Help! My plants have gone to crap!

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

Hi!

Started some seedlings off, they were going amazing. This is my first time trying to grow! The seedlings were about 3-4 weeks old.

Before bed I checked on them and they seemed to be doing very well. One more than the other. Upon coming down the following morning to do a routine check they both looked completely dead and flopped over!

I'm really bummed out as they were doing great the night before and I had been routinely checking things. I don't mind them being too far gone to save as long as I learn why it's happened so it doesn't happen again next time.

Is this a sign of overwatering?

Thank you.

Porky1982 · Aug 8, 2023

Is that a dwc set up?

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

Porky1982 said:
Is that a dwc set up?

It was going to be. I think I had another week or so as seedlings before they went into the DWC system.

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

The night before they seemed okay. I don't understand what I did wrong.

HerbalEdu · Aug 8, 2023

3-4 weeks old plant should be much bigger so no not really healthy at all, more like stunt since start up.

for a first timer i would advise you give a try at a soil grow first instead of hydro.
Soil is so much more forgiving regarding many aspect.

Porky1982 · Aug 8, 2023

Sponty said:
The night before they seemed okay. I don't understand what I did wrong.

Were the roots in the water and was the system running?

HerbalEdu · Aug 8, 2023

this is 21 day after germinating the seeds

and this is 28 days after germinating the seeds

so there is something wrong since the begining with your plants and they finnally died.

could be almost anything from improper ph, over watering, under watering, dampening off from a bacteria/fungi but sure thing that's not how 3-4 weeks old plant should look ...

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

Porky1982 said:
Were the roots in the water and was the system running?

So I germinated the seeds in the airing cupboard, they both had nice long tails on them, perhaps they could have been longer. (See image)

I then transplanted them into rockwool cubes. I soaked the Rockwall cubes in Shogun Start & Shogun Katana Roots for 15 mins before doing so. Put them in the tent with no lights or fans until they sprouted out the top of the rockwool.

Once sprouted, I turned the lights and fans on. 18 on and 6 off. Once a week I would feed them again with the same two nutrients mentioned earlier. Once they begun to get a longer stem I then transferred them into the hydro pots with the clay balls thinking it would provide support for them as they were flopping down. (See image). This is when I begun to water them a little everyday as the Rockwall was previously dry and I didn't want this to happen again.

From then onwards one plant begun to grow more than the other and then suddenly they both begun to die.

My PH was okay from what I know it was around 7.1+ and also my EC seemed okay too. I fed them as said on the feeding chart but am not quite sure where it all went wrong. Especially now I know they should have been a lot bigger by now.

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

HerbalEdu said:
3-4 weeks old plant should be much bigger so no not really healthy at all, more like stunt since start up.

for a first timer i would advise you give a try at a soil grow first instead of hydro.
Soil is so much more forgiving regarding many aspect.

Hi bud,

I've grown many vegetables and fruits in soil previously and am wanting to come away from it as it's just not for me I don't think. I enjoy the challenge and science aspect of hydro.

I'm willing to persist and fail until I understand what is the correct thing for me to do.

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

Porky1982 said:
Were the roots in the water and was the system running?

They weren't in the DWC system yet as I thought seedlings could go into it. I thought I had to wait for them to go into the veg stage before I did this so they were just sitting in rockwool within hydropots.

HerbalEdu · Aug 8, 2023

seem a bit stretchy after transplant, could probably use some more light on start up
even if i think that not the main issue you want a lower pH when growing soiless. between 5,5 and 6,5

root seem a lot underdevellopped after 3-4 weeks they should pop from all around the pot so i think your main issue is around something that impact negatively root devellopement on start up, i think there's something your seedling don't like regarding that

can't be of much more help wait for more to chime in.

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

HerbalEdu said:
seem a bit stretchy after transplant, could probably use some more light on start up
even if i think that not the main issue you want a lower pH when growing soiless. between 5,5 and 6,5

root seem a lot underdevellopped after 3-4 weeks they should pop from all around the pot so i think your main issue is around something that impact negatively root devellopement on start up, i think there's something your seedling don't like regarding that

can't be of much more help wait for more to chime in.

Oh right okay, I didn't know that. I assumed it would be around the same as soil. Also what kind of lighting hours would you recommend for seedlings?

I'll try germinate some more and try again, it's all a learning curve and I kind of expected to fail. Maybe I mixed my root Nutrients incorrectly. Is there a guide I can watch/read for starting hydro seedlings I must have missed something important.

Would you be happy to confirm the issue isn't over/underwatering?

Really appreciate the help by the way. I'm trying to take in as much information as possible. I've attached pictures of the plant growing if it helps.

Porky1982 · Aug 8, 2023

Sponty said:
They weren't in the DWC system yet as I thought seedlings could go into it. I thought I had to wait for them to go into the veg stage before I did this so they were just sitting in rockwool within hydropots.

That's why they died then mate!

Sponty · Aug 8, 2023

Porky1982 said:
That's why they died then mate!

But I thought seedlings couldn't go into the DWC system because there's no roots coming out the bottom yet? They would just be suspended above the water with nothing to suck it in. I thought they go into the system once they reach the veg stage, not as a seedling.

Seems like I may have this whole thing wrong. I thought I had an idea of what to do by watching videos but it seems not.

Porky1982 · Aug 8, 2023

Sponty said:
But I thought seedlings couldn't go into the DWC system because there's no roots coming out the bottom yet? They would just be suspended above the water with nothing to suck it in. I thought they go into the system once they reach the veg stage, not as a seedling.

Seems like I may have this whole thing wrong. I thought I had an idea of what to do by watching videos but it seems not.

Mate roots need to be in something all the time!
After a few hours they will begin to die if they are not in something weather that be soil, coco or oxygenated water from DWC or RDWC!
They died over night because the roots were in the clay balls with nothing to keep them moist!

Smokey0418 · Aug 8, 2023

This is the most difficult time in the process.
Depending on how damp you keep your rockwool cube depends how the roots react.
Looks like you have it close as it dried up, now if your pots were in the dwc bucket with the water touching the bottom of the pot bubbling away I’m sure it would look perfect and patience is all that would be needed to see roots.
Good luck

Sponty · Aug 9, 2023

Smokey0418 said:
This is the most difficult time in the process.
Depending on how damp you keep your rockwool cube depends how the roots react.
Looks like you have it close as it dried up, now if your pots were in the dwc bucket with the water touching the bottom of the pot bubbling away I’m sure it would look perfect and patience is all that would be needed to see roots.
Good luck

Okay, I think I figured out what's happened. The wrong plug was plugged in without me remembering to unplug it before bed and this plug is for my construction heater for the shed itself. It was left on with the tent door open and pretty much cooked everything in the tent.

I filled a tray up with water so it was only just touching the rockwool cubes so they could just suck up what they needed and long behold, this morning the plants were trying to lift themselves back up!

Will keep a very close eye on them and maybe even place them into the DWC system tonight if they're looking better once I'm home.

Thank you all!

wallywonks · Aug 9, 2023

I did a DWC grow. Was my first time. I used rapid rooter plugs in clay hydroton. Hand watered it till the roots got down into the water below the net pot. Then it's just checking pH and ppm of nutes and changing the water every week. I used Calmag and Maxibloom the whole grow.

As others said it could be pH or overwatered etc. Just try again. Seedlings don't need a ton of water. Up the humidity to 75% or use a dome over it.

wallywonks · Aug 9, 2023

Next time I do DWC I'm going use my custom made buckets

This was my Purple Kush from my first DWC attempt. It even got fungus gnat infested but the yellow sticky helped fix it after a couple bucket changes. Still got fire flower.

Porky1982 · Aug 10, 2023

Sponty said:
Okay, I think I figured out what's happened. The wrong plug was plugged in without me remembering to unplug it before bed and this plug is for my construction heater for the shed itself. It was left on with the tent door open and pretty much cooked everything in the tent.

I filled a tray up with water so it was only just touching the rockwool cubes so they could just suck up what they needed and long behold, this morning the plants were trying to lift themselves back up!

Will keep a very close eye on them and maybe even place them into the DWC system tonight if they're looking better once I'm home.

Thank you all!

Put em in the system ASAP!!

Help! My plants have gone to crap!

Help! My plants have gone to crap!

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Help! My plants have gone to crap!

Help! My plants have gone to crap!

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