My babies are dying?

Davidsnow

Active Member
First, off, I do NOT grow Marijuana, and I never will. I am here simply for the advice of gifted growers for my legal vegetation growing.

Well these "tomato plants" that I am posting pictures of are 1 weeks old, I'd say. I germinated the tomato seeds (given to me by a friend) in a darkroom on top of and under 2 sheets of wet paper towels until the roots were .5-1 cm long. I then transplanted them into small clear party cups full of miracle-gro seed starter soil about 2cm deep. Only 4 survived until now, but they are seemingly healthy and they are a few inches tall :)! I water them every day so the soil is medium wet, and I have them on my bathroom windowsill to get light, but not TOO much light.
I have a few issues with them though:

Plant #1 seemed very healthy. It busted through the soil 2 cm deep in under 3 hours the first day I planted it. However, it has slowed down in growth and on the top layer of leaves, the leaves are starting to look burnt and dried up at the tips. Why?









Plant #2 has only one small potential issue. The lower layer of leaves seems to be curling under for some reason. Is it not getting enough sun?








Plant #3 I THOUGHT was dead, seeing as I didn't see anything come out of the soil, but I still have been watering it (but not often). A few minutes ago, i found the seed and a 2-3cm long stem emerging awkwardly in the cup. I replaced it properly and I'm hoping it will grow. Does it still have potential to live?

NO PICS
--------------

this is my healthy baby!




Thanks for the advice!
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
Should I move my plants to a cooler environment? Is that why the leaves are dying?

We're getting like...80-90F degree weather lately and I'm worried that could be why. I have my window open for ventilation but I guess that might not be enough.
 
It could be too hot, but usually high humidity and temps around 80-85 are good for seedlings. By " too hot" i meant that MG soil has a high amount of fertilizers in it. Too much for seedlings younger than 3 weeks. And thos plants don't look 2 weeks old, more like a few days. Get soil with no fertilizer in it. Make sure it has a nice ratio of perlite or vermiculite for good drainage. When your plants have about 5 sets or true leaves starting feeding them Do yourself a favor and check your rep. Follow the link, it'll give you solid info.
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
I've never tried growing 'tomato plants' before, so I'm very very new at it. They might be 1-2 weeks old, I can check my charts I made (if i can find them!). So here's my plan:

1. Transplant them to non-fertilized soil

2. Continue to water them daily (once a day?) to keep the soil moist

3. Once I get 5 sets of leaves, go back to my miracle grow.

Should I start leave-feeding them once they get 5 sets of leaves? Also I'm not really sure what you mean by check my rep/follow the link..sorry :/.

I really appreciate your help, Fadedflower :) It's nice to help the noobies out!
 

Farfenugen

Well-Known Member
Transplant them when they are seedlings into a bigger pot (I mean plant receptical) and they will certainly take off. And #3 plant is very stretchy, perhaps get it under some lights or at least out in the sunshinery.

By the way, everyone here grows "tomatoes" too
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
That actually was plant #4, the one without issues! I don't have pictures of the one that hasn't sprouted seeing as you'd just be looking at a picture of dirt.

Sorry for the disorganization, I'm very excited. But I'll try to get some more sun for that one. It looks really healthy but I think my partycups may be hindering their growth due to their size.

Here's a picture of the ones that are doing alright.

The top left is the one with the burnt leaves, the next one is the one with the curling leaves, and the bottom one is the healthiest one!
 

ROCKER333

Member
Two weeks????
Stop watering everyday. Big cup, little plant, over watering will stunt the hell out of them. Just cause the top is dry, doesn't mean it needs water. Dig down the side 2 cm, see for yourself.
Too much light is impossible, the excess heat is what kills them. Get a few CFL's keep them in the closet, 24/0.
Buy a good oscillating fan. It will help with soil evaporation and stalk formation.
(and don't put them so deep, maybe 0.5 cm., and fill your cups to the top next time)
cheers.
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
My mistake! They're only a week old. How expensive would a few CFL's be? I don't plan to get too into this, it's more for gardening/hobby than for anything else...I don't want to drain the bank!

I asked my father about it and he said that they could be getting extremely warm due to the fact that the windowsill they're on is next to a copper roof which can reflect an outstanding amount of light/heat directly on them. He doesn't know anything about growing plants, though...He's suggesting that I put all 4 of my plants into one large clay pot and put them outside....I personally feel like that's a HORRIBLE idea. Deep, rabbits, and my dogs could eat them, for one. Secondly, I think it's probably much too hot and much too unpredictable for such young plants. It's supposed to be pouring here for days and that could kill them as well. I'm not ready to let them go off into the world :P!
 

ROCKER333

Member
You could set up a small veg closet for under 30-40$$, consider it an investment.lol
Buy a temp /humidity gauge for the closet and place it under the light with your tomatoes. That's the temp that matters.
I don't have pics from this year sorry.
Surf around the site, check their pics an use them as rough benchmarks.
But stop the continuous water first.
cheers
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
I really appreciate all the help! Should I attribute the "burned" leaves to overfertalized miracle gro then?

I'm pretty sure the curling leaves im seeing are the "fake" leaves I hear about that drop off a few weeks in
 

ROBSTERB

Well-Known Member
i would say its off the mg soil! also the more you water mg soil the more ferts it releases, so stop watering every day, you should be able to tell off the weight of the plant if it needs watering, repot into some non ferted soil, and lift the pot with dry soil and plant in, then pour water in till a small amount of water leaks out of bottom, then lift the pot again you will be able to feel the difference from dried to watered, now every day pick the plant up until it feels quite light, like when you repotted it, then water again as above!
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
I guess I'll go ahead and transplant them...what soil would you recommend me using? And when do I switch back to miracle-gro? The miracle-gro i'm using is "seed starting" so I figured that was fine for it..
 

ROCKER333

Member
If the MG was burning them they would be dead, they are still babies.
It's impossible to get to much light, it's the excess heat that kills.

If they were mine I would find more light for them, cut bigger drain holes in the cups , get a fan pushing air over the soil to help evap. they need to be dried out. Then do the water by weight. As soon as it dries out a bit it will grow.
 

jonblaze420

Well-Known Member
Why'd you put 'tomato' plants in quotes if that's what your growing? Yeah, tomato plants and weed plants look similar in veggie growth, so what are you growing?

I mean, do you think we;re fucking stupid? And get some lights on those plants ASAP. and a fan. also transplant them into bigger containers.

jesus fuck!!!!!
 

steeZz

Well-Known Member
Don't put them into the same pot it'll cause trouble transfering them into their own pots and can cause rootbound.
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
Jon, I think it's pretty obvious..

I'm gonna get them in new pots with new less-fertilized soil, but I don't have any lights at the moment. Where do I aim the fan if I put a fan on them? I don't want to cause stress
 

Davidsnow

Active Member
I've transplanted them into decent sized clay pots and moved them to an area where they will get sunlight coming down from a skylight! They're now in basic potting soil and they should be growing and thriving soon!

Any hints how often to water them? I'm having trouble with that..
 

ROBSTERB

Well-Known Member
depending on heat and if youve got perlite mixed into the soil ( you should have) also pot size and root size, but normally its about every 3-4 days, just make sure when you water that you pour enough in so some starts leaking out the bottom,(run off) do this every time you water them!
 
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