New seedlings and new grower needs advice....

[bigslick90404]

Im a new grower and looking to get some experienced feedback on what you all think is going on with my new batch.
I germinated 4 seeds successfully (and by successfully I mean they all cracked and sprouted a tap-root) and planted them approx 1/2" down into 1.5" square rockwool cubes.

I pre-soaked the rockwool cubes for a couple of hours in filtered water with a ph of 5.3 and ppm of 003. I measured the adjusted water (from the bowl I'd soaked the cubes in) and it was at 6.2

I placed the four cubes into a humidity dome and sprayed them down with water and left them in the dark. There was quite a lot of standing water in the bottom of the dome and condensation up around the clear top of the dome. The temp in the room was running between 73 and 82 deg F.
I kept them in the dark and checked on them every 8-10 hours. After 3 days one of the seeds had emerged with the two rounded leafs clearly showing. I turned on the lights. I placed the 4 x 4 ft fluorescents about 2â?� above the top of the dome lid (effectively 10-12â?� above the seedling tops) and put them on an 18/6 cycle. I was running all 4 bulbs. BTW, the bulbs are 4 x 3000K blue/veg. The seeds are 4 freebies from Attitude. Seedbank is Kannabia, all female, non-auto.

Of the four seeds one started growing like crazy. It literally went from emerging to being long and lanky (3-4â?�) in 2 days. Two of the remaining 3 have also sprouted (1-1.5â?�) and one I think is a dud.

So I was (I think in error now) maintaining a very wet environment inside the dome. I had reduced the amount of standing water in the bottom but there was still some in there. I would spray the tops of the cubes, around the base of the stem about 1-2 times a day with filtered water, ph 5.3

I started to notice that the round leaves were curling under and thought that maybe the lights were too much for them at this stage so I reduced the light from 4 to 2 bulbs. I was hesitant to do this since Id read that the long lanky stem can be indicative of a plant reaching for light, but this was confusing as id had the lights on from the moment they emerged out of the cubes.
I had to leave town for 2 days. I drained all the standing water out of the tray (I tested the standing water and it had a ph of 7.2 â?? strange as nothing was added at anytime) and left the 2 bulbs on.

When I returned the inside of the dome was dry, no standing water and no condensation inside the dome lid. The temp in the room was 87 deg. The plant that had really taken off was now leaning over 90 degrees. The other two had grown slightly but one of them had started to curl its two round leaves under. I removed the dome lid. The cubes were slightly moist to the touch. I gave each a light spray with filtered water, ph 5.3, until the first drops came out of the bottom. I then lightly placed some tooth picks into the cube (being careful not to go too deep and potentially hit any roots â?? if there even are any yet) to help support the drooping plant.

As of right now I am running on two bulbs, maintaining a moist cube with no standing water, the dome lid off and the temperature is 81 deg (at plant level). I have a gentle fan running to scrub the air inside the room every 2 mins, but it is not blowing directly at the plants.

I need all the advice you have. This is my first grow and I donâ??t want to lose my first batch! What do you think is the issue. What did I do wrong. What can I do to remedy the situation.

I have included pics to help show the set-up. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

bigslick90404 Reviewed by bigslick90404 on 02-01-2011. New seedlings and new grower needs advice.... Im a new grower and looking to get some experienced feedback on what you all think is going on with my new batch. I germinated 4 seeds successfully (and by successfully I mean they all cracked and sprouted a tap-root) and planted them approx 1/2" down into 1.5" square rockwool cubes. I pre-soaked the rockwool cubes for a couple of hours in filtered water with a ph of 5.3 and ppm of 003. I measured the adjusted water (from the bowl I'd soaked the cubes in) and it was at 6.2 I placed the Rating: 5

[Dutch Pimp]

I recommend switching to 6500k bulbs. 3000k is for flowering.

[bigslick90404]

Thank you. That's embarrassing. I actually ordered the fixture with "mixed bulbs" (2x 3000K and 2 x 6500K) but it showed up with 4 x 3000's. My mistake was thinking those were the veg bulbs.

I picked up some 6500K bulbs today and switched them over, now running 2 x 3000K's and 2 x 6500K's. Could that have been causing the curving of the leaves? And the yellowing/browning of the leaves?

Should I keep the dome on or off? Someone else suggested moving the light to 4" above the plants, is that ok at this early stage? Should I run 4 bulbs or 2 for now?

Thanks again for any advice.

[cturner1984]

Im a new grower and looking to get some experienced feedback on what you all think is going on with my new batch.
I germinated 4 seeds successfully (and by successfully I mean they all cracked and sprouted a tap-root) and planted them approx 1/2" down into 1.5" square rockwool cubes.

I pre-soaked the rockwool cubes for a couple of hours in filtered water with a ph of 5.3 and ppm of 003. I measured the adjusted water (from the bowl I'd soaked the cubes in) and it was at 6.2

I placed the four cubes into a humidity dome and sprayed them down with water and left them in the dark. There was quite a lot of standing water in the bottom of the dome and condensation up around the clear top of the dome. The temp in the room was running between 73 and 82 deg F.
I kept them in the dark and checked on them every 8-10 hours. After 3 days one of the seeds had emerged with the two rounded leafs clearly showing. I turned on the lights. I placed the 4 x 4 ft fluorescents about 2â?� above the top of the dome lid (effectively 10-12â?� above the seedling tops) and put them on an 18/6 cycle. I was running all 4 bulbs. BTW, the bulbs are 4 x 3000K blue/veg. The seeds are 4 freebies from Attitude. Seedbank is Kannabia, all female, non-auto.

Of the four seeds one started growing like crazy. It literally went from emerging to being long and lanky (3-4â?�) in 2 days. Two of the remaining 3 have also sprouted (1-1.5â?�) and one I think is a dud.

So I was (I think in error now) maintaining a very wet environment inside the dome. I had reduced the amount of standing water in the bottom but there was still some in there. I would spray the tops of the cubes, around the base of the stem about 1-2 times a day with filtered water, ph 5.3

I started to notice that the round leaves were curling under and thought that maybe the lights were too much for them at this stage so I reduced the light from 4 to 2 bulbs. I was hesitant to do this since Id read that the long lanky stem can be indicative of a plant reaching for light, but this was confusing as id had the lights on from the moment they emerged out of the cubes.
I had to leave town for 2 days. I drained all the standing water out of the tray (I tested the standing water and it had a ph of 7.2 â?? strange as nothing was added at anytime) and left the 2 bulbs on.

When I returned the inside of the dome was dry, no standing water and no condensation inside the dome lid. The temp in the room was 87 deg. The plant that had really taken off was now leaning over 90 degrees. The other two had grown slightly but one of them had started to curl its two round leaves under. I removed the dome lid. The cubes were slightly moist to the touch. I gave each a light spray with filtered water, ph 5.3, until the first drops came out of the bottom. I then lightly placed some tooth picks into the cube (being careful not to go too deep and potentially hit any roots â?? if there even are any yet) to help support the drooping plant.

As of right now I am running on two bulbs, maintaining a moist cube with no standing water, the dome lid off and the temperature is 81 deg (at plant level). I have a gentle fan running to scrub the air inside the room every 2 mins, but it is not blowing directly at the plants.

I need all the advice you have. This is my first grow and I donâ??t want to lose my first batch! What do you think is the issue. What did I do wrong. What can I do to remedy the situation.

I have included pics to help show the set-up. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

more light and a hell of alot closer,IMHO i hate rockwool to start seeds in,ive always had problems and a failed grow.
and there probably a lil shocked from being so wet to going bone dry.
just keep them moist/humid.
my seedlings get started on a soft ph water then worked up harder,so basically a light start then on to the heavys :smokin:
and i start all my seeds on a 600w hps 2ft away never not had a seed sprout:thumbsup: