Please help! Plant isn't happy!

I'm growing a feminized Black Domina x G13 hybrid (from SoS), hempy style. I germinated with paper towels in the dark and it worked well...planted my seeds in solo cups and on the 2nd morning saw lush green emerging. The leaves popped and the stem is about a quarter inch out of the soil. Looked great for 2 days and now it looks like its dying.

-Burpee Eco organic seed starting mix / perlite - 60/40
-400w HPS, 24/0 cycle. (I know this is the wrong light for right now but working on that) about 4 feet above the plant now (been moving it slowly as the temp hovers around 80 and I was worried it'd be too powerful for my new seedlings!)
-haven't watered, but I've "remoistened" with a squirt bottle with distilled water multiple times...1-3 times a day for the life (3 or 4 days)


^yesterday, all good, ya?


^ today. Help!


edit: soil PH is 6.3-6.7

Only thing I can see is that your soil looks a little dry. That big light will dry out your soil so you'll have to give a little more water than if you were using CFLs.

You've got the right idea not drowning the little seedling, but it needs to drink. If it were me, I'd ditch the spray bottle and water straight to the soil (like watering any normal plant, just carefully) and I would water by weight. Fill the same size cup with the same amount of dry soil. When your seedling cup feels like it weighs the same as the dry soil cup, it needs water.


Other than that I thinks you're fine. Relax and let her root. Good luck

is it possible for 1 plant to make 2 stocks ? it is haoppening to me wat do i do about it ?

dskeens320 said:

is it possible for 1 plant to make 2 stocks ? it is haoppening to me wat do i do about it ?

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? Congratulate it on diversifying its portfolio?

It's normal, you're fine

you could start your own thread

dskeens320 said:

is it possible for 1 plant to make 2 stocks ? it is haoppening to me wat do i do about it ?

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Dskeens, its impolite to thread jack . Sorry for sounding mean but if you start your own thread I'd be happy to help you out, as I'm sure would others as well. (Ninja'd^^^)

Anyways, I agree with jerry-- I've done the sprayer thing with Dixie cups, and unless you sit there spraying for like 2 minutes, its basically just the surface that gets wet, and the light dries it out easily. You have your light reallllllly high, too. I kept my 400w metal halide 10-15 inches away and never had any problems with seedlings. I would suggest a thorough watering, and lower your light to at least 2 feet (if not closer), as long as your temps aren't super high.

looks ok other than it might be a triploid or how ever you say it. throw away the squirt bottle and dump some fucking water on it. your roots need to grow intp something moist not just a wet spot probably ought to plant in a potting mix next time. seed starting mix is juat for that you start a seed and when it breakes through you scoop it out and plant it in another medium

xtcNxs said:

I'm growing a feminized Black Domina x G13 hybrid (from SoS), hempy style. I germinated with paper towels in the dark and it worked well...planted my seeds in solo cups and on the 2nd morning saw lush green emerging. The leaves popped and the stem is about a quarter inch out of the soil. Looked great for 2 days and now it looks like its dying.

-Burpee Eco organic seed starting mix / perlite - 60/40
-400w HPS, 24/0 cycle. (I know this is the wrong light for right now but working on that) about 4 feet above the plant now (been moving it slowly as the temp hovers around 80 and I was worried it'd be too powerful for my new seedlings!)
-haven't watered, but I've "remoistened" with a squirt bottle with distilled water multiple times...1-3 times a day for the life (3 or 4 days)

View attachment 2803210
^yesterday, all good, ya?

View attachment 2803195View attachment 2803196
^ today. Help!


edit: soil PH is 6.3-6.7

Click to expand...

Wow thanks for all the quick replies, will ditch the spray bottle, just gave em a good watering.

thanks for the help guys

Give us an update tomorrow, you should see new growth pretty quickly with that little guy if all is well

Honestly? I would take that big ass light (nice light, get you some miles) and save not only resources, but encourage the plant (for the time being) to grow squat and stubby, and put a simple low watt (25-30) CFL in the 6500k spectrum and watch her do her thing, save money, resources and encourage the plant to grow much shorter and stubbier with fantastic leaf growth right away, than the HPS which will encourage a bit more stringy and tall plant (in general).



Just one cat's thought.. everyone else's own mileage may vary.

Yeah I tell you what-- I had read about how the blue spectrum helps encourage plants to be short with tight internode spacing, but I thought it was one of those things where the difference is negligible. But now that I have a metal halide, and an hps to compare it to--that blue spectrum shit really works! I also read that heat can do it as well (keeps them shorter), and that the blue spectrum also helps increase the chance of being a female (tho not sure how exactly it realigns alleles on a chromosome..) Which to me sounds a little doubtful, but I'll be damned if I didn't grow 10 bag seed, 8 under my mh bulb and 2 outside, and all 8 of my indoor ones were female, while the two outside were male.

Anyways, I'm on a stoned rant. I think I might watch some justice league cartoons and take a nap. And I'm sensing a bowl of cereal in my very near future.

BTW, how's the plant doing xtc? Got any updates yet?

Thanks for the input guys, I know I need a MH bulb, but currently I only have a HPS ballast, so I'm looking into conversion bulbs but haven't found one in a store yet (might soon be resorting to online ordering/waiting for shipping).

So my BDxG13 looks to be doing better with all your help, seems to be perked up with some actual water lol and the soil has stayed moist since yesterday so I believe we're on the path to healing her!

I'm still slightly worried, as what looks to be the first tiny set of leaves seems to have not fared we'll through the ordeal (pic below). The stem/stalk however is much healthier looking (no longer drooping) and made it to about .5 inches overnight. I know the red spectrum hps promotes vertical grow, and may be a bit harsh on early leaves, so I believe this is what's causing the stems healthiness. I will be purchasing a MH conversion bulb before she gets to 1.5 inches, hopefully in the next 2-3 days, so I can get some nice foliage

333Maxwell- About the CFLs - Wish I had a setup for em, but I've already got this nice ballast (not the cheapest lol) and I'm not looking to invest TOO much more at this current moment into the lighting aspect or making a rig for CFLs. Basically I'm a botanist on a budget




Taken just now, stem looks good right? Do I just wait for the next set of leaves to come or does this look like a problem that could plague her?

Thanks again, you guys are great

ThorGanjason said:

BTW, how's the plant doing xtc? Got any updates yet?

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edit: spelling

Want to add enough CFL light to cover that seedling on a budget? Got ~$20?

http://www.amazon.com/Woods-0151-Reflector-8-5-Inch-150-Watt/dp/B000HHQ94C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378316769&sr=8-2&keywords=Clip+work+light

http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-ESL40TN-Fluorescent-High-Wattage/dp/B001AZOV9K/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1378316476&sr=8-7&keywords=Daylight+cfl

Thats plenty of light for your seedling (or a future seedling or two) and also doubles as a very handy utility light.

Just a thought. Good luck!

Wow really?! Didn't realize i could just use a lamp like that...How long can I use that with a CFL on my plant for? Will that work for veg as well?/what types of wattage should I look for? I'm going to go to the store right now lol

Thanks for your help!!

Jerry68W said:

Want to add enough CFL light to cover that seedling on a budget? Got ~$20?

http://www.amazon.com/Woods-0151-Reflector-8-5-Inch-150-Watt/dp/B000HHQ94C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1378316769&sr=8-2&keywords=Clip+work+light

http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-ESL40TN-Fluorescent-High-Wattage/dp/B001AZOV9K/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1378316476&sr=8-7&keywords=Daylight+cfl

Thats plenty of light for your seedling (or a future seedling or two) and also doubles as a very handy utility light.

Just a thought. Good luck!

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xtcNxs said:

Wow really?! Didn't realize i could just use a lamp like that...How long can I use that with a CFL on my plant for? Will that work for veg as well?/what types of wattage should I look for? I'm going to go to the store right now lol

Thanks for your help!!

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Hahaha that setup I linked will provide plenty of light for that seedling until it gets rooted and really starts to veg. By then, hopefully you'll have that MH you were talking about, but the HPS would work to finish your veg cycle too. The CFL just won't penetrate enough once you have a canopy to penetrate, that's all.

ThorGanjason said:

I also read that heat can do it as well (keeps them shorter), and that the blue spectrum also helps increase the chance of being a female (tho not sure how exactly it realigns alleles on a chromosome..) Which to me sounds a little doubtful, but I'll be damned if I didn't grow 10 bag seed, 8 under my mh bulb and 2 outside, and all 8 of my indoor ones were female, while the two outside were male.

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No offense, but this is complete nonsense.. Color spectrum has zero effect on if your plat will be male or female. Though it is not a bad idea for you to drop a couple 6500K CFL lights instead of the HPS for the time being, will get more bang for your buck. Just put the CFL lights 4-5" from your sprouts until they get a bit bigger, then you can switch your lighting, you may even consider keeping the CFL in with your HPS to give some additional spectrum.

Jerry68W said:

Hahaha that setup I linked will provide plenty of light for that seedling until it gets rooted and really starts to veg. By then, hopefully you'll have that MH you were talking about, but the HPS would work to finish your veg cycle too. The CFL just won't penetrate enough once you have a canopy to penetrate, that's all.

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I was able to secure 2 of those work lamps (up to 200w each) and 2x 23w(100w standard) 5000K CFLs @1600 lumens each. Just set them up about 5 inches above the sprouts... providing some nice cool wavelengths!

Do you think the CFLs will be sufficient for 10-14 days until I can get the MH conversion bulb? In total, there's 3 sprouts at about the same age (~1 day apart). They're all in 16oz Solo cups. The widow emerged from the soil (under the HPS) just this morning and it looks better than my BDxG13 did at first sight (picture below)

Also, does anyone have experience splitting the 24/0 cycle? Like maybe 20 under CFLs/4 under the HPS? Or 18/6 CFL/HPS? Maybe diversifying wavelengths will have a positive effect? I only ask because I'm wondering if the switch from a 400w HPS to the 2 CFLs so suddenly at such an early stage will scare my girls...again this would only be until I get the MH conversion bulb


^ this is the widow, she looks nice and healthy

Nice! And yeah man, those cfls should definitely take you, well, all the way through veg if you needed them to.

And hbum, trust me I know. Anyone who understands genes, chromosomes, and particularly alleles knows that its quite a strange feat. When I first heard it (I think from some shmuck on here). I was like OK, that's total bullshit. How can a color spectrum change genetic makeup?

All I'm saying, is that my numbers from my first grow (male/female ratio) support it, whether that was the reason or not. Not to mention, we already know that too much/little light/heat can cause a female plant to create male parts. I don't know enough about that process to know what happens exactly, but I doubt it changes the genotype.

The CFLs should be able to carry you for the next 3 weeks no problem. Seedlings that young really do not require much in light, they concentrate on building out their root structure the first few weeks. I have read journals that use a 5.5-1-5.5-12 light schedule, often combined with a gas lantern routine for flowering and they will use a different light for their hour on so as not to put excessive wear on the HID.

It works like this you essentially grow 12/12 from seed, but 5.5 hours into your dark you turn on a light for 1 hour then off. This lights on period interrupts the production of the hormone that cannabis needs to begin flowering. This most likely also reduces the overall growth rate of the plant during its vegetative growth which in some instances is not a bad thing. I am using this currently myself since I have a very small veg area, with a small (90w) LED that is holding a couple plants that are waiting for a spot in my flowering room. I dont really want them to grow quickly, and this is better for me for a smaller size and lower heat footprint.

xtcNxs said:

333Maxwell- About the CFLs - Wish I had a setup for em, but I've already got this nice ballast (not the cheapest lol) and I'm not looking to invest TOO much more at this current moment into the lighting aspect or making a rig for CFLs. Basically I'm a botanist on a budget

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Welcome to my budget friendly, 100 percent effective Mobile Veg room (at night while flowers are sleeping) ...






That fixture and any wall, is the perfect height to veg two of these babies in 3 gallon pots, to just about 'this' point..

[URL=http://s206.photobucket.com/user/333maxwell/media/4FlowerReady.jpg.html][/URL]


Peace~!