First grow. Please help!

[xchadx167]

Hey guys whats goin on. Have been thinkin bout doin a grow for a while and finally decided to go about it. So for practice i decided to try bagseed first instead of wasting money and im glad that i did. I've had 3 die on me so far and i think the reason was because i was overwatering.

Here's the specs on what im doing -
Soil, starting in peat pots, 1x 28 watt CFL - 4x 40 watt Fluoro's, stays roughly 78 Degrees in the closet, Been using filtered tap water PH balanced to 6.4, FFOF soil w/ Vermiculite ( couldn't find perlite at local stores) and have been watering 2 TBS every morning. Oscillating fan on medium speed on them.

I have a feeling i still may be watering too much from what people tell me. This plant is my oldest at 4 days and yesterday she was looking really good. Had thicker stem and was standing straight up with open leaves. Now she looks like he's starting to die
Not sure what else to do to keep them happy. All the younger ones are looking pretty healthy so far. Now im not sure if this is what caused it but before i went out last night all the soils were looking pretty dry so i gave them each 2 mists of the ph balanced water. Didn't effect any of the other plants really but this one started drooping and the stem got thin and like purplish within a 2 1/2 hour period. Also looks like it started to close up a bit instead of being open. It used to be green with some slight red tint going through. Thanks for reading and any help is greatly appreciated.

[DahuiRasta]

Where is the source of light are u putting it in a window seal etc...looks like it is trying to get light? or has turned to a light source? you mentioned he's u might wanna start calling her a she (plants listen )

[xchadx167]

haha. yea i hear ya. my buddy catches me doin it too. try to call her a she as much as possible. anyways that pic was taken while she was on a table in the kitchen. when im home durin the day i try to take them out and put them in sunlight. otherwise, they're in the closet. thats how she was in the closet so i was hoping maybe sunlight would help but didn't =/ thanks for the reply

[DahuiRasta]

I wouldnt worry to much most germinating seeds i have had will start off like dat or has it ever stood straight up? besides when it was just coming out of the ground. Be careful with the window seals etc.. it will cause ur plant to stretch..

[xchadx167]

yea like i said she was standin up straight w/ open leaves until i gave her a quick spray and left for a few hours. came back and she was drooping w/ a thinner stem. 2 TBSP a day too much for seedlings?

[BioloGyMaJor]

hey man



there is alot of post about this already try using the search feature.
if your plant is still a seedling, the best thing you can really do for it is leave it alone and give it some time. we seem to get over-excited but rest assure biology is clocking in and doing its job. seedlings should be given proper conditions then really just left alone. let them get a good root base for feedings. you will only have to water a seedling maybe 1 every two days .. dont over-do it just make sure the soil is slightly damp. the little baby should have everything it needs for about 24 days. then you can start doing the fancy shit ^_^


Happy Gardening,
TeXas

[xchadx167]

Thanks. i've been reading around the forums looking for a solution for the problem for a few days but didn't find too much. Im thinking that if it stays like this by tonight i should bury it up to the cotyledons? and still dont know if im watering too much at a time. 2 TBSP for peat pots too much? My soil seems to dry out pretty quick. I think i also need to look into trying to raise the humidity level in there a bit. Thanks guys.

[xchadx167]

Two more starting to lay down worse than the one in the pic above and lookin like they're startin to die. Checked the soil and its completely dry. now im thinkin part of the reason why my soil is drying out so quick is because im using peat pots. Watered all of them 2 TBSP this morning w/ 6.4 PH water and haven't watered since. Soil is completely dry. Am i ok to water again? i keep running into this problem. I can put up pics if anyone needs them to help out. Please help! already had 3 die and would like some to survive -.- Thanks!

[BKKG]

The right time to water is when the soil is dry, so if it's bone dry then yes it's time for more water. And you're right, the reason your soil is drying out so quickly is because you're using peat pots, the exact same thing happened to me when I tried using them. Daily waterings aren't really a good idea, but with the peat pots drying out your soil, I can see why you fell into the habit.

I'm still a little bit confused as to your lighting situation though; are they in a dark closet, and then moved to a window during the day for sunlight? When in the closet, how close are they to the lights, and how are the lights arranged above them?


It doesn't look like it's drying out to me, but you might want to put the peat pot in some soil in a slightly bigger pot, one that will hold water better. Then water each time you can poke your finger about 1 inch into the soil without feeling moisture; water enough to moisten the soil and then wait until it feels dry again. And please post back about the light situation, I'm curious to know.

[xchadx167]

I have 2 4ft Fluoro's but only using 1 atm both bulbs in fixture blue spectrum. got rid of the red for now for room reasons. plants are about 2" under the light in the closet but like i said when im not working during the day sometimes i take them out for a lil while and put them in sunlight. 24/0 light schedule. i have 2 more that look like they might die. if you like i could snap a couple pics and have them posted for ya. i think i may buy some plastic party cups and put them in there... not liking the peat pots really. dries out way too fast. how often did you water when you used peat pots?

[xchadx167]

up.....

[BKKG]

Originally Posted by xchadx167

I have 2 4ft Fluoro's but only using 1 atm both bulbs in fixture blue spectrum. got rid of the red for now for room reasons. plants are about 2" under the light in the closet but like i said when im not working during the day sometimes i take them out for a lil while and put them in sunlight. 24/0 light schedule. i have 2 more that look like they might die. if you like i could snap a couple pics and have them posted for ya. i think i may buy some plastic party cups and put them in there... not liking the peat pots really. dries out way too fast. how often did you water when you used peat pots?

Don't take them out of the closet is my suggestion, because sunlight through the window isn't as good as direct light in the right spectrum from your bulb. Also, the difference in quality/amount of light might be stressing them. Definitely move the peat pots into another container (I'd recommend against a proper transplant, if only because you won't want to put your sprouts into shock), and start leaving them in the closet all the time. Make sure you poke drainage holes in the bottom of the cups first, of course.

Other ideas, depending on how powerful your fan is it may not be good to have it blowing directly on such fragile young plants. And I don't know where your thermometer is, but it's best to have it near the plants so you can get the temperature where the plants are (light bulbs diffuse heat a lot over distance, but are much hotter closer to the bulb).

Aside from those basic changes, I'll echo the advise from biologymajor, which is not to mess with your sprouts too much, they're still just getting established. So once you've made whatever adjustments you choose, you'll just have to hope for your plants. For more opinions, it might be a good idea to take new pictures and ask about them in the sick plant thread, I've had lots of luck with getting timely and accurate advice on emergency problems there.

P.S. I water my plants every three days or so, but how often you water depends on how much soil you have and how well it drains, the only way to know for sure is to check for dryness.

[xchadx167]

thanks for the reply. Im going to be puttin them in bigger cups today. ill leave them in the peat pots as to not shock them but not sure if they'll make it. if they dont get better ill get over it and just try again this time without peat pots. The fan i have on them may be a lil strong for them so i put it on low and am aiming it away now. pretty sure that wasn't helping with the drying out. i just checked my plants as i just got home from work and if i were to slightly squeeze the peat pot i can hear cracking as to how dry it is. mind you i watered them this morning about 7 hours ago and already bone dry. how well do you think i can water the soil when i put them in bigger cups? Thanks again guys.

[BKKG]

There's no magic amount that anyone can tell you will work- like I said, it depends on how much soil there is in the cup and how well it drains. I'd say to add enough to cover the top of the soil, then wait for it to drain down, then add about half as much again. As I said, that's just a guess, but I don't think that that would be too much for a single watering since they've been so dry. If the leaves look heavy and droopy the day after such a watering, then you'll know that you did too much and when the soil dries out again you'll have to try adding less. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

[xchadx167]

yea i knew there wasn't any magic amount but was looking for a ballpark such as stop watering when....... which you answered. Thanks. dont think most of these girls are gonna make it but ill see whats goin on tonight. worst comes to worst ill just start over. only a few days old anyways.