Need Advice ASAP

So, I found some seeds in this really good weed I got. I honestly didn't think they would germinate, but 2 of them did! Out of those 2, only 1 seems to have sprouted. It was fine for the first 5 days. I wasn't prepared for it to get this far at all, I had no lights, no way to check the pH, no pots and no soil to put them in. I have never grown before. I've just been making due with what I can find around the house. Letting the plant sit in/near the sunlight in a window sill from morning until night. I've been doing so much reading on how to grow and what's best and what to avoid.. but on day 6 the cotyledons on my little sproutling began turning a very dark green at the tips and shriveling up. I figured it may have been nutrient burn because the drain off was tented a medium-dark yellow. So having no other option I flushed the plant until the water coming out was roughly the same color as what I was putting in. It's now day 7, and the flushing seems to have helped a little. Yet it's still getting worse. Even if it's slowed down.

I found some dried out soil/coco perlite mix in some of my mom's flower pots outside. I cut a 2 liter bottle's top off and filled it up. Put holes in the bottom for drainage. I even put quite a bit of water through it to moisten up the mix because it was VERY dry. Anyway, the plant seemed to be thriving for the first 5 days, which on the 5th day I noticed a small dark green spot on the tip of one of the cotyledons. The plant started looking bad the next day and both cotyledons started developing whatever it is. Now it looks terrible and burnt. I don't think it's light burn though. I'm not sure what it is... I was hoping somebody here could help. I'm sorry for the lack of information but any advice would be great. I don't have money at the moment to go invest in this. It was spur of the moment when I found the seeds. Any suggestions outside of "go buy things" would be helpful, if at all possible.

 

Until yesterday it was purely sunlight literally from the sun. I'm currently using a 20 watt fluorescent tube in a box I lined with tin foil since yesterday. I realize that isn't enough light for much more than a seedling but I'm working on getting more sockets for these 10 Watt LED bulbs a friend had.

EDIT - To elaborate on the 20 Watt light, I've read that having lots of strong/bright light hitting a nutrient burnt plant can cause it to try and soak in more nutrients, making the situation worse. I figured a weaker light could be enough to keep it going with less stress.

Can you elaborate on why you think this? The only time the mix was watered all week, before the flushing, was on the day I put the germinating seed into the soil. It grew out fine and looked perfectly healthy for the first full 4-5 days. Later on the 5th day I noticed 1 cotyledon was going dark green at the tip. Day 6 both leaves looked almost burnt and crispy, dried out, as they do in the images I posted. They aren't dry though and they aren't brittle. However, the leaves looked like this before the second watering. Which is when I flushed it.

 

The light isn't actually putting off much heat at all. I had considered it may be the box since the symptoms started around the time I started using it... but that can't be the case because I've seen plenty of successful grows using crumpled and non-crumpled tin foil and there really hasn't been an excessive amount of light going into the box anyway. As for soil, I'm really starting to think it's Miracle Grow. I squeezed the dirt enough to get a little water out of it and the color is very dark yellow again. If that's the case there's probably not much I can do without investing money.

Your comment is completely useless and unhelpful. I've done plenty of research in the last week alone. It's not like I haven't read quite extensively. I've looked into this multiple times throughout my life and have spent hours this week alone studying every single phase of a cannabis plant's life. I'm well aware of every single thing I need to make a proper grow room/tent/box. The problem is lack of funds or items around to buy or craft everything I'd need. Not to mention the most important things; seeds, lights, soil, nutrients, etc. I literally said this was a spur of the moment thing and that I wasn't expecting it to get this far. It's cost me absolutely nothing to make the attempt with this seed so it's hardly a waste of time. If nothing else the experience is something worthwhile.

 

I understand that, trust me. But by me being unprepared, I didn't mean to imply that I was going into this blind. I don't claim to know everything or I wouldn't be here asking for help from people with much more experience than myself. I most certainly have done tons of research on the matter though. I'm not looking for a "throw them out you're wasting your time" answer. I'm looking for constructive feedback. I'll be the first one to say I don't have the ideal conditions and equipment for growing, but I've heard of plants growing in much worse conditions than what I perceived mine to be.

"Throw them away you're wasting your time" is such a deconstructive comment. I get the sentiment, I really do. And it does look terrible but I'm at least sticking it through until the end if there's any chance it can pull through. When having no other seeds and putting everything on hold or not even trying is the alternative... I don't see the harm in trying. I honestly figured I could at least try and get things together as the plant grows, using sunlight in the beginning stages until I get lights. It may not be the most dank weed ever grown but it would be something and very valuable experience.

Like I said, constructive feedback is what I was looking for and I do appreciate you even taking the time to respond again. Even if it's to tell me what you think I've done wrong, just to confirm my own suspicions. Thoughts on what actually is wrong with it would be welcomed as well. I'm not talking about anything obvious like "You don't have any grow lights/good soil/whatever so of course it's dying" type of feedback either. I genuinely would like to fully grasp and understand what's happening to my plant right now as to better avoid it in the future. Sorry for the wall of text. lol...

 

Why does that sound like an insult? I never claimed to be anything more than an educated newb. Thanks for the link but I've already got that bookmarked for future reference.

 

I don't need fertilizer at this early point in it's life. That would be kind of stupid to introduce that into the mix right now even if it weren't messed up. As for lighting, I have some lights and I'm currently in the process of getting light fixtures which I'll have by the end of the day. You've literally just done what I described as unhelpful in my previous post. "You have bad soil/no lights/blah blah blah. What do you expect? Throw it away."

Instead of saying practically anything you've said so far, not including your second post I guess, you could suggest ways you know of, if any, to remedy this situation. What you think could be happening to it. How it could be fixed, if at all. You are providing absolutely ZERO useful information at all. You're actually helping less than that by telling me to just throw it out and start over. I'm not sure you realize exactly just how unhelpful that is. If you think a transplant into a different soil/medium would help and not cause it more stress then you could just say that instead of telling me to throw it out. The point of the topic is that I needed advice on how to properly treat this plant now that it's in this condition. Your answer is to forget trying to remedy it and throw it away. Thanks for the advice I guess? But that's not really helpful or constructive, like I said.

 

Just checked it and turned the light on. The cotyledons are all but lost. Dark brown/black and drooping aside from the parts near the actual first set of leaves for the plant. The first set of leaves are still developing and growing at a steady pace it seems. They seem to have grown more in the last 2 days than they have the whole time they've been visible. It's not much to go on but I'm trying to stay hopeful. lol

 

It isn't that I'm unwilling to invest anything into it. I'm having a friend pick up the light fixtures from his work. I'm being as honest as can be when I say I don't have the money to invest even 1 dollar into this until maybe another week or so. Suggestions on basic things I could buy are welcome. What I was trying to avoid is people coming in here telling me to spend hundreds of dollars on a whole setup. I don't really need somebody to tell me how to grow it.

Like I said, I need constructive feedback. Thoughts on what's wrong with the plant based on an educated guess from a place of experience. I'm not trying to sound like a douche but you don't seem like you know how to help at all other than pointing out the obvious. I appreciate you trying and all but everything you've said here can essentially be condensed down into one post suggesting I change the soil or throw it out. I can accept that I need to change the soil. I could try the dirt outside but I'm sure it wouldn't be any better. I can check with a gardener friend to see if he has any I could use but he's at work and they tend to use MG mixes anyway. I'm just going to let this plant ride it out and if it dies it dies. If it gets past this unfortunate phase and begins to really start growing then I'll be in a much better place by that time to buy what I need to. If it dies I'll literally just start collecting everything I need to do it right this time.