Hello, And thanks in advance for the help. I normally do outdoor grows but i'm attempting to get a head start this year by starting these guys off early. ------------------ I've got them under a few CFL's (compact flourescent lights) the CFL's are 5,000k. All these plants are on a 24 light cycle, they never catch a break. Daily watering, not too much I wait until dirt is dry. So far 4 other plants are thriving well. I've had this problem happen to 2 of my other females, and now it is starting again on my Black Widow seedling. The other 2 that started like this, dropped dead after 24 hours. This seedling seems a lot more hearty though and it is still growing it seems. I don't know what this is at all, and it's really bothering me. I noticed brown on the tip of the leaf that is healthy as well. My biggest plant is perfectly fine, but it ALSO has a tiny brown tip on one of the leafs. any insight at all would be helpful thanks guys.
those plants look really bad and the soil looks like crap. It's not that hard. Just start with a good well balanced soil and I think things will perk up for you.
soil is from my garden, it's well fertilized with manure and tilled every year, I've grown many plants in this dirt and they've thrived greatly... Is it really that bad?? mind you i just watered them before the pic too...
Your soil is clay. You need to add perlite to it. Here is soil i amended yesterday. It should look similar to this ~ poke
What do you recommend i add to it? I have Potting soil, but it's miracle grow brand, and i'm afraid of the plant sprouting too fast and not being able to support itself.
I recommend worm castings or manures, some perlite, maybe peat moss, some crustacean meal. The list of amendments can be long. But if you just want it fluffy you can add rice hulls or vermiculite or perlite. Look into SSTs and ACTs in organic gardening. ~ poke Home depot sells bags of chicken and steer manure for a few bucks too
Soil from the garden typically doesn't make good potting soil by itself. Sprouts that stretch for light get tall and skinny and fall over. You need decent light AND decent soil for short fat stems. The larger one looks like it's getting watered to often. I suspect the smaller ones are as well, just not showing it yet.
Looks more like sludge then soil, stop watering them everyday. Let them dry up and get better soil that drains properly.
Thanks for all the feedback guys I really appreciate it. I'll post back with results. I'm going to amend new soil for them tonight.
Your seedlings might be drowning in that wet wet soil.. Not good. You said "they never catch a break" but I think that's just what they need! A break from watering, and definitely need airier soil, if you can find some perlite to mix in, that will help.