First grow.... I have seedlings in Pro Mix Organic soil. 3 parts soil to 1 part perlite. I was under the impression that this is a pretty gentle mix. I water with a spray bottle. I have recently gotten a bit more aggressive with the watering....I am still getting a feel for the water I have them under a 400 watt MH bulb probably about a foot away. The tips of one of the seedlings has turned white and then a bit of brown further in on the leaves. I can see slight evidence of it happening to one other seedling. Too much light? Too much water?
I'm not sure what you mean by getting more aggressive with your watering, but don't be too aggressive. They need to dry out some some so the roots don't drown and kill your plants. If you can dim that light, seedlings don't need much. I start seedlings under a cfl before putting under my bigger lights.
I will dim the light and see if that cures it. Thanks! And as far as watering I have been paranoid about over watering and only use a spray bottle pretty sparingly and it does not seem to penetrate very deeply into the soil, so I just started spraying a few more sprays at a time. I have not even had water drain out the bottom of the planters they are in. But I thought maybe the added water had something to do with it.
You aren't spraying while the lights are on, correct? If you were, especially if the light is a foot away, that's the problem. The water droplets act like a magnifying glass. Not to mention it's potentially dangerous if any of those get on your HID bulb, it'll explode in your face...
I water with the lights on all the time. It doesn't hurt them one bit. Watering with the lights out encourages root rot imo. Sent from my SM-N900V using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Ahh damnit. What a dumbass...I meant spraying. Somehow my brain typed watering. My apologies, and I agree with you, ALWAYS water during the light time. Can't have photosynthesis without it.
I have been watering with the spray bottle while the light is on. i hold it close to the soil but could be getting mist on the leaves. So should I be watering with the lights off or on? I am a bit confused from the last few replies =)
On, always when the lights are on..sorry for the confusion. Be sure to let the soil dry a bit first before you water again. Sent from my SM-N900V using Grasscity Forum mobile app
It's gentle alright...promix is a neutral mix (no nutes added)..they do have a mix with some slow released fertilizer that I don't recommend. I dont think that's what your using though. Sent from my SM-N900V using Grasscity Forum mobile app
excellent. I chose the soil for the seedlings because of that. I have a separate soil in 20 gal smart pots that they will finish in. I do not need to be feeding these guys anything other than water and light at this point right?
If it were me I'd hang that light 2 feet above the plants. I'd give them a shot glass of water each day and a few sprays to make sure the top of the soil stays moist. Once they get a few sets of leaves you can judge your watering needs by how heavy the pot feels.
You should be fine for at least a couple more weeks. 2tbs alfalfa 1tbs kelp in 1g H2O soaked for 24hrs. Strain. Then use as a soil drench when you get there. Also, you can water whenever is most convenient for you. Day or night doesn't matter. Most commercial agriculture/horticulture enterprises will water after the sun has gone down in an effort to conserve water.
In my vegetable garden, sometimes it rains at night, sometimes it rains during the day. Sometimes the sun comes out after it rains. Sometimes the sun comes out and dries the dew on the plants and seedlings. And I've never seen it hurt anything. J
Jerry we don't get much rain in the summer here. But if I water my tomato plants from above and get the foliage wet, most of the tomatoes will have cracked skins. Does this happen to your tomato plants when they get rained on? Just curious as usual.
It definitely happens here as well whenever we get too much rain. I have always believed that the fruits simply sucked up too much water - not from the water getting on the skins themselves. I have been known to be wrong before though LOL
I figured you were gonna say it was dependent on how much rain. I mentioned to a friend of mine that most of my tomatoes were cracked and she told me it's because they don't like water on their foliage and to just water the soil. I always water after the sun went down. I tried it the next year and not a single cracked skin!! I dunno...maybe throw a little hoop house over a plant next year and see if it works for ya?
I've always just been under the assumption that tomatoes don't like too much water - they suck it up like a sponge and the thin skins can't handle the expansion of the fruit. I've never thought about water on the tomato skin it's self being an issue. Interesting. J
I was a bonehead and wasn't mulching except for a ton of carrots planted under the tomatoes. So I was watering the garden everyday. As soon as I switched to a soaker hose the problem went away. Works for me. Edit: I did do some reading and the watering thing gets mention quite a bit. Extreme temperature fluctuations as well. I wonder why the soaker hose works so well for me? I wonder if it's just a local trick. Hmm. Interesting stuff nonetheless.