Bad Soil?

[hoko]

Well now i have been trying to get some more plants and it isnt coming easy at all i took a look a bit ago at my seeds in their pots and it is pissing me off. I dug the seeds out of where i put them found them and they havent done anything for a week or 2 now since i plated them they look exactlythe same as they did once the tap root came out durng germination could the soil have a really high ph level it is plain potting soil from walgreen not for roses or anything just said potting soil on the side. I havent ever had this much trouble getting weed to grow yet i mean its just a weed sheesh i have only planted once before and it was outside and it managed to come up great...... what is wrong this time i dont have a ph tester and have thrown away the old soil with seeds and started again germing i went out side and found some really sandy soil this time which was in the same location i planted over the summer so it should be good since i got it from pretty close to the same location and have gone threw it and removed all the rocks and roots.... any ideas why the seeds just stop and dont grow all of u are doing really well and i just cant tell why i cant even get a weed to grow now i must have like jinxed fingers or something or tweesers since i am using them mainly for planting help please!!

[stinkbud]

voodoo

[barnaby_wylde]

ur right with wot u say about it being a weed. the 1st thing that springs to my mind is that the seeds wasnt much cop b4 u planted them.

how old r they? if ther the same 1s u planted b4 then they gotta b a few mth old at least. wher have u kept them? if they get to warm they start to cook in the shell, i keep mine in the fridge. its just like its winter to them and they just sit ther waiting 4 spring.

u say they had a "tail" b4 u potted them, how long a tail? if its to much then u sow them they shock and try to figure out witch way is up again. by the time they done that ther outta nrg 2 do any more growin.

or bad mojo.

[JIMBO]

I dont think the soil from outside is the best way to go for indoor growing. First of all you dont have a way to tell the PH- by the way you dont have to have an expensive meter, you can get cheap little kits that will do fine.
Secondly- there are probably going to be all kinds of pests in amongst it which will cause all kinds of trouble later.
Thirdly-For your next grow how are you going to know the soil is the same, even if it comes from the same area?
Also worth remembering is that a lone figure heading into the woods with a shovel may arouse the suspicions of even the stupidest policeman (or nosey neighbour)-even if you have'nt "neutralised" Granny.

Having said all that, the potting soil should have been okay (I use coconut fibre compost mixed with perlite myself)- probably the seeds were the culprit somehow.
Good luck next time!!

[stinkbud]

if your gonna use soil from outside you want to cook it in the oven at 350 for an hour to steralize it

[hoko]

barnaby: k well the seeds are fairly new not even a year old yet, I kept them in a lock box in my room which stays dark and cool room temperature is prolly around 65-70 degrees. & the tap root that pops out was only about a cm long i didnt want it to get that long cause ive done that before and ended up cutting it so i have been planting them pretty early now mainly as soon as i see it pop out which is either when it cracks and i see the little white tap root coming out or if its all ready out

Jimbo the soil was brought in from me last summer and i put it in the area so it is top soil but a different kind from the same place i planted last summer so hopefully its good... it doesnt have any pests i looked through it very carefully and i didnt go prancing around with a shovel i just went in with a bag turned it inside out and stuck my hand with the bag n the soil and pulled it in through the bag so it was in the bag at the time so no one saw me...... unless it is the soil i cant think of anything that would be doing it i didnt fertilize this time and i used all clean materials cause the last time it was molding and yucky i have just been jinxed i think, k well we shall see if the new seeds work i have been using the fattest seeds i have and they take longer to germinate i believe cause when i have used small seeds they come out in like 12 hours and the fatty ones take like 4-5 days is this normal??? we shall see if i can get a plant some day if new soil and all cya

[hoko]

yeah forgot to mention this but should i try maybe going hydro growing for a bit i have a fishtank and took it apart and got the lil thing that pumps air into the bottom and have hooked it into a tray tub thing forwater and i made sure it didnt do any leaking will this work nevr done hydro before and i think uhave to add chemicals into it but i dont know will it just work off water and the pump?

or should i try to keep my soil growing going and see if the new ones do the same?

[Big Poppa Puff]

if the tap root came out and started growing and then stopped, you have the classic example of overwatering and fungus killing the plant.

[hoko]

k that might have been it cause the soil i always tried to keep it moist not soaking though but ahh fungus happened too before though so this itme ill see what i can do abut that thanks

[stinkbud]

are you using a humidity dome over the seedlings if ya are try it without it a couple of years ago I tried using them after one day I decided against it you can just smell the fungus growing when u use them

[celticweedlover]

The only other thing i can think of is temperature,
72-80f for optimum germination, colder will slow it down more
I tried to germ 4 seeds at about 65f and they never germinated,
i tried 4 of the same seeds at about 80f and they sprouted in 2 days,all of em,
Hope that helps<
CWL

[barnaby_wylde]

Originally posted by hoko
yeah forgot to mention this but should i try maybe going hydro growing for a bit i have a fishtank and took it apart and got the lil thing that pumps air into the bottom and have hooked it into a tray tub thing forwater and i made sure it didnt do any leaking will this work nevr done hydro before and i think uhave to add chemicals into it but i dont know will it just work off water and the pump?

or should i try to keep my soil growing going and see if the new ones do the same?

the whole point of hydroponics is that u can get more water/air/FOOD to the roots of a plant. if u dont feed them then its amazing just how fast they die. if u get the hang of it tho then it is the best way to grow, i think anyway.

regarding ur soil, it does sound like thats whats at fault, mould is a real killer. so is whatever next doors cat mite of done in it b4 u brought it in.