Seed stem rot problem

Everytime after germinating a seed I always seem to get stem rot (brownish colour on the tap root) from one out of 2 seeds after planting them for a few days, am I doing something wrong? my medium is westland+ compost mixed with lawn sand and I used boiled kettle water mixed with still bottled water

help please?

iCYSe7en said:

Everytime after germinating a seed I always seem to get stem rot (brownish colour on the tap root) from one out of 2 seeds after planting them for a few days, am I doing something wrong? my medium is westland+ compost mixed with lawn sand and I used boiled kettle water mixed with still bottled water

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don't use the sand it'll compact the soil so the root can't get air, use up to 50 perlite. your soil may be too hot (over nuted) also with that compost.

It seems to be draining fine with the sand

iCYSe7en said:

It seems to be draining fine with the sand

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ok never mind.

frmrboi said:

ok never mind.

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Should it be ok if its draining fine with sand?

Would B&Q multipurpose compost and perlite be better than what im using now then?

Listen to the man above, perlite help keep the soil aerated so the roots can get oxygen, it`s not all about drainage - sand compacts the soil doing exactly opposite thing.. As for the bnq multipurpose I`m using it but its a hit and miss really, last year it was beutiful this year it`s utter rubbish but I`m stuck with it now. Kingrow1 suggested westland soil to me as hes using it but not any "extra feeding" one.

I'll get some perlite tomorrow but im not sure to mix it with westland+ or B&Q multipurpose. Is the westland your using soil or compost?
I only got the westland+ because that was the only westland compost my local b&q had, also do you have to mix the perlite with the medium or just lay it ontop?

collar rot has nothing to do with lack of air in the soil, collar rot is caused by the medium being to wet around the trunk...maybe try watering alittle less..

if your plants are in a decent size pot u should only be watering once a week..

I`m not using westlands at the moment - I plan to try it on my next grow, but it wont be the plus one thats for sure. I looked it up and it says it feeds for four months, that means its stuffed with nutrients and probably "too hot" for fragile sprouts. I`m using bnq peat-free multipurpose compost and it`s utter rubbish. Get the bnq peat-based multipurpose compost and add around 40% perlite to it, mix it well with the compost, forget the sand.

madmad said:

I`m not using westlands at the moment - I plan to try it on my next grow, but it wont be the plus one thats for sure. I looked it up and it says it feeds for four months, that means its stuffed with nutrients and probably "too hot" for fragile sprouts. I`m using bnq peat-free multipurpose compost and it`s utter rubbish. Get the bnq peat-based multipurpose compost and add around 40% perlite to it, mix it well with the compost, forget the sand.

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Cheers thanks for the info, i'll get some after work. Just to be sure is this the one your talking about? http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10288013&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372012}/categories%3C{9372020}/categories%3C{9372095}/specificationsProductType=composts___fertilisers/specificationsSpecificProductType=multi_purpose_compost

And this perlite is ok? http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10288075&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372012}/categories%3C{9372020}/categories%3C{9372095}/specificationsProductType=composts___fertilisers/specificationsSpecificProductType=specialist_compost

smallclosetgrowr said:

collar rot has nothing to do with lack of air in the soil, collar rot is caused by the medium being to wet around the trunk...maybe try watering alittle less..

if your plants are in a decent size pot u should only be watering once a week..

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Well while it may be true I`d think both things are directly connected - I added sand to compost once and it was getting all caked up and would not dry up for a very long time - perfect condition for rot. A fair bit of perlite would IMO help prevent it and help to provide roots with air, no?

That`s the one mate. As for perlite I think they only have this one kind and I guess perlite is perlite, I`m using it and it`s perfectly fine. Good luck, and go easy on the water! When you plant the seeds in the soil water them once and make little cones from clear plastic bag or something and put them on top of pots/cups to keep the humidity high, but make few small holes in them too.

madmad said:

That`s the one mate. As for perlite I think they only have this one kind and I guess perlite is perlite, I`m using it and it`s perfectly fine. Good luck, and go easy on the water! When you plant the seeds in the soil water them once and make little cones from clear plastic bag or something and put them on top of pots/cups to keep the humidity high, but make few small holes in them too.

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Thanks again mate, have you got a pic of the plastic cones or diagram just for an idea of how to make them?

I don`t have them on hand but I`ll find a pic of them and will post them here for you 2moro, gotta go to bed now. But since you`re going to bnq and if you haven`t bought any nutrients yet I`m using that in veg stage with good results -

madmad said:

I don`t have them on hand but I`ll find a pic of them and will post them here for you 2moro, gotta go to bed now. But since you`re going to bnq and if you haven`t bought any nutrients yet I`m using that in veg stage with good results - View attachment 1880296

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Ok thanks alot! I got some Tomorite that got given to me but I might pick some of the B&Q stuff up aswell

No probs mate. I hear people use tomato feed with good results too so you might as well stick with that, or just do a little research and decide. Anyway, I`ll get back to you 2mo.

iCYSe7en said:

Thanks again mate, have you got a pic of the plastic cones or diagram just for an idea of how to make them?

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Hey man, sorry it`s a bit late but I went for a pint after work and...you know how it is. Icant seem to find the thread which had good cone pictures so I quickly made one myself, hope you get the idea, its piss easy but then again I`m a bit pissed so maybe I`m not explainhing it right . Basically you just need some clear plastic, cut out a circle and then cut it from middle to the rim like this: and then just roll it into a cone to fit your pot/cup and cut away the bit where the plastic doubles so it doesnt stop the light. Tape it together with a bit of clear tape, make a few holes, put on top of your pot/cup and thats it Should basically look something like this

Or if you cant be bothered than just leave about 1.5inch from top of the soil to the rim of the pot and put shrink wrap on top and amke a few holes in it, but once they sprouted they will grow that 1.5inch pretty quickly so you will have to make that cone anyway. Or not Really all that is just to help `em out a bit and it`s not a neccesity or anything. Good luck!

Cheers, thanks again! i'll give it a shot in the morning