so my sprouts are dying again.. pics inside

[noty johnson]

http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/sprout2.jpg.jpg


Had two good looking sprouts.. then all of the sudden they are shrivelling up and dont look so good.

This sprouts stalk looks great, but now its leaves dont look right. It's first real set of leaves always looked a bit odd..

The other sprout i had looked perfect until yesterday. I didnt get a pic because its so far gone now it would be useless..

I cant figure out what i'm doing wrong. I test the ph, its slighty below 7.. soil is schultz seed starting soil (no ferts). I was using a flouro shop light (6500k) but now i'm using a 6500k CFL about 2-3 inches above the two sprouts (125watt).

I try to water sparingly. temps are around 75.. its in a closet but i leave the doors open and the overhead fan on so there is some circulation.

These sprouts made it one week... seeds came from website, supposed to be WW. I can get them to sprout about 100% but then they die.. maybe i should try another soil

thanks in advance

[faithless]

Strange, but theres no clues in the information you gave us. What damage did the one that died have?

[noty johnson]

i was hoping the picture would help.. it just looks like it shrivelled up and died

i did notice reading this soil it says to transplant whenever first real set of leaves appear.. could there be somethign about this "seed starting" soil that makes it necessary to transplant that early? has anyone tried transplanting a sprout that small?

i've got not no clue

[faithless]

It only says that because a plant that small is succeptible to shocks and changes. I read that your soil does have nutes, but I've never used that brand.
Sorry, that pic tells me nothing.
Try PH neutral rockwool or Oasis instead, is my suggestion.
From that pic it looks lke they were moved to large pots?
How large? If they're in 2 gallon pots that you only water occassionally, chances are they're still getting drowned.

.

[Bree1978]

I feel your frustration! You said you had been watering sparingly...have you kept the top of the soil somewhat moist, misting occasionally? I dried my seedlings out too much if I didn't keep the soil misted (not wet or soggy)...I am new, just letting you know my experience. I've heard this can cause mold on the soil, but I didn't have a problem with it. I also read that misting the top of the soil allows the small leaves to absorb some water (the roots are developing and can't pack in as much as when they get bigger). Again just a thought. S

[noty johnson]

that pic is deceptive because i had to get the camera so close to get a clear picture.

they are in clear 12 or 16oz cups with tons of drainage holes along the bottom and sides.

i water by spraying with a squirt bottle. i mainly just saturate the top of the soil.. havent ever given enough to have it go out the drain holes.

looking at the bag it says "fast-rooting formula with phosphorus"" thinks its the soil?

and i'm an idiot, its scotts not schultz... here is the identical bag

http://www.scotts.com/index.cfm/event/ProductGuide.product/documentId/5cb5b37e08aae61e105eac395d73e225

[Bree1978]

I'd water them for real...not just misting...just til some comes out of bottom. Check the ph of what is coming out the bottom of the pot. Maybe what you have in that soil mix is making probs. and from what I have read on here that'll let you know. The soil may not be ph balanced. If all is good maybe you were underwatering...I did that! S

[stinkyattic]

Heya, that looks like heat stress.
You say the temps in the ROOM are 75, but what about the temps RIGHT UNDER THE CFL?
Oh yeah, and avoid misting sprouts. They don't like it.... mmm... pythium wilt!
A good way to ensure ample water and humidity is to put them in a plastic, not metal, tray and water into that and watch as the water gets sucked up. When they stop sucking it up from the bottom, that's plenty of water.

Good luck!

OH BTW I'm a huge fan of flourescent t-12 cool white TUBE lights for seedlings in the early stages. They run quite cool and I've never had heat problems, although I HAVE had those problems with both CFLs and my new wave T5... It's just way too hot for seedlings to be closer than about 3 inches or more.

[Bree1978]

Oh I didn't mean misting the actual seedling, just the substrate.

[stinkyattic]

Hard to get one without the other! I actually keep my humidity at 30% and no more than 40% in the sprout/veg room. Never have problems, just water from below whenever possible.

[noty johnson]

i doubt its heat stress because it looked like that before i used the cfl.. i had it originally just under a 1 4 foot 40 watt 6500k, and that thing put off virtually no heat.

at this point i guess im going to try adding 50% perlite to my scotts seed starting mix.. ive been using that straight.

i might try oasis cubes or similar if i can find a place locally that has them... down to 4 WW seeds so i'll go back to bagseed

thanks for the tips guys.. although im still completely lost! ;-)

[Bree1978]

well there you go I stand corrected! (I was just using my hand to cup around the plant while misting....) Thanks StinkyAttic. S Noty- water as Stinky advised -sucking up the water method- and let us know that (i'd say if but she knows what she is talking about) it worked.

[Weedhound]

sounds like the problem is in the watering....I think Bree is right, water for real. Didn't you and I have a discussion about overwatering? I know when I overwatered some plants I then did the opposite which was not water the next group enough. It does sound like damping off if they are sprouting ok; the tops getting too wet and the roots not wet enough....I'd stop misting and water till they drain; the roots need it.

[Bree1978]

I got sooooooooooooo scared to overwater that I underwatered...it happens. Luckily I caught it in time. S

[noty johnson]

ok i'll make sure their next watering is a good one. The problem is i'm not sure how often to water (every couple days?)... i know you say stick your finger in there, but i cant feel far enough down to know when its dry at root level. The top of the soil dries out in about an hour! Plant looking better today.. very green but the leaves look a little droopy, which is prob damping off. I'll see if i can get a better pic

[noty johnson]

http://www.lifeinwidescreen.com/siihp/sprout2.JPG

there's another pic.. its weird how the first set of real flowers is very rounded.. the other plant that dieds first set of flowers were a lot more pointy, but they both came from the same seed whch is ww supposedly.. maybe i got ripped on the seeds

[Abattoir Dream]

no, thats how ganja grows, those round leaves are called cotyledons and they store up the right amount of nutes to support the seedlings through into adolescence, as for your problem im not sure it is heat stress, there would usually be some yellow, how clean do you keep your grow room? and everything you use? it might be a disease of some kind, especially if it keeps coming back, have you tried any other growing medium? - either that or they are mutants, but then again most mutants survive... good luck, dont give up!

[faithless]

They look like theyre curling from heat.

[faithless]

ok i'll make sure their next watering is a good one. The problem is i'm not sure how often to water (every couple days?)... i know you say stick your finger in there, but i cant feel far enough down to know when its dry at root level. The top of the soil dries out in about an hour!

Something wrong there, how can the top dry in half an hour? Are you measuring the heat at the plant tops? Or are you watering much too little? The top should remain wet/damp for 1 -2 days.

-

[Bree1978]

If the finger method is getting you confused go by "the pot feels much lighter" method. Pick it up, and if it feels light water it. Don't worry about being on a schedule. So go give a peek at your newborns and if they feel light- water! Like Stinky mentioned, you might want to let your cup suck up the water instead of pouring it and disturbing the little one. And your sprouts don't look that strange...maybe thirsty, lol. GL S

Faithless- I think it is so dry so fast because he hasn't gotten them fully wet yet.

Oooh, I just thought of this, what if they aren't getting circulation from being so far down in that cup?

[noty johnson]

right now i've got one cfl about 4 inches away. it does have a reflector on it.. heat feels fine at the top of the plant. I can move it away further.. i guess even 6 or 7 inches and it will get plenty of light since its such a small light.

the leaves are very green, so i dont think its being underwatered.

its sticking out past the top of the cup, that picture is just deceiving.

I got some new soil that is 100% organic, doesnt have phosphurous like the one they are in now.. i'll try the next batch with that.

this soil is real loose and airy, and it dries out real quick, especially on top

Finally my comment about the leaves looking rounded and not pointy.. i mean the first set of REAL leaves, not the two it has from the beginning... i had two sprouts make it this far.. on one they were reawl pointy and more "Traditional" looking. On this one they are more rounded, but from the same seed supposedly

[PaRaNoIa]

I had a similar experience on one grow..

Turned out I was using the wrong soil, and I was overwatering..

I thought I wasn't, but I was.




I dunno.. Maybe you're watering TO sparingly.. Seeing as it's already dying, try to soak the soil.. Pour a liter of water in there.

[Weedhound]

Noty what are we going to do with you and your sprouts? I really am struggling with a good brand name soil MADE FOR SEEDLINGS no less can be wrong but I am certainly not someone who knows anything about soil growing so I'm just guessing but gosh...I mean puppy food is for puppies right? Its even the FAST ROOTING FORMULA or am I living in a dream world?
--Or both??-- Can we count on NOTHING any more????

[Weedhound]

I thought I wasn't, but I was.



Words to live by in my opinion....:)

[Abattoir Dream]

now youve got that new soil, crush up some dry eggshells into a powder and mix that into the soil, eggshells work great as a little booster for seedlings, and shouldnt burn, heres some specs for it i got from a nutrient chart on this site somewhere;

Eggshells N= 1.2 P= 0.4 K= 0.1
comments- Contains calcium plus trace minerals. Dry first,
then grind to powder.

[noty johnson]

i made a new thread in hydroponics.. i went and bought a setup, and rockwool cubes

;-)

http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?p=1118325#post1118325

[L3G10N]

Just my opinion, you should try to get some good soil. I had nothing but problems when i used Miracle-gro, Scotts, Schults or Expert Gardener soils bought from local garden centers. I finally found a place that sold Foxfarm soil and my plants took off like crazy.