Murder in the 4x8 Grow Tent, by Agatha Christie

[gunslingor]

Hi.

In a 4x8 vivosun tent with 3 x vsfd 4500 leds, I murdered my seedlings. They were growing under a VSX3200 light okay, but the tomato plants were the deepest purple suggesting nutriet issues really bad. I think the light warrior seed starter has zero nutrition perhaps, I never fertizled and stuff started in ocean forest seems much better. Anyway, I moved everything from the table to tent last night, feed with perhaps to strong a mix of Neptune's harvest and left them in the tent at 100% light overnight, house is at 70 and tent is at 81 to 83. It gets too hot in there, I'm upgrading to an 8 inch fan, any other advice for keeping it cooler? Ditching the carbon filter would boost the output a great deal I suspect. Also wondering if there is some weird heating effect, I had the seed trays on the floor and the lights 1 or 1.5 feet away, which probably was a bad idea... I might move a table in there, maybe that's a worse idea... just trying to start some seedlings for the summer! New plan, start over, keep in grow tent, be gentler with light, and heavier with grow big fertilizer per wasteful instructions... only 3 weeks till planting, but I guess no reason to be on time if they are in a grow tent, lol.

... can you solve the mystery? What really happened to who in what room with what weapon(s)... clue!

 

[BearWater]

I think the light warrior seed starter has zero nutrition perhaps,

I think you are correct. I used the light warrior to start my seedlings in but added worm castings and extra perlite. Im currently starting all my spring veggie starts in it as well. Things are growing in it : ) wish I had more knowledge to help! Nice veggie set up though!!

 

[gunslingor]

I think you are correct. I used the light warrior to start my seedlings in but added worm castings and extra perlite. Im currently starting all my spring veggie starts in it as well. Things are growing in it : ) wish I had more knowledge to help! Nice veggie set up though!!

I emailed fox farm to confirm, I think it's like npk .1 .1 .1 or something, designed for feeding a liquid diet I suspect, KEEP EM FED. It has worm castings, about the only thing it tells you on the label. Mine had too much and too big a perilite IMHO.

 

[BearWater]

I emailed fox farm to confirm

That’s a good idea!

 

[Gmix]

Agatha grrrr my youth lost to my parents love of that program.

Is there any cannabis plants in there
They all look like various types of tomato plants and some others I can’t make out.

If it was cannabis ( I don’t know if damping off effects tomato plants ) I might look at damping off and the medium used not being suitable for the needs of the plant

Looks like you’ve mixed in vermiculite however you say it’s pertlie yeah I’d agree it’s a bit on the large side

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I think the light warrior seed starter has zero nutrition

I found info about Light Warrior here: https://foxfarm.com/translations_light-warrior/

There's more info on the page, but here's a copy of part of the page:

LIGHT WARRIOR® SEED STARTER, 0.20-0.05-0.05

PRODUCT MEASURED BY VOLUME, NOT WEIGHT.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Total Nitrogen (N)	0.20%
0.20% Water Insoluble Nitrogen
Available Phosphate (P2O5)	0.05%
Soluble Potash (K2O)	0.05%
Calcium (Ca)	1.00%

DERIVED FROM: Earthworm castings and oyster shell.

ALSO CONTAINS NON-PLANT FOOD INGREDIENTS:

1.5% Humic Acids (derived from Leonardite)

Mycorrhizae Content	Propagules per g
Glomus aggregatum	0.300
Glomus etunicatum	0.300
Glomus intraradices	0.300
Glomus mosseae	0.300
Laccaria bicolor	200.0
Laccaria laccata	200.0
Pisolithus tinctorius	5000
Rhizopogon amylopogon	120.0
Rhizopogon fulvigleba	120.0
Rhizopogon luteolus	120.0
Rhizopogon villosulus	120.0
Scleroderma cepa	500.0
Scleroderma citrinum	500.0
Suillus granulatus	120.0
Suillus punctatipes	120.0

 

[BearWater]

I think you are correct. I used the light warrior to start my seedlings in but added worm castings and extra perlite. Im currently starting all my spring veggie starts in it as well. Things are growing in it : ) wish I had more knowledge to help! Nice veggie set up though!!

I stand corrected. Thanks LoveGrowingIt!

 

[gunslingor]

Agatha grrrr my youth lost to my parents love of that program.

Is there any cannabis plants in there
They all look like various types of tomato plants and some others I can’t make out.

If it was cannabis ( I don’t know if damping off effects tomato plants ) I might look at damping off and the medium used not being suitable for the needs of the plant

Looks like you’ve mixed in vermiculite however you say it’s pertlie yeah I’d agree it’s a bit on the large side

Yep, all tomatos... I would grow weed, but georgia sucks.

Never heard of damping off, come to think of it, can't think of another deseased named by a verb action, glad it wasting beating... sounds strange, if it came from anywhere, it was light warrior for sure... had to much success with the other stuff.

 

[BearWater]

Yep, all tomatos... I would grow weed, but georgia sucks.

Tomato tomato tomato tomato tomato ganja tomato tomato tomato ganja tomato tomato I dont see any ganja in there do you? ; )

 

[Zill]

I found info about Light Warrior here: https://foxfarm.com/translations_light-warrior/

There's more info on the page, but here's a copy of part of the page:

LIGHT WARRIOR® SEED STARTER, 0.20-0.05-0.05

PRODUCT MEASURED BY VOLUME, NOT WEIGHT.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Total Nitrogen (N)	0.20%
0.20% Water Insoluble Nitrogen
Available Phosphate (P2O5)	0.05%
Soluble Potash (K2O)	0.05%
Calcium (Ca)	1.00%

DERIVED FROM: Earthworm castings and oyster shell.

ALSO CONTAINS NON-PLANT FOOD INGREDIENTS:

1.5% Humic Acids (derived from Leonardite)

Mycorrhizae Content	Propagules per g
Glomus aggregatum	0.300
Glomus etunicatum	0.300
Glomus intraradices	0.300
Glomus mosseae	0.300
Laccaria bicolor	200.0
Laccaria laccata	200.0
Pisolithus tinctorius	5000
Rhizopogon amylopogon	120.0
Rhizopogon fulvigleba	120.0
Rhizopogon luteolus	120.0
Rhizopogon villosulus	120.0
Scleroderma cepa	500.0
Scleroderma citrinum	500.0
Suillus granulatus	120.0
Suillus punctatipes	120.0

It would be nice if FF actually put something in the stuff they sell. Oh my, they are really generous adding Glomus 0.3 CFU/gm! 0.3, There is nothing there, imaginary. And those colonies were enumerated at time of filling the product. All dead now. It amazes me how little of everything they add, especially the salts. Such a rip off.

Suillus granulatus does form a symbiotic relationship with plants, sure thing. With Pinus sp., not cannabis. BS.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Never heard of damping off, come to think of it, can't think of another deseased named by a verb action, glad it wasting beating... sounds strange, if it came from anywhere, it was light warrior for sure... had to much success with the other stuff.

Damping off usually results from overwatering. Here what Wikipedia has to say:

Damping off is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping_off

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

It would be nice if FF actually put something in the stuff they sell. Oh my, they are really generous adding Glomus 0.3 CFU/gm! 0.3, There is nothing there, imaginary. And those colonies were enumerated at time of filling the product. All dead now. It amazes me how little of everything they add, especially the salts. Such a rip off.

Suillus granulatus does form a symbiotic relationship with plants, sure thing. With Pinus sp., not cannabis. BS.

Well... It's probably debatable whether a starter soil mixture is necessary at all. I've tried several that I purchased at local stores and was disappointed by every one of them until I tried Light Warrior, which was recommended to me by the owner of the local hydro store.

It's a starter mixture and the common advice is not to fertilize seedlings at first, so the low nutrient part makes sense. They also claim it's good for two years, so I suspect much of the microbial life can remain dormant until conditions for its growth once again exist. I have two new clones growing in some that I bought last year and they're doing well.

The thing I like most about Light Warrior is the texture. It physically seems to be a particularly good medium for roots to penetrate and expand. I can easily add mycorrhizae and nutrients at any time if I think there's a need.

 

[Zill]

LG,

All good. Certainly, if it works use it.

 

[gunslingor]

Well... It's probably debatable whether a starter soil mixture is necessary at all. I've tried several that I purchased at local stores and was disappointed by every one of them until I tried Light Warrior, which was recommended to me by the owner of the local hydro store.

It's a starter mixture and the common advice is not to fertilize seedlings at first, so the low nutrient part makes sense. They also claim it's good for two years, so I suspect much of the microbial life can remain dormant until conditions for its growth once again exist. I have two new clones growing in some that I bought last year and they're doing well.

The thing I like most about Light Warrior is the texture. It physically seems to be a particularly good medium for roots to penetrate and expand. I can easily add mycorrhizae and nutrients at any time if I think there's a need.

I think the idea behind it is massive loam on steroids, Arnold Swartzloam, but its overboard potentially even for a real agricultural laboratory. It's like 40% vermiculite, yeah not perilite. But you pot farmer dudes (thank you for your service, lol) grow in some specialized stuff... you guys grow in water or just like a block of foam or coconut... starting with nothing in an attempt to control everything in a system that is almost uncontrollable. I think this approach to seed starting is geared toward that, real soil but no nutrient hybrid approach of their insanely over branded and duplicative product lines... seems to work though, the microbrew of soils, lol. But this isn't a normal approach.

They should make the analysis is more visible, when I read their descriptions it just said 'recommend feeding after 5 days' but had no analysis (thanks for finding it)... but per memory, all their products recommend fertilizing after 5 days they are a fertilizer company! Recommend is inaccurate in this case, absolutely required is correct.

I started over last night

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

LG,

All good. Certainly, if it works use it.

It's better than all the others I've tried, but like I said, the necessity of any starter soil is debatable.

Now that I'm thinking about it, there is a problem I had with this soil. It's so loose it easily crumbles when transplanting. So, I recommend letting the plant develop plenty of roots before moving it.

 

[Budtirement]

"I had the seed trays on the floor and the lights 1 or 1.5 feet away"

I'm not familiar with your light, but 1.5 feet may be too close. I find my tomatoes like the warmth but too much light rags them out. Do you have a PPFD detector app on your phone, Photone, to check how much light they're actually getting. The apps also direct you to suggested PPFD for various crops. That should be a big help, at least to your novel's backstory, if you can confirm lighting.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

the tomato plants were the deepest purple suggesting nutriet issues really bad.

left them in the tent at 100% light overnight

The purple coloration is due to the release of the pigment anthocyanin. It is most commonly a stress response. In this case, the stress was probably too much light. It's best to start plants under low light intensity.

I think the idea behind it is massive loam

I don't think of Light Warrior as loam. Using the hand test, it's more like coarse sand.

 

[gunslingor]

I think it's designed to fall apart on transplant for root debounding.

Good call on a light meter.

I actually started them under a weaker light for 1 month, they were nutrient deprived for sure now that I see the analysis... then I tried to bump them up a notch while finally feeding and dead... the stems turned brown overnight... like it was just sucking up all that brown Neptune's harvest under powerful lights... crazy just oh bad you can screw up.