First true leaves yellowing, brown spots developing

asetter

Member
Hello, I just want to say thank you for stopping by to read this thread and maybe lend a hand in growing my little weed plants!

So first off, this grow is not extremely controlled. The seeds were bag seeds from OG Strawberry, and I just figured "Maybe I'll be able to grow a little foot high plant and yield an oz," so I germinated the seeds in a cup of water, once sunk, to a moist paper towel.

The root on each of the seeds was about 1" long so I transplanted into a small plastic water bottle full of dirt I took from my garden. I am not going for much on this grow, honestly, a few grams would suffice.

The plants sprouted out of the soil, and started to grow, and STRETCH! I hadn't gotten my grow box set up yet so I had just been leaving them on the window sill. I went to Canadian tire and looked for a high watt cfl, which were all sold out, so I ended up buying a 60 watt "Spot Grow" plant light bulb, which I didnt think would be good enough, so I also bought a 23watt cfl. Then tragedy struck when a bulb fell on a plant and broke the stem. I taped it to a drill bit so give it support, and it seemed to be fine after that, growing an extra set of leaves...

The plants had stretched quite a bit so I transplanted into deeper pots, one into a still quite small pot, one into a 1.5-gallon pot, using a vegetable garden soil I had lying around.

At first, I definitely overwatered them, giving them a bit of water 1-2 times daily, once I realized this was bad, I made sure to only water when 1" deep into the soil was dry, and give them a good water, I use water cooler water, so not sure what the PH is... The temperature inside the grow box is a steady 29 degrees Celsius, and have considered installing a humidifier in the box, but am not sure as I don't have a humidity reader.

I keep the plants about 3-5" away from the lights with a fan blowing next to them to add some ventilation as well as a little turbulence to make the plants stronger, making sure not to have too much not to windburn them. It has been about 3 weeks since I germinated the seeds, and they are now sort of situated, although the plant in the small pot will need to be transplanted some point. The plants recently have turned pale, sort of greenish yellow, and I am not sure why... here are some pictures, all info is greatly appreciated.



(pictures came out low resolution for whatever reason, I can add better ones if needed)
 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
see how the tips are turning color
and the whole plant is turning yellow.. classic mistake New growers/people make right there.. OVER WATERING...
I would let it dry up some
wait until the first inch of soil is dry then lightly water again..
 

asetter

Member
Ahhhh shiet, the one mistake I thought I wasnt making lol, thanks! There are drainholes in the smaller one, the big one only has 2-3 very small ones...
 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
if that's the organic mirical gro potting mix, (I know you said vegetable soil) if so get them into something else.. pot don't grow worth a fuck in that shit..
 

asetter

Member
Its not miracle grow, its some like, cheap no name brand, on the package it just says for vegetables and flowers, looked around for any added fertilizers, couldn't find any... As for light, I am now using 2 23w cfl lights, around 3-5" away from the plants, will this do the job? Or should I look into getting more, or better lighting?
 

asetter

Member
*update- This morning, the plants looked worse, even more curling of the top leaf's and the first true leaf's browning further. I had to take some sort of action as I am scared this is the end for my plants. So I installed another light bulb, a fake growing light, 60w incandescent, because it generates some heat. My grow box is about 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide, and there isnt a ton of ventilation, so with adding this bulb the temperature increased to 28 degrees C (I did this in hopes the water would evaporate quicker), aswell as draining all the runoff from my last water two days ago (which I had done yesterday, but more pored out into the tray overnight). I also took a chopstick and poked some holes in the top of the soil to about 3-5" down the soil to maybe allow more oxygen in.

Things are looking grim, I might have to restart, if so, at least I can learn from my mistakes, and make sure to use a lighter soil with perlite ;)


 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
*update- This morning, the plants looked worse, even more curling of the top leaf's and the first true leaf's browning further. I had to take some sort of action as I am scared this is the end for my plants. So I installed another light bulb, a fake growing light, 60w incandescent, because it generates some heat. My grow box is about 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide, and there isnt a ton of ventilation, so with adding this bulb the temperature increased to 28 degrees C (I did this in hopes the water would evaporate quicker), aswell as draining all the runoff from my last water two days ago (which I had done yesterday, but more pored out into the tray overnight). I also took a chopstick and poked some holes in the top of the soil to about 3-5" down the soil to maybe allow more oxygen in.

Things are looking grim, I might have to restart, if so, at least I can learn from my mistakes, and make sure to use a lighter soil with perlite ;)


are you feeding them nutes yet.. ? and as far as your lights go, they'll work fine for vegging but you'll need to up grade as the plant grows .. at least to a cheap Apollo 125w cfl or more pigtail cfls.
 

asetter

Member
are you feeding them nutes yet.. ? and as far as your lights go, they'll work fine for vegging but you'll need to up grade as the plant grows .. at least to a cheap Apollo 125w cfl or more pigtail cfls.
No I haven't given them any nutrients yet, I wasn't sure when to, I figured vegging stage, with N high P low-medium K high
 

raggyb

Well-Known Member
I'm rooting for these little guys now! At this point the 1 shot glass worth of water a day advice is a good way to go. Don't start nutes yet.
 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
yeah either theyre to wet and having root issues or they need a little food .. at this stage they normally don't need any food..
do you have more seeds? if so get some quality soil ( not mirical gro brand) and try it again.. being new to growing you want to have simplicity .. with a good soil you won't have to feed them anything but water as needed until toward the last few weeks of growing... once you have the basics down you could try going to a peatbased mix and use quality nutes. (drain to waste)..
 

asetter

Member
Alright, well im thinking I am going to germinate the seeds, and tomorrow will buy a god soil, in the meantime, I am going to try and led these guys dry up a bit and hopefully survive and grow into nice little weed plants. I'll make sure to keep you guys updated on what happens with the plants. Any specific soil suggestions for someone on a budget?

Also, is my germination process ok? I just drop the seeds in a cup of water and wait until they sink, then place them between moist papertowels until they sprout, and grow until a 1" tail, then plant into a solo cup.

Thanks again for all the help I really appreciate it!
 

farmerfischer

Well-Known Member
happy frog is pretty decent soil and isn't to pricey .. royal golds basement blend is also a good choice .. both are priced around 15-20$ .. your method of germination is fine but I like to plant when the tails are only 1/8 to 1/4 inch .. less likely to brake them ..
 

TheLadyPale

Member
Just to make sure, read your bag. I made the mistake of getting soil for vegetables and in small print it said for "in ground use" and I lost several plants for lack of reading the bag.
 

asetter

Member
Update- Last night just cus, I took a straw and shoved in to near the roots in the soil, and blew threw the straw, then left it there, I did the same with the other plant. This morning, the plant in the bigger pot is looking great, new foliage, the second set of leaves might be taking over as the first, as they grew a bunch.
The other plant is looking worse for wear, the second set of leafs are curling more, and turning light green...
 
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