This is what I see after 18 days in soil. These are going too slow I think? And also the yellow leaves concern me. I don't have much of a budget, the soil is just Wally World brand potting soil. 43w cfl over each pot til I can get a 400w HPS. No idea what the PH is and I haven't used any nutes. They've been neither watered too much nor too little.
those plants need to be in separate pots less water, use a mister at the base of the plant for seedlings your soil is not so great, you need more perlite take the pipe cleaners off the plants and let those sprouts grow get a PH meter or Aquarium kit ASAP more lites!!! give them a drop of super thrive next watering or VERY LITE dose of ferts...........1/4 strength or less
Thanks for the reply, ganja. I removed the pipe cleaners and am about to head out to get more soil. I bought a cheap pH kit and it looks like my tap water is around 7.5 so I'll get some distilled water at the store. When I get back I'll repot with the new soil, 1 plant per pot. When I do repot what will be the easiest way to go about it? I'm working on more lights but like I said I'm on a tight budget. Is "Super Thrive" comemrcially available or will I have to get it online? (I have a WalMart and Lowes nearby but that's about it). And what fert should I buy?
superthrive is available at wal mart. It'll help w/ root growth. More light for sure. And your ph really shouldn't be over 6.5 tops imo.
there is part of the issue. use vinegar (till you can get PH Down) to bring the water down to optimum PH range 6.5-6.8 just use the tap water.... the PH in tap water varies wildly aswell transplanting wont be difficult, the roots are small at this point , water with super thrive in a mister (not on the leaves, on the soil) supplement with window lite, if possible, till you can upgrade your lites
Back from store with some bandaids. I got good ol' cow manure, perlite, sphagnum peat moss, gravel, vinegar, a soil pH meter, superthrive, and 2 spray bottles (hope that's what ya meant by misters).
Just ordered a 400w HPS light system and repotted the plants (my 4 CFLs will have to do for a few more days). Thanks again for the advice guys [
the same thing happened to me, my plants were like 3 weeks old and only 2 inches tall with small leaves. The problem is probably in your soil, i also bought cheap soil that didnt have much info on the bag but the problem was that the bag didnt say anything about added ferts and there were ferts in the soil so it was an overfert problem and i just got new organic seed starter soil yesterday and i can see new growth already and check the ph its either overfert or ph o ya and my seed starter soil contains peat moss vermiculite perlite and lime for ph balance
its weird i cant see the post i made so ill make it again i had the same problem, i had plants that were 3 weeks old and only 2 inches tall the problem was the soil i used i also bought cheap soil and it didnt say anything on the bag about added ferts but the soil had ferts in it which led to an overfert and the plants stopped growing i got new organic seed starter soil yesterday and transplanted them and ive seen new growth already. so the problem is probably overfert or ph problem. O ya and get those babies in seperate pots they are ganna get root bound and when you transfer them out of there the root network will get damaged. you could just stick them in styrofoam drinking cups that way when you have to transplant just put all the soil right into the bigger pot
Happy 4/20 all! 4 days since I started this thread, my little ones are still just that. I fixed the soil and the PH, fertilized (correctly), watered (correctly), installed the 400w HPS. My temp is steady at 85F, the humidity is a bit low, but 30% isn't too too bad (is it? well, it sucks I know but I'm working on it). After all this they still haven't grown any. I'm almost to the point of scrapping 'em and re-germinating. No questions today, just frustrated.
slow down there you just put them tru alot, they are currently in a stressed out condition....by the time your "New Lites" arrive they will be ready to rockNroll I have clones under flouros, when I move them under my 1000w the growth can be measured daily what brand ferts are you using and the NPK values?
MG All purpose fert (NOT soil), 12-4-8, 1/4 strength. 200ML each pot. (Ferted Thursday afternoon). Just got home from work and I see some new growth (not much mind, but I'm hopeful =)) And have been spritzing the leaves with rain water 3-5 times/day. Just checked pHes, they are 6.5 for 2 pots and 6.8-6.9 for the other 4. With the new 400w HPS light I'm having trouble keeping the temp under 95F. With the door open the grow area stays below 85F but with it closed it goes up to 99F, even with an exhaust fan, a small intake fan and a fan over the plants. Humidity is hanging around 40% with door open and I know I can't keep it open forever , in fact it has to be closed for the next two days.
They've started to perk up and man one of 'em is really starting to take off! I think the soil mix I made up is a lil too heavy on peat but that's ok cause at least they're responding positively now and I don't have to worry too much about overwatering, and underwatering isn't a problem yet. Pretty much my only concerns now are temp and humidity. Humidity is hovering between 35-41% and temp, like I said, goes up to 99F with door closed. I put a bandaid on the temp and am running a closed-door test at the moment so hopefully I fixed that up.
glad to hear they are feeling better and you didnt scrap them work on the temps, you must get it down to 85F can you get a bigger intake opening whats the CFM and type of your exhaust fan
It looks like you've got other things growing in your medium than mj. As suggested, I'd use more perlite, 10-20% is good. You really should think about separating the seedlings. Ph is so important, if you can't control it, it will control you. Get a meter and some calibration solution/and up n down. I don't start tying down until much later. If you're on a tight budget, pass on the superthrive (manure too, no way!) Buy some good stand alone ferts. For veg and flower. (pk booster too.)