Seedling Problems

apoulin

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone, this is officially my first post! I am currently in the process of my first grow. I am using a humidity dome and peat moss tabs to sprout my seeds. Temps are at around 80 degrees and about %70rh. I had 5 seeds sprout and grew to about 3 inches and looked very healthy, I then transplanted one to a solo cup with an organic soil mix I picked up. I placed the healthiest looking of the seedlings in my box, which is a large tupperware storage container lined with aluminum foil and 6 26 watt cfls, I have a fan that is placed near the lid which is cracked open when lights are on to help with heat. My temp stays at around 75-80 in the box with lights on, and 65-70 lights off with %40rh lights on and %55rh lights off. The seedling is about 5 days old and now appears weak and thin, the first round leaves are yellow, the first set of real leaves were nice and green but now look shriveled. The other 4 in the humidity dome all look healthy and green. I thought that my temps and rh were ideal, I am not sure what I am overlooking here. Please hepl!
 

StewartWarner

Active Member
they need help with the transfer from humidity dome to your box it could be quite a shock to the little girl, im no expert but with what i've read on here, try placing a cup over the seedling to see if it helps. hope that helps and your grow contues i have almost the same set up (cfls and rubbermade :)
 

apoulin

Well-Known Member
They end up being about 3-4 inches away from the light. I ended up transferring it back to the dome to revive it, it was looking very skinny and droopy. The other 4 plants are looking good in the dome but I am worried because they need to be in bigger pots soon and need more light, which my box can provide but I cannot keep them going in the box. I dont understand why they are acting like that when the conditions aren't too terribly different. They are within about 10 degrees and %15rh of each other, the box and the dome that is.
 

Oldreefer

Well-Known Member
The small first rounded leaves typically die off in seedling stage....make sure your solocups have drainage hole (plenty) and also don't overwater...let the solocup dry out between waterings....I always mist my seedlings to maintain a bit of moisture.......
 

apoulin

Well-Known Member

















Here are the pics of the seedlings I have. The all look green and looked a lot healthier last night. I had them under the cfls temp 75 %45rh, the only way i have found to revive them is to put them back under the humidity dome and have temps of 80 and %65rh...however they are taking a little longer than usual to perk back up.
 

apoulin

Well-Known Member
just wondering if maybe they are starved, they are in jiffy peat moss tabs and then transplanted to organic soil and are watered with bottled water..they are only a week old.
 

Pipe Dream

Well-Known Member
a good soil will have all the nutes u need for a while. I only use water and soil throughout veg until I see yellowing which is rare unless the plants are very old and in a small pot ( I use and like Ocean forest)I am guessing the new soil your using isn't very good. Get some of that ar blowing on them to strengthen their stalks and use some kind of stake if they need support.
 
I am a noob but here is my advice... you may need to harden them up a bit from the moist evironment. I opened the lid several times a day before they broke the soil to prevent mold. After they broke above soil I opend the lid several times a day... then had the lid half off a couple days then took the lid off a couple days before transplanting at around one week. My RH is only 20% - 30% for my seedling. I only mist sparingly after putting the seed in soil. Be carefull not to overwater. The leaves will turn down and then cup up towards the stem a little bit. Also get some kind of PH tester and make sure you water is something like 6.8 to prevent nutrient lock up.

Thin may not be that bad a problem. You can always transplant them into deeper pots almost up to the first set of leaves. I use 24oz pop bottles with 21 holes in the bottom made with a 1/4 in drill bit. Try to keep the light an inch or 2 from the plant if using CFL lights.

Here is a sick plant link http://www.gardenscure.com/420/plant-nursery/107527-revised-complete-guide-sick-plants-ph.html

My first grow 4 of 5 germinated. 3 sprouted up but only one survived. I basically over watered them to death.

Good luck.
 

TheOrganic

Well-Known Member
With seedlings humidity is not such an issue(Clones Yes). But Ive always tried Humidity keep up when starting. Keep them always at 80deg or 85deg is what ive done and I've had 90% germination and living. But when sprouted out went down to 75-80 and always worked good. And this is temp with light.
And seedlings need very little water!!!So many of my friends kill their seedlings cause of too much water. Always spray water on seedlings that way you won't over water them. And do not plant seedlings in restricted little fiber pots.
Let them grow straight out of your smart pot or air pot cause that's what we should all be using.
 

apoulin

Well-Known Member
all of them died except for one. I transplanted that one to a solo cup with plenty of drainage holes. I have it sitting outside of the humidity dome, on a shelf. I currently have 2 26watt cfls on it and a fan blowing on it, I also buried it up to the first set of leaves. So far it is still green and looks good, it has been in this new setup since yesterday. temps around 80 with lights on, %40rh, 70 and %50rh lights off. Also is it ok to keep this plant under 24/0 lighting, or should I still give dark periods.
 

apoulin

Well-Known Member
have on 18/6 light sched. Has about 3 sets of leaves, green. Looks healthy except stem is still kinda weak and purple looking. I have had a fan on it for a few days now. temps 70-80 and rh%30-50. I would like to switch to 12/12 as soon as I can that way I can just run through this whole process once before I take serious time on a grow. Also what type of nutes should I add and when. Thank you
 
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