New Seedlings Not Growing

[Kilbarrog]

Hi
I planted 3 autos in Light Mix on a 18/6 light schedule & they are getting small amounts of water & being misted.
1 grew a set of true leaves & stopped growing. Waited a week & dumped them.
Again, 3 seeds, 2 grew a set of true leaves & stopped.
On my 3rd try & 1 has a set of true leaves, the other 2 have microscopic true leaves & they've stopped growing.
So, what the actual f**k am I doing wrong?

Thanks as always

 

[Azimuth]

Well need more info to help you. Are your temps warm enough? What type of media are you growing in? Pics would be helpful.

 

[Kilbarrog]

Well need more info to help you. Are your temps warm enough? What type of media are you growing in? Pics would be helpful.

Temp is about 23 degrees
I just finished my first grow & I did the exact same thing starting that grow

 

[alpacaman]

Did you use any nutrients?

 

[Kilbarrog]

No nothing yet. I'm going to add a heater to the tent. But I had them in a smaller tent in a warm room so I'm not sure if it's temp
Btw, thanks for all the replies.

 

[Azimuth]

Temp is about 23 degrees

While they will grow in that temp, you really want it more like 27*C.

Also, those are pretty small plants in very large containers and will be very difficult to water properly. Improper watering is the most common way to stunt a plant and with autos there is no recovery time which leads to small plants and small yields.

For that, I see two options. Either:

1. Learn to water properly. Emilya has a good tutorial Here

Or

2. Skip the whole learning curve and come join is in #SIP Club. You'll grow happier, healthier and larger plants with less effort since the plant waters itself.

Oh, and lose the domes. Seedlings don't need them and all you're doing is growing a weaker plant that will provide opportunities for more problems down the road.

 

[VetSmoke85]

If it's the Biobizz light mix I use that and you shouldn't need to add any nutrients for a couple of weeks. More than likely over watering. Check the link Azi posted and that should help you out. Also with autos they do often appear to be doing nothing early on but they're building roots before the explosive growth up top. You don't have to start them in their final containers either. No reason you can't start them in a small container and then transplant. As long as they're healthy and you're careful they won't care. My autos have always turned out better when I have started them in a cup and then transplanted.

 

[Roy Growin]

I would usually start in small pots/cups and just water a little from the bottom and let it be absorbed up
It doesn't saturate the soil but it will make sure all the soil is kept moist
The tap root drives down to where most of the moisture is - the bottom
Once the roots find the bottom of the pot they will branch and start putting out more up top, because the plant 'thinks' that's all it's get to work with
Then you will have a root-ball you can up-pot with very little risk of failure

 

[Phytoplankton]

Be careful with those "humidity domes", for seedlings they are an open invitation to damping off. They're fine for clones while they're getting roots established.

 

[SmokingWings]

So, what the actual f**k am I doing wrong?

I don't know but I have ideas that could be considered.

We are not there so we have to rely on the photos for inspiration and what I see is an overwatering and underwatering situation happening at the same time. Follow that up with not enough light getting to the seedling and the combination can slow down if not actually stop growth.

Overwatered because what I see in the photos is a circle of approximately 4 inches (100 mm) of saturated soil mix. The surface of the soil within that circle looks like it is so wet that it is sparkling where the light is reflecting off the water. Then the underwatering shows with the soil between that circle of wet soil and the edges of the containers; looks dry, very dry, almost as if the dry soil goes down several inches, maybe 2 or 3 (50 - 75 mm).

What is there now is a small ball of water saturated soil which can cause the root system to grow slowly while it is surrounded by soil that might be dry enough that the feeder/hair roots will not grow into it.

Not enough light getting to the plant will then slow down photosynthesis and that slows down the leaf and stem growth and then slows down the root growth. I can see the condensation on the inside of those plastic bottle bottoms caused by the trapped higher humidity from the wet soil. All those drops of water are blocking enough of the light from getting through to the leaves so little, if any, photosynthesis.

My suggestion is to remove the plastic bottle parts which lets the soil around the plants start drying out. At the same time slowly give small amounts of water to the soil further out from the seedling. Not a lot at one time but you want to feel assured that the soil in that area is moist but not wet. You want it moist enough that you can feel assured that if the roots grow into that area they will remain healthy. Once it gets figured out the soil will remain moist for several days at a time while the very surface for a few mm down will be dry. No need to mist the plant or the soil. A small watering can or even one of the plastic bottle bottoms will work and reduces the possibility of pouring too much on at once.

It is not an overnight project. It will take several days to balance the soil moisture and if all goes right then a few more after that for the plants to react.

 

[SmokingWings]

Be careful with those "humidity domes", for seedlings they are an open invitation to damping off. They're fine for clones while they're getting roots established.

Yes, that is one concern. Even if the 'humidity domes' were removed and thrown away but the soil surface continues to remain wet there is the increased chance of "damping off disease".

Moist, but not wet soil and the surface allowed to dry out a bit reduces the chance of damping off. Having air currents move over the surface helps reduce the chance of 'damping off' even more. A fan that moves the air without blowing directly onto the small plants works well.

 

[Kilbarrog]

I don't know but I have ideas that could be considered.

We are not there so we have to rely on the photos for inspiration and what I see is an overwatering and underwatering situation happening at the same time. Follow that up with not enough light getting to the seedling and the combination can slow down if not actually stop growth.

Overwatered because what I see in the photos is a circle of approximately 4 inches (100 mm) of saturated soil mix. The surface of the soil within that circle looks like it is so wet that it is sparkling where the light is reflecting off the water. Then the underwatering shows with the soil between that circle of wet soil and the edges of the containers; looks dry, very dry, almost as if the dry soil goes down several inches, maybe 2 or 3 (50 - 75 mm).

What is there now is a small ball of water saturated soil which can cause the root system to grow slowly while it is surrounded by soil that might be dry enough that the feeder/hair roots will not grow into it.

Not enough light getting to the plant will then slow down photosynthesis and that slows down the leaf and stem growth and then slows down the root growth. I can see the condensation on the inside of those plastic bottle bottoms caused by the trapped higher humidity from the wet soil. All those drops of water are blocking enough of the light from getting through to the leaves so little, if any, photosynthesis.

My suggestion is to remove the plastic bottle parts which lets the soil around the plants start drying out. At the same time slowly give small amounts of water to the soil further out from the seedling. Not a lot at one time but you want to feel assured that the soil in that area is moist but not wet. You want it moist enough that you can feel assured that if the roots grow into that area they will remain healthy. Once it gets figured out the soil will remain moist for several days at a time while the very surface for a few mm down will be dry. No need to mist the plant or the soil. A small watering can or even one of the plastic bottle bottoms will work and reduces the possibility of pouring too much on at once.

It is not an overnight project. It will take several days to balance the soil moisture and if all goes right then a few more after that for the plants to react.

Appreciate your detailed reply.
So I removed the domes as you & Phytoplankton said. I've been using a dropper to water them. But I'll follow your advice. I planted 2 more seeds I had & like the rest, they spring from the ground so I'll watch how I water them. I'm using a 100w cob at about 50% from about 7 inches.

 

[cbdhemp808]

I recommend carefully transplanting to 1 gal pots, and bury the stems so that only about 1 inch is showing above the soil. Let the plants get to at least 9" tall before re-planting into the larger pots. Use some myco in the hole whenever transplanting.

happy growing!