Seedlings not doing so well (pics)

[brettweir]

Hey guys, this is my first post on the forums, and as you can guess, I'm having trouble. I bought a variety pack of seeds and I germinated and planted two of them. They've been under this setup for about 11 days now:

-four 23w cool white CFL
-one 18" cool white fluorescent tube
-24 hours of light
-lights are about 8 inches above plants
-temp ranges from 25-28 degrees/humidity from 50-54%
-mix is a mix of 1/2 promix, 1/4 worm castings, and 1/4 perlite.
-pH of watering water is about 6.5 or so

It seems that on one plant the oldest leaves are turning spotty, yellow/brown, and are extremely dry. I had to break off the dead part of the leaf.

The other plant's oldest leaves, I'm experiencing droppy, dark (almost black) blotches on it, and it's got a bit of a twist.

Plant 1:

Plant 2:

Both:

Any ideas? I was thinking the humidity might be too low so I misted them a few times.

 

[StonerGrower]

Humidty is not your problem anywhere from 50-60% humidity during veg is fine. One problem is your using the wrong spectrum of light to grow during this stage. You need Daylight CFLs not cool white. Cool white or soft white CFLs should be used during the flowering stage. Otherwise they look fine to me besides that one leaf. Which could of gotten burned by the light when you misted them. When you mist your plants the drops of water act like a magnifying glass and can burn holes in your leaves. Give them a little bit of Nitrogen and switch to the right spectrum of light and they should be fine.

 

[brettweir]

Thanks for the reply. I thought that for the veg stage you need cool white or daylight. I always thought cool white and daylight offered the same spectrum, it's just that different companies name them differently. I'm pretty sure the cool whites emit in the higher spectrum (around 4700K), while softies are lower, used for flowering.

Oh, and these plants have only been under the light for about 11 days, so they're not exactly at the vegetative stage yet.. or at least I think they're not. Anyway, isn't it a little early to be introducing nutes?

I also forgot to mention that the leaves were actually turning like that about 3 days ago. I just tried misting them today to see if it would help. Any idea why they'd do that?

 

[casote]

hy dear , i want to start my growinig , so can you help with some tips , or info

 

[Racefan]

Thanks for the reply. I thought that for the veg stage you need cool white or daylight. I always thought cool white and daylight offered the same spectrum, it's just that different companies name them differently. I'm pretty sure the cool whites emit in the higher spectrum (around 4700K), while softies are lower, used for flowering.

Oh, and these plants have only been under the light for about 11 days, so they're not exactly at the vegetative stage yet.. or at least I think they're not. Anyway, isn't it a little early to be introducing nutes?

I also forgot to mention that the leaves were actually turning like that about 3 days ago. I just tried misting them today to see if it would help. Any idea why they'd do that?

Your lights are fine and your right on with the type of bulb too use. It's total BS that a HPS or flowering bulb will cause a problem during the veg cycle and vice versus. Growth might be slow or a plant might stretch a little but that's the biggest problem you'll ever experience if even that.
Your plants are really dark which could mean a few things. How much castings are in your mix? Too much of a high nitrogen nutrient can cause that darkness. A PH issue could be locking out other elements which could cause it as well. Your soil looks super wet too. How big are the drain holes on the bottom of your cups?
11 days means they are in veg state and no longer seedlings.

 

[brettweir]

The drain holes are about 7mm in diameter, and I have 6 drilled in the bottom of each container. This is the mix I used which I found online:

6 parts Pro Mix BX
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.

Do you think that maybe there's not enough aeration in the soil?

 

[WaVancouver]

The drain holes are about 7mm in diameter, and I have 6 drilled in the bottom of each container. This is the mix I used which I found online:

6 parts Pro Mix BX
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.

Do you think that maybe there's not enough aeration in the soil?

I had a problem with my plant and I thought it was the aeration of the soil. I found out (on this site, thanks MOOSE) to use hydrogen peroxide in with your water (i used about a tablespoon's worth in a gallon of water) and it gets oxygen to the roots. it did the job!

 

[brettweir]

So everyone, how often should I be watering these little plants? At the moment I'm watering once every 3 days, and I give them quite a bit (usually until I get some dripping at the bottom). Is that too much you think? I'm starting to think that maybe my watering schedule is fucking them up.

 

[RooRman]

To me, the dark green leaves mean either too much Nitrogen or not enough Phosphorus.

Also, certain kinds of Pro-Mix already contain the necessary amount of lime. So too much lime could be a problem as well.

 

[Boss]

You got nute burn and pot bound roots, in my opinion.

 

[DEAN420]

^^
agreed

 

[brettweir]

I haven't applied any nutes yet Boss.. or do you think that maybe the worm castings were a little too much? Also, what are pot-bound roots, and how do I fix that?

Edit: I seem to have found what pot-bound roots are, but how can that be? They've only been in these containers for about 13 days!

Thanks

 

[RooRman]

Worm castings are VERY low in Nitrogen, so I don't think that is your problem.

Being root-bound may be an issue. Those cups might have been fine for the seedling stage, but now that they are established plants they may be outgrowing the cups. The roots can expand rather quickly during the veg. stage. The cure for a root-bound plant is to transplant to a larger container.

Also, I'm starting to question whether those cups are somewhat transparent. The root zone needs to be kept in the dark and light leakage through the cups will inhibit proper root growth. I would suggest a transplant to larger pots made for the purpose of growing plants.

 

[brettweir]

I never even thought about the cups being transparent... hmm, that might be the issue. They are a very thin plastic. I'll transplant them, but when should I do that? Do I wait until the soil is pretty dry? Or can I actually transplant when the soil is pretty moist?

 

[StonerGrower]

I dont think it really matters, though i transplant right before I water, then once in new pots I give them a little drink.

 

[Ms.Fox]

I probably wouldn't water so much. I give them just enough to make the soil damp. They need water, but they don't need a river of it. ;-) Just a thought after you transplant.

 

[Boss]

I haven't applied any nutes yet Boss.. or do you think that maybe the worm castings were a little too much? Also, what are pot-bound roots, and how do I fix that?

Edit: I seem to have found what pot-bound roots are, but how can that be? They've only been in these containers for about 13 days!

Thanks

What kind of soil was it? (Sory if I missed that) It could have been nuted already, and adding castings, with too much water will burn. Just pull one out of the cup (Dirt and all) and look. I have had seeds hit the bottom of my cup with a single root in 2 days in the dark. They grow roots fast.

 

[brettweir]

Turns out Boss was right - the roots were definitely pot bound. I removed the plant into my hand and at the bottom the roots were all bunched up and intertwined. I moved them to bigger pots and they seem to be growing much better now.

Another question though - the leaves seem to be very dry and brittle. The humidity is only at 50% too. What's the easiest way to keep the humidity around the 60% range? I was thinking of just putting a shallow bowl of water in there. Would that help?

Also, I've got some "grow" bat guano, bone meal, and kelp meal. What would be the best way to add these ferts to the soil, and when should I start doing this?

 

[RooRman]

Well good work on the transplant. Were you certain the containers were not transparent this time?

I would not worry much about the humidity. 50% is perfectly fine, the soil may dry out a little faster though.

For using Bat Guano, go here: Bat Guano for Organic Indoor Gardening w/RooRman

+Rep for good luck!

 

[Boss]

When you get root bound, the plants will dry and wilt like they have not been watered. because they can't uptake water. just get them into the wet/dry water cycle and things should perk up a bit. Guano and sea tea will do a lot of good