Slow seedlings or normal growth?

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Mygrow808

Mygrow808

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Hi, these are 2 weeks old and growth seems to be painfully slow. I used espoma seed starter, and just sprinkled a pinch of DTE 444 a few days ago. Watering once a day or when the cup feels light about 1/2oz of ph’ed aerated tap water to 6.0. The 2 to the back on the right where grown in coco/perlite with 444 added a week ago. The light is a Wakyme j-1000 at 50% and 18” away
 
Slow seedlings or normal growth
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Ponky

Ponky

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I’m in the tropics so temps here are in the 80’s. Soil is probably in the 70’s
If they don't thicken up and start getting wide within 3 weeks of sprout I would try get the soil temp to 82 or so. With a mat heater and thermostat.
 
GNick55

GNick55

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they look fine..
they don’t need anything yet,
seedlings come with enough food to start life, when you see the two small round cotyledon leaves begin to lighten and yellow is a sign to start adding tiny tiny bit nutrients..
your doing good..
patience…
 
Mygrow808

Mygrow808

15
3
they look fine..
they don’t need anything yet,
seedlings come with enough food to start life, when you see the two small round cotyledon leaves begin to lighten and yellow is a sign to start adding tiny tiny bit nutrients..
your doing good..
patience…
How long will that pinch of 444 carry this? And when should I think about transplanting?
 
LexLuthor

LexLuthor

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I don't think you are watering properly. You said 1/2 oz of water everyday?

You should water to the point the entire cup of soil is saturated, make sure you put ALOT of slits in the bottom for drainage. Then wait til the cup feels significantly lighter, which should be about 4-5 days, to water again.
 
elduderito

elduderito

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I don't think you are watering properly. You said 1/2 oz of water everyday?

You should water to the point the entire cup of soil is saturated, make sure you put ALOT of slits in the bottom for drainage. Then wait til the cup feels significantly lighter, which should be about 4-5 days, to water again.
agreed ... my seedlings in solo cups get watered 1-2 times per week during the first few weeks - as mentioned by GNick55 you shouldn't feed anything yet either...
 
Mygrow808

Mygrow808

15
3
I don't think you are watering properly. You said 1/2 oz of water everyday?

You should water to the point the entire cup of soil is saturated, make sure you put ALOT of slits in the bottom for drainage. Then wait til the cup feels significantly lighter, which should be about 4-5 days, to water again.
Yes, about 1/2oz , I wasted my seeds on the first attempt because of dampening in peat cups. I read you only need very little water at this stage but maybe I went to the other extreme this time around? Should I expect runoff? If my cups are light, what volume should I give them? I’m also using citric acid as a ph down. Tap has about 270ppm here.
 
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LexLuthor

LexLuthor

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Yes, about 1/2oz , I wasted my seeds on the first attempt because of dampening in peat cups. I read you only need very little water at this stage but maybe I went to the other extreme this time around? Should I expect runoff? If my cups are light, what volume should I give them? I’m also using citric acid as a ph down. Tap has about 270ppm here.


Tap water is kinda high EC, but should be ok. The way I do it is I run water thru the media until runoff. Then I plant my germinated seed and I won't water again until the cup weighs at least 50% compared to when it is fully saturated.

I do this by weighing the cup after it is saturated and waiting until water stops dripping out of the bottom, about 10 minutes. My cup usually weighs about 250 grams, so I wait until it weighs 100-150 grams. I always water to the point of runoff, even if it's just enough so I know all the media is wet.

Roots will not grow into the soil if it has not been wet yet, they need a combination of water and oxygen. So it will most likely need to be saturated, then wait until it loses at least half of its weight. If you have a scale do the trick I said with weighing it after it is wet.

Oh yea, and I don't think citric acid is even good for the soil. I wouldn't worry about pH because you are using soil and it should have buffers that stabilize pH without you having to adjust it.
 
Mygrow808

Mygrow808

15
3
Tap water is kinda high EC, but should be ok. The way I do it is I run water thru the media until runoff. Then I plant my germinated seed and I won't water again until the cup weighs at least 50% compared to when it is fully saturated.

I do this by weighing the cup after it is saturated and waiting until water stops dripping out of the bottom, about 10 minutes. My cup usually weighs about 250 grams, so I wait until it weighs 100-150 grams. I always water to the point of runoff, even if it's just enough so I know all the media is wet.

Roots will not grow into the soil if it has not been wet yet, they need a combination of water and oxygen. So it will most likely need to be saturated, then wait until it loses at least half of its weight. If you have a scale do the trick I said with weighing it after it is wet.

Oh yea, and I don't think citric acid is even good for the soil. I wouldn't worry about pH because you are using soil and it should have buffers that stabilize pH without you having to adjust it.
Ok, good to know, thank you. I will give it a try. My aerated tap water goes into the mid 8-9 Which is pretty alkaline.
 
Mygrow808

Mygrow808

15
3
Tap water is kinda high EC, but should be ok. The way I do it is I run water thru the media until runoff. Then I plant my germinated seed and I won't water again until the cup weighs at least 50% compared to when it is fully saturated.

I do this by weighing the cup after it is saturated and waiting until water stops dripping out of the bottom, about 10 minutes. My cup usually weighs about 250 grams, so I wait until it weighs 100-150 grams. I always water to the point of runoff, even if it's just enough so I know all the media is wet.

Roots will not grow into the soil if it has not been wet yet, they need a combination of water and oxygen. So it will most likely need to be saturated, then wait until it loses at least half of its weight. If you have a scale do the trick I said with weighing it after it is wet.

Oh yea, and I don't think citric acid is even good for the soil. I wouldn't worry about pH because you are using soil and it should have buffers that stabilize pH without you having to adjust it.
I tried un-ph’ed water and the leaves are starting to twist. Unless someone thinks otherwise, I’m going to go back to ph’ed water
 
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Mygrow808

Mygrow808

15
3
I tried un-ph’ed water and the leaves are starting to twist. Unless someone thinks otherwise, I’m going to go back to ph’ed water
Ok, here’s the latest. Still slooooow growth. Some of the cotyledon leaves are turning yellow. Time for some 444?
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