Hey everyone here at gc, ive run into a rather serious problem with my first grow. A little history first, the seeds were germed in paper towel which went great all had good taproots and such. 9 out of 12 sprouted into these wonderfully green and healthy looking plants about 1.5-2 inches tall withing 3 days and were looking great. Problem in i was not too concerned about soil PH as i had organic soil, perlite, No Damp and Superthrive for watering and distilled water. I first started to wonder what happened when they were growing so fast and then they completely stopped getting bigger for the last 5-6 days. I decided to transplant them thinking it was an issue that they were still in a seedling tray and maybe root bound but they all cept two ended up having very underdeveloped roots it seemed and were simply not doing well. So i finally tested the PH and was unpleasantly surprised with a PH of 4.5-4.8 when a soil sample was mixed with my watering solution. My question now is the plants are about 2 weeks after sprout, no taller than 2.5 inches or so and the cotyledons are yellowing while the rest is a perfect green. Thin stems and roots like they were a week ago or even worse. only on second set leave from roughly the same spot as the first set. Should i scrap this grow, add what exactly to the soil/water to get a solid 6-7 PH, focus more on humid environment and the hood for the tray for root development and hope for the best in a second grow? I figured i'd also start them in Beer cups after seeing that the roots need much more vertical room then they had in the 2 inch seedling trays. Any help with this ph issue would be just awesome and some advice on scrapping or saving would be cool too, thanks in advance my friends. -Charles P.S. Attached is a rough actual size diagram of what one of the seedlings looks like above and below ground.Actual stem a little bigger in most (longer but really thin). I will be able to add pictures tomorrow maybe.
Dude 4.5 PH. no wonder... if I were you I'd try to revive em. You can buy something to raise the PH at the grow store. I think baking soda would also work. Just keep adding and keep testing till its right. Wait till the water are like 8 in PH this will help raise the PH in the soil. Think of it as a learning exprience... Hey, I've killed 2 batches of seedlings before getting it right.
Thanks guys, i will prob try to rescue but i might just start over...What can i add as a soil amendment though to get the soil ph itself in the right area?(more basic) I would like to add worm castings as food but i doubt that has much of any effect on ph...If someone has any ideas that are kind of the industry standard that would be a little more permanent like the dolomite lime used for lowering. Id love something like that to make it more basic Cheers. CH
Soil pH should be 6.4-6.8, in reality anything between 6.0-7.0 should be pretty much OK. To raise pH in soil you can add: potassium hydroxide, dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, crushed oyster shells, or PH Up.
Hey toasty, thanks for chiming in, I've read a lot of your advice and your very good at gettin to the point. I thought dolomite lime was lime based as in the fruit or something so i was sure it was acidic. Its actually limestone so ill prob try that first and maybe some ash as well. Thanks all, deciding to start over form seed again wish me luck! CH