First Time Grow - Our Seedlings Need Some Love

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by nothinglost7, Mar 22, 2014.

  1. Hi there.
     
    First time poster, long time lurker. :)
     
    So here goes....
     
    My wife and I got our medical approval this month so we decided to start our first grow.
     
    I have grown outdoor organic vegetables in our garden for the past 5 years with pretty decent success. 
     
    That being said, I fall into the schools of "less is more" and "plants grow all by themselves".
     
     
    Anyways.
     
    We germinated for 2 days using the paper towel method, which worked wonderfully for 3 of the 4 seeds. Then we planted the seeds in Happy Frog potting soil inside Cow Pots. (Made of 100% recycled cow manure. Yum.)
     
    We then moved them right under our light set up.
     
    Lights:
     
    4 - 54W T5 HO 6500K (4 ft bulbs)
    (started around 3-4 inches above the tips of the leaves)
     
    We also had the lights on a 24/0 schedule to get these little seedlings going well. 
     
    We water them about 1oz of naturally aerated tap water every morning. 
     
    After 5 days under the lights all 4 of the seeds have sprouted their cotyledons.
     
    Another 2 days under the lights and 1 of the seedlings has 3 sets of good looking leaves.
     
    All 4 seedlings looked good at the 9 day mark.... 
     
    Then on the morning of the 10th day they all turned their leaves skyward.
     
    So naturally I started researching what they were up to and from all of the information that I gathered it appeared that they were doing the "praying hands" thing. So I decided to let them do their thing for a 24 hour period without watering them to see how it goes.
     
    The next morning, (11th day) all 4 of them have started yellowing and curling their cotyledons and drooping their 1st set of large leaves. (It did not go well)
     
    (At this point we start germinating 4 more seeds just in case these babies don't make it.)
     
    12th day - All 4 seedlings are still drooping and the cotyledons have just about fallen off all of the plants.
     
    So we take measures to try and save them. We raise the lights up a few more inches in case they are getting too much heat. We also put a fan on them running 24/0. We also change their light cycle from 24/0 to 18/6 to give them some time to try and stretch out.
     
    As of this morning they are a little bit "better" than yesterday with minimal "perk up" and some teeny tiny new green growth in the center of at least 2 of them but by no means are they "good".
     
    I will post a few photos of the 4 seedlings from the timeline I have laid out and I would love any/all feedback because we love our babies and want to make them happy and healthy once again.
     
    FYI:
    We will be purchasing 2 4x4x7 grow tents and another light ballast with 3000K "Red Lights" for our flowering room.
     
     
    So based on everything that I have read, been told, seen etc. 
     
    I'm assuming that we over watered them and they started Damping Off.
     
    Our concern is whether or not they are healthy enough to survive and hopefully thrive.
     
    Any/All help or opinions would be awesome!!
     
    Thanks everyone. :)
     
    Day 3
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    Day 3
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    Day 3
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    Day 7
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    Day 7
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    Day 7
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    Day 7
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    Day 7
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    Day 10 (Praying Hands)
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    Day 10
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    Day 10
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    Day 10
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    Day 10
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    This is when the seedlings start their downfall....
     
    Day 11
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    Day 11
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    Day 11
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    Day 11
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    And finally, what they look like this morning. (3/22/14)
    (Photos taken right after watering)
     
    Day 13
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    Day 13
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    Day 13
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    Day 13
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  2. hey Nothinglost, my guess would be that your manure pots are leaching to many nutrients into your soil! your seedlings are way too young for nutes. put them into regular pots & see what happens. remember your soil only needs to be damp not wet!!! this may have stunted them but weed is very resilient and you just never know. good luck.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  3. #3 Joker1952, Mar 22, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2014
    I'm not sure what is going on- they looked great in the beginning. The don't need water every day. You should give them a good watering and let the soil dry out so the roots grow down searching for water, don't water again until the soil feel dry two inches down. Have you fed them anything? They don't need much of anything this young.
    Also I can't tell much about the soil? Is it a nice airy soil with perlite mixed in? Marijuana needs an airy mix. Are you checking your pH? In the beginners section is a discussion on pH and PPM. Don't overthink this. Good luck, keep us posted.
    What Magic M said is spot on.
     
  4. #4 Magic M, Mar 22, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 22, 2014
    P.S   when i start my seeds i put them into pro-mix (slightly damp) and they get nothing for the first few days. when the soil looks dry on top they can have enough water to damp the soil again. remember less is more!!! get rid of those pots  also are you on city water or on a well? my well water has a ph of 8.0 & 540ppm!!! way to hard, way to alkaline, so i use ro water ph to 6.0-6.3. if you are on city water make sure to let it sit  or put an air stone in it for a couple hours so it can dechlorinate. I will sub to this thread to follow your progress, let me know how it goes!
     
  5. Thanks for the quick replies MagicM & Joker!!
     
    I really appreciate it.
     
    Ya know, I had a sneaking suspicion that the manure pots would be too much nutrition but I figured I was over thinking it too much.
     
    We will transfer them into plastic, stop watering every day, and then see how they look in a few days I suppose.....
     
    Our water is sewer line city water. Boo..... We aerate the water for more than 48 hours before watering.
     
    Like I said before, we have 4 more seeds that are germinated and ready to go into soil either later today or tomorrow so even if we end up losing these seedlings it won't be the end of the world.
     
    We are both very positive people and we are confident that we will be able to grow beautiful plants, we're just happy that our first mis-step was in the seedling stage and not further along the growth life cycle.
     
    Mistakes are the best way to learn.
     
    Should we get a PH tester for our water?
     
    Thanks again!!!!!
     
  6. ph pens are a MUST!!! even on city water the ph can fluctuate! also i would recommend to use pro-mix or jiffy pellets as the starting medium! let me know if there is anything I can do to help!!  congratulations on your medical ticket and good growing! 
     
  7. Great!
     
    Thanks Magic M!
     
    I'll go grab a PH Pen this afternoon and see what we're looking at for our levels.
     
    I took a photo of the ingredients in our potting soil.
     
    Here it is. :)
     
    IMG_2515.JPG
     
  8. #8 Doc-J, Mar 22, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2014
    It really looks like the main problem was poor watering. You need to water until you get runoff, then wait until it starts to dry before watering again. Watering small amounts every day causes the roots to stay wet, eventually stop taking up nutrients, and die.

    If you are worried about your tap water, i would just grab a pack of ph strips. As long as it isnt crazy high or low ph shouldnt be any problem.
     
  9. ^^ Thanks Doc J.
     
    That's what my assumption is as well.
     
    But then again, I only know what I have experienced and what I have read.
     
    So you guys know better than I.
    :)
     
  10. in my opinion that soil would be great for plants in veg growth but for seedlings pro-mix would be better as it is a neutral medium.seedlings are very sensitive and only need water and perhaps a drop or 2 of superthrive per gallon of water! seedlings should only be watered when the soil looks dry and even then only a little bit.
     
  11. are you planning on doing a grow journal?
     
  12. Np good luck with it.

    Another good tip is to mix in about 1/2 cup lime with every five gallons of soil. It helps to buffer ph some, and also provides a source of calmag, which most nutrient solutions leave out.
     
  13. Doc - Thanks for the tip on the PH Strips. I just found that out a few minutes ago from some googling research.
     
    Magic M - Thanks for the soil info and Yes I am keeping a Grow Journal. With detailed descriptions of almost every single day. I'm old school though, it's pen and paper in a notebook. ;)
     
  14. So I just got back from Home Depot and I tested the water for pH, Alkalinity, Chlorine and Hardness.
     
    Here are the results.
     
    pH - 5.0
    Alk - 85
    Chl - 0.1
    Hard - 0
     
     
    Is 5 a bad level for pH?
    I see that a lot of people say around the 6.0 mark is the sweet spot.
     
  15.  
    I also grabbed a 36 pack of Jiffy Pellets for our future babies. ;)
     
  16. Is that the ph of your water straight out of the tap, or runoff? 5.0 is low either way. Ideal ph in soil is closer to 6.5 to 6.8, hydro 5.5 to 5.8.
     
  17. #17 nothinglost7, Mar 22, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 22, 2014
    Those levels are from the aerated water (48 hrs plus).
     
    I didn't take any readings straight from the tap because I am not using it straight from the tap. ;)
     
    Should I take some readings from the tap just to see how they compare? (I assumed it wasn't necessary)
     
    Edit: Should I also grab a reading from the plant runoff water after I water them?
     
    Thanks again man.
     
  18. No, no need to check it again i was really just meaning before anything was added to the water. Nutrient solutions will normally lower ph quite a bit when mixed. If yours is that low before adding anything at all, i might consider some type of filter or using r/o water. Are you on a well or some other natural source of water? That low of a ph is quite odd.
     
  19. Nope, believe it or not we are hooked up to city water lines.
     
    Any suggestions for a filter (or do you know of a secret wizard cave that gives out buckets of RO water?) :p
     
  20. #20 Magic M, Mar 23, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 23, 2014
    i agree with Doc 5 is way too low! ikeep my veg & bloom nutes as well as the main rez  @ 6.3ph. when i take cuttings or have seedling the water is @ 5.8 -6.0  said alkalinity is 85? I dont understand what you mean! ph = acidic or alkaline, do you mean salinity?what kind of ph meter did you get? is it 1 of those ones with 2 probes that stick in the soil?
     

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