Help!!! Seedlings all dying.

[Woodlandcritter]

So this is my first grow and I felt like I did my research before I started. Anyways I have a 5 by 5 closet and a 600 watt hps. I started with 20 NL seeds, germinated them in paper towels and all 20 germinated so I was really happy. So after they germinated I moved them to little peat jiffy pots with the jiffy brand seed starter inside. They all sprouted and grew to about an inch and a half. Then all hell broke loose. My dog ate four of them, which was a separate problem. Down to 16. Then they just started shriveling up and dying. I watered them once or twice a day with a spray bottle, and the temperature in the room is 80 with a humidity of 20. The hps is hanging about 30 inches from the tops of what used to be little plants. Any ideas? I am down to only 4 now.

 

[Illegal Smile]

This is an excellent example of why a first grow should be simple and small. The humidity is way too low for one thing but I don't know if that did it all. They should have been under a humidity dome. Plus we don't know about nutes or pH. Where was the temp 80? What is it right at the foliage? I'm guessing heat and lack of humidity were major factors. Plus how were they being watered when under the light?

Chalk it up to education. Start over with just a few seeds. This time try vegging them with cfls instead of a 600w hps. When they are 2-3 weeks old go back to the hps.

 

[Subtlechaos]

I'd say the overwhelming spectrum of your HPS is what's killin' em', brother. Too intense. Illegal Smile is right... you should start over with a smaller garden, or switch to cfls or fluoros now, and keep the strongest 4 or 5 you've currently got going.

Good luck, man. remember! At this age, they dont need alot. Just low intensity light and water.

 

[rocpilefsj]

I did this my first grow too. I chalked it up to a few problems. I was using my tap water at home to water my seedlings and hadn't checked the ph. I was using shit soil that I also hadn't checked the ph of. And I started out with my 400w as soon as the plant poked through the soil. My water Ph was way off, my soil PH was way off, and I was cooking the poor little guys at over 2 feet away with a 400w, never mind the 600w you are using. Humidity is also important. I hit my sproutlings with a fluorescent light until they are about the same size as my original pot, then I transplant them into their final pot and throw under my 400w. Check PH's on both your soil and your water. And make sure you aren't cooking the poor little things, check with your hand just above where the plant is, if it is too warm for your hand it is to warm for your plants. If you need some humidity you can get a cheap humidifier at wal mart or some people soak towels and hang them in their grow rooms every day. Growing is very trial and error but you will get it, you just usually got to kill a few plants first to learn what not to do! Good luck.

 

[growman09]

humidity is not that important mine is between 20 and 40 you really dont need all that humidity it causes more problems durning flowering i would say its your light if you need to use it start at about 5-6 ft above plants and gradually move it closer this is what i did before i got floros for veg.

 

[growman09]

also your humidity will go up as your plants get bigger and transpire more moisture

 

[Lil Czr]

In my experience, that sounds like damping off.

By watering your seedlings twice a day, they never got a chance to get completely dry.

Seedlings especially need to get a little dry in between waterings.

The low humidity you described alone won't cause a seedling to die.

Good luck.

 

[rocpilefsj]

over watering can be just as bad as under watering

 

[samwisegangee1]

over watering can be just as bad as under watering

so true - you can drown the plants so much more easily than you can dry them out. Really hard to take that water back out than to put more in.



I think underwatering can actually be good at first, so that's probably not the biggest problem at all.

Good advice here - lots I've learned to watch out for.