Sprout dead? Help!

[at3035]

Hi
I'm a first time grower and I'm really worried about my autoflowering northern lights
Its been about 2-3 days now and there still is no change to the sprout as you can see in the pic
is it dead??
It has barely sprouted above soil and there are no leave development

the soil is still moist, and I mist it when it looks a bit dry, but just lightly
the temps are maybe a bit low though at 62-68F or about 16-19C
I've been using 90W cfl at 5500K
not too sure about the soil pH, but im using promix potting soil

thanks

 

[Weaselcracker]

Hey, I suspect it's almost certainly dead if it hasn't moved in three days, but it won't hurt to leave the light on another day or two just in case. Your temps should be higher. Around 80 is good. Sprout another. Mix up your promix a day or so in advance so it's evenly moist, with a moisture level like that of moist fresh bread (?) for lack of a better description at the moment, lol. Keep the promix warm, and plant the new seed in that.

 

[blackpaw]

Others may agree, others won't, but I think you've got fungus. The white/grey-white web-looking stuff on the grow media is the early stage of fungus/mushroom "roots," called mycelium. Also agree on temp, too low. I sprout right in the final grow media (currently roots orig), dampen soil mix, "fluf" up soil mix so seed tap roots move easily, drop in a seed about 1/2 - 5/8 in below surface of media, lightly pat down soil, cover with clean clear glass jar to create a mini greenhouse, and viola fastest sprouting time I've had so far was about 3 days. I leave the jar over seedling for a few days until she looks ready, sometimes a week. Your other seeds may be infected too, but please do not take my word, it's just my 2 ¢. Greg : ) < ( ( ( ( ( ( >

greg

 

[ShiggityFlip]

A lot of promix is inoculated with mycorrhizae. It's the misting the sprout that has killed it. Most certainly it is dead because it looks like it has the texture of cooked asparagus. It's not light mistings we are after. It's heavy drenching of soil with dry times in between. For a seedling in that pot you have that could be a week. I know with autos you typically plant them in their final pot. In that case the wet dry cycle will be prolonged for awhile. If it were me I would plant in a 1 gallon fabric pot to make early life more cyclical in wet/dry. Then plant the whole thing into a larger pot after the seedling is established. The roots will grow right through the fabric one gallon pot and into the larger pot. No transplant stress. But I have never grown autos so take that with a grain of salt about the transplanting. The lack of wet/dry though is the single most cause of seedling failure. In our want to give a seedling all the water it wants we drown it.

 

[Smokes1809]

If it's not dead already.. An you don't want to lose it..
Give it a shot of hydrogen peroxide, only as last resort tho
Which I really think it is.. It will kill good an bad bacteria
But i a Would rather that, then buy good bacteria to put back in..
H202 is the only thing that's gona make that survive,
If it's not already dead..
Not strong mix tho like 5ml in 10 litres, then just give it a dribble..

 

[at3035]

Thanks for the info guys, unfortunately it wasn't what I wanted to hear but I guess i'll just have to start again

I've got another seed soaking in a cup with water right now and will transfer it using the paper towel method

This time, ill make sure to presoak the soil which is probably what I should have done
and just lightly drop the seedling root tip down while gently covering the seed with soil

should I get a light on it as soon as the seedling is in the soil?
my house temperatures are a bit cool at like 18-20C or 64-68F because it's fall, which makes soil temps cooler at like 61F
and whats the best way to presoak soil?
should I just pour water until it starts running out of the bottom? or should I stir the soil as well?

Thanks again guys
hopefully this time around itll sprout

 

[ShiggityFlip]

To soak the soil hit it with a small amount of water and let it soak in for a few minutes. Then go back and flood it till it comes out the bottom. Put a 1/4" divot in the soil with a pen. Put the 12 hour soaked but unsprouted seed in there and loosely cover with soil. Plastic wrap the pot and wait patiently! When the seed breaks the surface take off the plastic.

 

[electro gypsy]

good eye blackpaw! most people would have thought that was mold.

i agree with low temps and watering. Flip has got ya covered.

 

[electro gypsy]

i've never used the promix, but it looks a bit flakey. if you can break that up better, maybe screen through hardware cloth, it would help water dispersal.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yes don't soak the promix. That goes against what you are trying to achieve which is a medium that is only moist, not soaked, as mentioned earlier. If you end up overwatering it you can obviously mix some dry stuff into it. Let it sit for a while- evens things out nicely.
To raise temps you can use a small lightbulb under the pot and/or enclose the area to retain heat but be careful please .
That doesn't look like the promix I've seen, which is usually more fluffy. If it seems soggy then a little added perlite would help, If you have access to some.
Good luck.

 

[at3035]

So I got on the second seed and its finally starting to emerge from the soil
Its taken about 3 days for it to sort of emerge from the soil even though I placed the seed in shallow at about 1/4"
the tap root was placed root tip down and I had the seed level with the soil and just lightly sprinkled soil over it

My temps were about 77-80f or about 25C-27C
I had kept the lights on just so the soil temps wouldn't fall, but I was getting worried that maybe I cooked it until I finally saw it sprout today. A piece of soil was on top of it which I just brushed out of the way. I'm so excited but I'm also trying to be extremely cautious.

Should I completely remove the plastic wrap I had over the pot and get it under the lights?
right now I've got 3 45W 5500K CFLs and 1 23W 2600K bulb on it about 12-16" away.

How does she look right now?
and how does the progress seem so far? (I pre-germinated in a paper towel and planted when root tip was about 2cm, but it took 3 days to emerge)

Thanks again everybody for all your help

 

[ShiggityFlip]

It looks like it is doing fine. I would have the plant under lights with plastic still on but open on one side for a day or until the seed completely sheds and the first leaves open up. In general with seeds I try not to let the root come further out of the seed than a mm or two before planting. The seedling needs to orient the root so that the stem can be bent and then pull the seed up through the soil, hopefully shedding the seed coat as it goes. I think it is ok what you did but it will do even better if planted before the root pops. I do 12 hours in paper towels and then plant 1/4" deep. But the seedling looks pretty happy so far!

 

[at3035]

It has since been 3 days since my last update and it looks like this now
and its been about 20 hours without any change to how she looks.
Is there something wrong with her?
It seems like its taking her a long time to fully open up?
I've kept her covered under plastic wrap with the lights on 24 hrs and temps seem to be around 73-78f
should I turn off the lights? but if I do, the temps will probably fall to 68-71f

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Don't turn off the light, keep it 18 on 6 off. Plastic wrap can come off. Let the souls dry a little between waterings but not completely while she is so small. She is building roots and I think will start looking better. How is she today?

 

[at3035]

She still looks pretty much the same and its been 7-8 days since the seed with taproot was placed in the soil and loosely covered.

If I remove the plastic wrap, I fear my humidity levels will drop significantly.
Its almost winter and the air in my home does seem kind of dry.

I did lightly remove the seed shell from the plant and I did sort of notice the plant wasn't superbly firm in the soil?? don't know if it that is a concern, as in, the plant had a little give, but I did push some soil over the base.

this is my first grow and second attempt after the first seed failed and im anxious and scared for the fate of this one
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[ShiggityFlip]

It's a learning process. Removing the seed may have shocked the small root, even broken it. You can keep the plastic on. I would vent it though. Too much moisture for too long will bring mold. Give her some time.

 

[at3035]

I was extremely careful when removing the seed and it just peeled off
do you think shes gone? based on the amount of time?
shes still green although portions of the leaf look to have darker spots of green???

 

[ShiggityFlip]

I would wait and just keep up hope.

 

[at3035]

do you think it could have anything to do with being an autoflower?
apparently they are slow developers???

 

[OlderGrower]

It has since been 3 days since my last update and it looks like this now
and its been about 20 hours without any change to how she looks.
Is there something wrong with her?
It seems like its taking her a long time to fully open up?
I've kept her covered under plastic wrap with the lights on 24 hrs and temps seem to be around 73-78f
should I turn off the lights? but if I do, the temps will probably fall to 68-71f

If you have a heat pad you can use that to supplement the plant with heat while the light is off. Just set it to low and put next to the plant.
As for the question of time and is something wrong with her. From what I see she is completely normal and like every plant, they take time to grow. She is young and 1/2 of her energy is being spent setting out a root system in order to keep her upright and healthy. BE PATIENT. The biggest screw up I see 1st time growers do is not being patient and wanting to speed up the process. I would suggest that now is a great time to do as much research as you can on all the things you will need to do before you need to actually be doing it. Read up on topping and LST. Maybe look up what is a good method to determine when I need to water and when not to water. At what stage of my plants life in soil should I think about adding nutrients, and how much at what strength. Do I have adequate air circulation? Do I have adequate air exchanges. How long till I need to upsize the pot or do I even need to? What do signs of over watering look like? What is PH and should I be testing the PH of my water? How do I plan on testing the PH of my water. All this reading will help you to not love your plant to death and help you develop some patience.
Oh and do not feel like your alone, everyone is guilty of not being patient at some point of their grow experiences. I know I killed my 1st grow back in the 70's by loving them to death.