Seedling Collapse

[YouHighBro]

So as you can tell from the title my seedling collapsed the other day... I'll start with an explanation of what has happened thus far in the process.

Germinated the seed (in wet paper towel in darkness), planted the germinated seed, successfully grew the two dicot leaves... then two true leaves formed (up until this point I used just sunlight).

Then read up on some forums about the 24hr light veg cycle, so I decided to put it under a 2700k bulb (until I could find a 6500k, which took about 2 days).

So after being under the 2700k bulb for a couple days, I then placed it under (4) 6500ks and (2) 2700ks and placed the plant in a bucket with the lights plugged into a power strip (and I even placed a reflector atop that! man I am a real genius) that sat across the lid of the bucket. I have a fan running in the room and assumed that as heat rises it wouldnt over heat in the bucket... boy was I wrong.

Anyways after I came back to my place the next day I saw the plant laying on its side in the soil, still completely green and in tact (the stem wasn't broken just a bit shriveled).

Realizing that I had caused the plant to have a heat stroke I removed it, watered a bit with room temp water and left it in the window sill to cool down. I also pitched it up with a paper clip.

Got back from work to see that one paper clip didnt keep it up... placed a few more paper clips around it to support the seedling then placed it under a lamp with a single 6500k bulb.

Now I have added a splitter to the socket to accomodate 2 6500k bulbs and added a 2700k bulb to the mix to keep a good balance of emitted light and all seems to be OK.

I guess my question is, should I supplement with nutes or do anything specific or just let nature take its course with the seedling? Obviously it's my first time growing and I have no idea if he will survive... but he still looks green and ok! In fact two more true leaves are coming in... I'm just afraid the stem looks a bit thin at the bottom to support itself...

I even placed the fan near enough to cause a bit of air agitation hoping that this would strengthen the stem. Any advice?


****I forgot to mention I kept the plant within at least 3-4inches of the light at all times (obviously not when he was getting sunlight but you get what I mean).

 

[YouHighBro]

Here are some pics with descriptions...

This is the seedling under the single 2700k


Here is my death trap that caused the heat stroke... (I dont know why I thought this was a good idea...)

(death trap continued)


Here is the current set up the seedling is under... (he looks a lot better today than in this pic)


This was taken right after I re-supported him with 2 extra paper clips... again today he looks less limp than he does here... I'll try to upload a pic when I get home of the most current state

 

[inhaleindica]

Stop worrying about them too much. They are tough little plants. Just keep doing what you are doing. I always tend to have to support my seedlings until a week or 2 of growth, then she will be fine after that. She is just stretching to the light since cfls aren't that strong. I would just use 1 or 2 light bulbs and then add more bulbs as she grows. Good observation in catching what was causing the problem. Air flow is the key factor to stronger plants.

 

[insan3]

I am not soil person but wtf is in your soil ? u should have a fan blowing to keep the air flowing, plants are just like you they need to breath fresh air. no nutes until it grows way bigger, usually 2-3 weeks after sprouding you start giving it nutes. just give a little water enough the soil is moist and damp. try to keep temps at 75F , 18-6 cycle and humidity between 40% and 60%.

 

[imchucky666]

Here are some pics with descriptions...

This is the seedling under the single 2700k
View attachment 2325466

Here is my death trap that caused the heat stroke... (I dont know why I thought this was a good idea...)
View attachment 2325467
(death trap continued)
View attachment 2325468

Here is the current set up the seedling is under... (he looks a lot better today than in this pic)
View attachment 2325469

This was taken right after I re-supported him with 2 extra paper clips... again today he looks less limp than he does here... I'll try to upload a pic when I get home of the most current state
View attachment 2325470

It'll be fine, but no nutes yet.

 

[YouHighBro]

Stop worrying about them too much. They are tough little plants. Just keep doing what you are doing. I always tend to have to support my seedlings until a week or 2 of growth, then she will be fine after that. She is just stretching to the light since cfls aren't that strong. I would just use 1 or 2 light bulbs and then add more bulbs as she grows. Good observation in catching what was causing the problem. Air flow is the key factor to stronger plants.

Hell yeah, sorry I'm just so attached because its my first :') but yeah should I take out the 2700k and leave the two 6500k's then?

Also I am watering almost every 2-3 days (I stick my finger in the soil and make sure its moist just below the surface).

As far as what the soil I am using is... It's miracle gro potting mix... has a bit of nutes in it already I believe and claims to feed plants up to 6 months but at the same time its been in the garage for a while so I dunno how reliable that is... anyways before I put the plant in I flushed it several times and hopefully that helped make it less "nutey" lol.

 

[imchucky666]

Inhale is right, get some air moving on them to strengthen the stems, and bring your light closer so they don't continue to stretch.
MG soil isn't bad stuff, just not "soil of choice".
I got my two plants in it, and they are doing ok. Planning to hopefully harvest end of this month or at latest, middle of Oct.

 

[YouHighBro]

As you can see a bit a of yellowing on the tips of the leaves... and also the stem is SUPER thin at the base and thickens as it goes up... will this fix itself? Currently I have it under 2 6500ks and 1 2700k, a fan has been blowing on it the entire time... so it has gotten airflow throughout this entire process.

Anything else I can go to help thicken the stem or should I push the plant deeper into the soil?

 

[imchucky666]

I wouldn't "push it further into the soil" but instead build up just about half the height with more soil, and try and get your lights closer without getting too warm.
Basically, you got a fat chick with weak ankles LOL.
Maybe let it lean over a little while supporting it and start LST'ing it, and just let it build up on it's own, as it starts growing upwards again..........??????
Maybe wait and see if anybody else chimes in on that second idea.

 

[gom]

Get the PH of the water right, and leave them alone. They will stand up when there ready If your using tap water. Fill a bucket and let sit overnight before use. then get the PH right and use.

 

[ManishWayz]

You are doing just right by adding support, I wouldn't do anything to the plant but watch it, just don't over-water it.

 

[YouHighBro]

Get the PH of the water right, and leave them alone. They will stand up when there ready If your using tap water. Fill a bucket and let sit overnight before use. then get the PH right and use.

I only water it with Brita Filtered tap water... I keep the filtered water in a mason jar in the fridge, and then when I water the plant I bring it to room temp first, then water.

I am looking into getting a pH test kit since I am starting a fish tank soon anyways... are the dip pH kit sticks good or should I get the dropper ones? Or is there one with a sensor that I could use in water that's more accurate?

 

[sworth]

Dip strips and droppers are okay, but a meter is best (around£/$20 ebay)

I've found it's too damp soil if the stem is thin at the base...I agree with Manishways about easing up on watering...

 

[scroglodyte]

you are not prepared to grow properly. why not bone up on some real growing, and really grow some bud.

 

[YouHighBro]

I'm not looking to become a "real" grower, I just had a seed in my bad and thought I'd try to grow it on a low budget. With that being said, the two lower true leaves are starting to shrivel... but the two new leaves that formed above those seem to be coming in just fine... anyways I will get a pH meter today probably to check that... but SD water should be around the right pH for bud.

 

[kryptoniteglo]

Hey, one of mine was thinner toward the bottom and got thicker toward the top. And I worried! But it soon righted itself, so you should be good on that front.

 

[YouHighBro]

Hey, one of mine was thinner toward the bottom and got thicker toward the top. And I worried! But it soon righted itself, so you should be good on that front.

That literally just made my day... so did you just prop it up then?

Also it's really hard to keep temps below 80 here... what should I do if I don't have AC and already have the fan running on it??

 

[dabumps]

Tamping off disease. It will die. But keep it to watch it die slowly as you freak out why it's wilting then you get sader and sader as it get worse and worse. They key point here is: Don't overwater even seedlings.. ESPECIALLY seedlings!

 

[YouHighBro]

Tamping off disease. It will die. But keep it to watch it die slowly as you freak out why it's wilting then you get sader and sader as it get worse and worse. They key point here is: Don't overwater even seedlings.. ESPECIALLY seedlings!

I'm pretty sure this happened as a result of 100 degree temps in my death bucket... not over watering lol

 

[cowell]

Tamping off disease. It will die. But keep it to watch it die slowly as you freak out why it's wilting then you get sader and sader as it get worse and worse. They key point here is: Don't overwater even seedlings.. ESPECIALLY seedlings!

It's called "damping off". It's not from overwatering, and it's not from heat.. although, that likely didn't help anything. It's pathogens in your soil.
It happens.