miracle gro can be used too at this stage.

As far as the tap water goes, you should be fine as long as the ppm is low enough.

Alot of people don't even let their water sit for days to let the chlorine evaporate. It's more of a personal preference it seems between growers. I haven't noticed adverse effects from using tap water.

[pothead1289]

Thanks ill try that promix tomorrow. but if they dont have it ill try this organic soil and mix it with perlite. and mix it with perlite.
as far as the tap water, if im gunna us eit i want to let it sit out for at least 24 hours just for precations.
I really feel that it is the soil because i have another little plant and it seems to be doing much better.

the soil im using is most likely made for tomatoes or something not what i need.

[pothead1289]

would you think that my watering techniques have anything to do with it.

i was spraying them with a spray bottle of water when the soil looked dry on top.
but now i am watering them about a 1/4 cup water per plant a day.

i have no idea how much to water i was trying not to over water by spraying them but i feel the water isnt getting to the roots. could this be?

[JeffersonBud]

I let my water sit out for 3 days in a large 45 gallon rubbermade to dechlorinate. My h20 is only 100 ppm though so I do tend to use 1 ml of cal-mag with my Liquid Karma

[daihashi]

would you think that my watering techniques have anything to do with it.

i was spraying them with a spray bottle of water when the soil looked dry on top.
but now i am watering them about a 1/4 cup water per plant a day.

i have no idea how much to water i was trying not to over water by spraying them but i feel the water isnt getting to the roots. could this be?

Water them by pouring the 1/4 cup of water like you're doing.

Here is a surefire way to water/know when to water:

Take another cup and fill it with dry soil. Use it for comparison against the cups your plants are in. When it comes close to weighing about the same then it's time to water.

Get a hygrometer. Take note of what the RH% is at it's peak after you water. Watch for how long it takes to reach the low end of things. Combine this with the weight technique mentioned earlier.

Take your finger and at the edge of the pot/cup push it into the soil about up to the second knuckle. How wet/dry is it vs if you put your finger in the cup with the dry soil? When it is slightly more dry than wet then it's time to water.

I use all 3 of these techniques together. I feel it gives me a reasonably accurate idea of when to water my plants.

Generally unless it's very hot your plants won't need to be watered daily. They need time for the roots to breath also. Every other day at best.. preferably watering once to twice a week.

With all that said it's all dependant on your plant and no one is going to know your plant better than you. :thumbsup:

[pothead1289]

Thanks Daihashi,
that will really help me thank you.
my watering techniques were bothering and now i will have somthing to base it on.
im going to home depot right now to get my soil.

ill post new pics once my box is revised.

thanks everyone

[pothead1289]

ok so i found that promix. how long should i keep the plants in this promix before i change it. or do i need to change it again will the promix last until maturity.

I also got a soil ph tester and it is somewhere between 6.5 and 6.7


i put mylar on all the walls of my box and put each plant in its own pot
here are some pics.

the three plants in the new box
[attachment=o183868]
the outside of the box
[attachment=o183869]
a close up of the new soil (promix)
[attachment=o183870]

[daihashi]

Awesome. Glad you were able to get ahold of it.

1 thing to note. STAY ON TOP OF TRANSPLANTS.

You can use promix through your entire grow, just be sure to transplant either as soon as they're root bound or once every 5-6 weeks. You'll save yourself loads of headaches if you do

Promix is peat based which has a ph of like 5.0. It's got a lime buffer in there but once it's gone then you're stuck trying to fight off all kinds of crap.

Making sure you stay in fresh soil all the time will ensure that you don't have ph issues.

Also people say to use promix at around 6.0-6.2 or so.. I've kept mine at 6.8 before without any adverse effects, but I had to mention it so you were at least aware.

Good luck.

:thumbsup:

[pothead1289]

thanks diahashi you have saved my ass on this one.

ill keep you giys updated with more pics once something new comes up.

[daihashi]

Also be sure to give them a flush once a month or so before you do a transplant. This will make sure salt buildup is at a minimum and go a long way to make sure you maintain stable PH.