Hello everyone, I've posted here a few times already (I'm a lil obsessed and a lot stressed)... I have a few seedlings (8), they are now 13 days old from seed. I started them under a 125w CFL but did not get any decent results, they had stopped growing, so I moved them under a 250w MH. I transplanted them out of their plastic cups into their permanent containers yesterday. I know the 250w MH is certainly not enough for 8 plants (soon to be 7 because one is droopy as can be and not growing anymore) so I just ordered a 400w light (MH conversion bulb) I have had nothing but problems with the seedlings so far. They are all indica strains and are in FFOF.. they are growing very slowly and have kinda messed up leaves, some of em cant even stand up on their own so I am using toothpicks to support them. The leaves have slight pale yellowish hue, and the edges are kinda mishapen. There is a strong fan blowing on them and a 170cfm exhaust blowing into the attic. It is 77 degrees in the grow area right now, and the humidity seems to stay around 39-40%. I have attached pictures of a few of the seedlings, the ones that are actually growing somewhat, the ones I didnt post are barely growing at all and seem to have ceased growing as soon as the second set of leaves showed up (they are about half the size of the ones pictured, if that). Is the 250w MH enough for this many plants at this stage? will they survive under it until the 400w arrives? I only recently discovered that the water I was giving them was way off pH wise (it was over 8.5) so I got some pH up and down and have adjusted it accordingly, they have been watered once since I adjusted the water pH, this was today and I didnt give them much since they are in such large pots. I would really appreciate some advice, thanks
They're growing below the soil. FFOF is a little hot for seedlings and get that pH fixed. Fortunately, the solution to both is the same, leach the soil with pH water. Try to get the heat at about 80, the seedlings need a bit of warmth to grow. The reason they seem to stall is because they are in such big pots. If you start them in smaller pots in the future, you'll get faster vertical growth because it won't spend as much time on roots. You could actually probably put them back under the CFL. Be patient, and watch the pH, they will take off soon.
Thanks for replying! I did not start them in these pots, they were in plastic cups for over a week but the roots filled the cups so I had to put em in a bigger container, I only did this 2 days ago, they were stalling prior to me transplanting them into their larger containers. Heat has been staying at 80-81 degrees, I also moved the light up a tad because I was thinking they were getting a lil too much direct heat from it. I can't put em under the CFL because its reflector is such that I can only fit like 1 plant underneath it.. even when I had all 8 seedlings in cups, I had to continuously play musical chairs with them so they would be under the light. As far as the soil goes.. will they survive in the FFOF? I have seen plants grow from seed in it and do ok. How do I go about leeching the soil?? I watered them with properly pH'ed water after transplanting them into the larger containers. I didn't drench them, but I got a little bit of run off out the bottom. I didn't want to give them too much water because the soil they were in before transplanting was still moist as I had been overwatering (with the wrong pH no less). Oh yea, and I got a mutated leaf, I included a picture of it. I ordered a 400w HPS fixture last night with a MH converstion bulb. I am thinking the extra light wont hurt, since I am currently running at only 1500 lumens per foot with the 250 (area is 12 square ft), I think the lumens per foot should should be higher than that. I guess my main question would be.... are they gonna be ok? Will they outgrow the seedling stage and adapt to the soil they are in once their roots grow some more? EDIT: just looked at HTGsupply's website, apparently they are not gonna be shipping items for 2 weeks, will my plants survive under the 250w till then???
Oh, you didn't say you just transplanted! That's a very important piece of info They get a little stressed when you transplant, they'll bounce back. Leaching the soil is also called flushing (I had been referring to it as flushing but a guy from Canna corrected me and told me that leaching and flushing are actually different). You run 3x the water based on your pot size, so if you have a 3 gallon pot, use 9 gallons. I typically do it with 1/4 strength nute solution on the last 1/3 of the process. I think your seedling will be fine. If you can get a compost tea like vermitea they might like it a lot (hydro shop would be the place to go for this usually because it has to be brewed and doesn't typically keep for long periods of time). It will help establish beneficial microorganisms like mycorrhizae and reduce shock. Don't add a ton of light, a seedling that small only needs a very small amount. Any more will tend to burn them.
Ok, so the fact that my larger light wont be shipped for 2 weeks doesnt matter? they will be ok under this one for that amount of time? Oh and re-read the original post, I most certainly said that I just transplanted them, you musta missed it. Thanks for your help
Nah, just move the light closer if they start to stretch. I have kept seedlings under T5s for over a month or longer and lots of people grow entirely under CFLs.
Yea but wouldnt those lights be more effective than my 250w MH?? I dont have the money to invest in a t5 setup and my 125w CFL is useless in a space this size. They are gonna have to be under that 250w MH for 2 more weeks and I cant put it closer than 1 foot away because I think thats too much for them, I guess I shouldn't expect much progress
This is probably your problem. I used to have a fan blowing on my plants because it sounds like a good idea. But, it seems like it slows growth to have air blowing directly on the plant. They seem to like it better with fresh/constant air flow, but not fast air movement.
Weird, the spam post comes up as being from 2009 for me. 09-08-2009, 04:19 AM endoforsho This message has been deleted by AK Infinity. Reason: Spam.