Hey guys, this is my first plant (found a seed in my stash and germinated it). I originally had it outside in a small dixie cup with soil, but it kept raining and kept making the seed fall out of the cup. I eventually moved it and tried to germinate it, obviously it was successful. I put the germinated seed again in potting soil (it is moisture advanced soil btw) and let it grow to a sprout. now unfortunately the leaves are drooping and the plant is dark green. i only water it when it is bone dry, and im afraid to water it too much, but i might have overwatered it. Can anyone diagnose whats going on here, picture of the plant is below.
Over watering is from watering to frequently not how much you give it at one time. Just to let you know ahead of time the first two small round leaves and single bladed leaves will naturaly die off in time, not just yet but they eventualy will.
so you guys pretty much are saying the plant is in okay shape so far. Allright thanks alot, you all have been a big help!
It looks okay, a bit small for 1 week though. The round leaves (cotyledons) tend to always be a bit on the droopy side, the real leaves look fine. Just make sure you're not over/under-watering and let it do it's thing.
Yea, I've been causing this little guy (or girl) a little too much stress. I attempted to germinate outside in soil but it wasn't doing anything. I then moved the seed inside and tried the paper towel method, and tht worked. I put the germinated seed in the soil and watered it. I realized I had moisture advantage soil and I seemed to have watered it a bit much since it was soggy so when it sprouted i moved it to another cup with the same soil but water amount is alot more reasonable. I'm using one cfl to light it, its a 26 watt so i'm not sure if thats acceptable or not. the cfl is approx. 3-5 inches away. Is there any tips to how I can make sure hes growing healthy?
The single 23w is fine for your little sprout, and the distance sounds about perfect. It won't get you very far though, so I hope you plan on upgrading fairly soon. If you want to see how well she is progressing, take a photo from a bird's eye view, then take the same photo 24 hours later and compare them. If you don't see any progress, it could be focusing on roots, or it could mean something is not right. I used this technique to track my plants early on, only on a weekly basis. Fun stuff.
I've definitely considered taking pictures for progress, i'm gonna have to start doing that. As for upgrading, what would you recommend? I'm on a low budget unfortunately and very limited in space . Do i just need more cfl's? or a bigger cfl?
You could get away with just adding more and/or bigger CFLs. But I'd recommend a 150w HPS. At $66.95, it's perfect for a small budget grow. Great bang for your buck, it's what I use. You could pay double for a 150w cfl w/ hood and still only get half the lumen output. Only downside is the heat, nothing a fan can't handle though. HTG Supply - FLORALUX 150w HPS Mini Grow Light