Seedling Issues

[SparcOne]

Hi I recently popped some seeds and they are looking pretty sad, their growth seems to be stunned and there’s white spots on the leaves. My only theory is that the wood chips I mixed in with the soil contained some fungus or mold spores, I will upload some photos. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated especially as seeds here in the tropics are very hard to get. TIA

 

[az2000]

What is the soil you're growing in? (It looks heavy, rich, dense, wet. That might be a problem). The water on the leaves might not be good. If the light is strong, it can magnify an burn the leaves.

Those clear plastic cups need to be lightproof around the sides. The roots shouldn't get any light. (There should be holes in the bottoms of the cups for drainage. If you on't have that, they'll stay too wet, drown the roots, root rot, etc.).

 

[SparcOne]

If fungus is the issue should I repot them in a looser soil medium to see if they recover? Also they are wet because I sprayed them with some hydrogen peroxide to try and remove the white spots and they didn’t go back under the light until they dried. They just got watered that’s why they are wet and that top layer of compacted soil is only a 2cm deep and under that lies a much looser medium but maybe the top layer is suffocating the roots, I put that soil there to stabalise the stems

What is the soil you're growing in? (It looks heavy, rich, dense, wet. That might be a problem). The water on the leaves might not be good. If the light is strong, it can magnify an burn the leaves.

Those clear plastic cups need to be lightproof around the sides. The roots shouldn't get any light. (There should be holes in the bottoms of the cups for drainage. If you on't have that, they'll stay too wet, drown the roots, root rot, etc.).

 

[NinoGrows420]

Add some perlite that should help

 

[az2000]

If fungus is the issue should I repot them in a looser soil medium to see if they recover? Also they are wet because I sprayed them with some hydrogen peroxide to try and remove the white spots and they didn’t go back under the light until they dried. They just got watered that’s why they are wet and that top layer of compacted soil is only a 2cm deep and under that lies a much looser medium but maybe the top layer is suffocating the roots, I put that soil there to stabalise the stems

I've never seen a seedling with mold (other than "damping off," which you could be causing with too much wetness. But, I think it happens where the stem meets the soil.). To me, they look nutrient burned (crispy). Could be a pH problem.

Can you explain the soil, specifically what it is? You mentioned wood chips mixed in. Where did you get the wood chips, where did you the soil they're mixed into? You mentioned layers of differing consistency. What products did you use for all that?

The more informative you can be, the more people might be able to help.

How did you get the idea to mix wood chips, and have layers of soil? Did you see someone doing that successfully? (You're using the same products?). My concern about wood chips, they can draw nitrogen out of the soil, away from the plant.

It sounds like you might not have common products (potting mixes) there. You might have to discuss what is available and how to create something that will work. You might have to get into composting your own "super soil" (you can google about that).

 

[Beachwalker]

Hi I recently popped some seeds and they are looking pretty sad, their growth seems to be stunned and there’s white spots on the leaves. My only theory is that the wood chips I mixed in with the soil contained some fungus or mold spores, I will upload some photos. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated especially as seeds here in the tropics are very hard to get. TIA

Don't spray them, don't cover seedlings, don't use wood chips, use perlite instead next time. they're staying too wet, don't water them until they almost dry out and make sure there's adequate drainage holes in those cups for best results

 

[SparcOne]

Unfortunately I live in Central America so grow shops aren’t so common and they are crazy expensive if there is one accessible so I’ve been using coconut husk, crushed sea shells and wood chips for aeration and to hold water

Add some perlite that should help

 

[SparcOne]

Unfortunately I live in Central America so grow shops aren’t so common and they are crazy expensive if there is one accessible so I’ve been using coconut husk, crushed sea shells and wood chips for aeration and to hold water. The spray of diluted hydrogen peroxide I did actually worked and cleared 90% of the white spots so I’m focused on the soil medium and water quantities now, because it’s so humid here the soil seems to stay moist for longer than I’m used to.

Don't spray them, don't cover seedlings, don't use wood chips, use perlite instead next time. they're staying too wet, don't water them until they almost dry out and make sure there's adequate drainage holes in those cups for best results

 

[SparcOne]

Hi, I’ve just repotted them very carefully into new pots with a medium of 50% mild out of the bag potting mix 50% perlite and no wood chips. The wood chips were from an Eco lodge my wife works at.

I’m used to growing in dry conditions like South Australia and Northern California but I’ve recently moved to Central America where it’s warm and humid all year round which is proving to be tricky. I’m growing out doors but vegging for the first part inside. To be honest I’ve never had such slow growth and root production, once they get outside they go great but that can take months to get them strong and big enough to handle the outside sun, I’m using bio rhizatonic for root stimulation but not having great results.

Other than repotting them the other issues I have rectified this week which should hopefully help and should have been done from the beginning has been replacing my bulb for the seedlings from a 25w CFL to an extra large 105w CFL, also you mentioned my PH and I finally tracked down a meter this week and my water was really high 7.5 to 8(not good).. I purchased some PH down so I am now feeding at 6.2/6.3.. the PH could be why I was having issues all along, I was told by a nieghbour he’d tested the water at 6.5 so I that’s why I didn’t stress about not having a PH meter. Finding equipment here in the tropics can be tricky and I have a new born so money for my grow is unfortunately strictly limited.

I’ve never seen mold on seedlings either but it did clear up when I treated it. The method of adding a layer of compacted soil was not my first choice it was because the stems needed support to stand straight but I can see now how that may of suffocated the roots but saying that only half of the seedlings had the added soil but all were showing the same signs of stress.

I have a 2000m2 piece of land so I’m working a couple of compost piles, I’m also making my own KNF liquid fertilizers and microorganism solutions which the plants love. This week I’m also building a raised worm bed. All of these things are for applying once the plants are big enough to be transplanted outside.

I’m hoping now with these fixes they start smiling again, it’s 1 Tangie and 4 Strawberry Shortcake seeds so I really don’t want to loose these genetics. This budget gorilla grow is tricky but I’ll get it tuned in even if it kills me

I've never seen a seedling with mold (other than "damping off," which you could be causing with too much wetness. But, I think it happens where the stem meets the soil.). To me, they look nutrient burned (crispy). Could be a pH problem.

Can you explain the soil, specifically what it is? You mentioned wood chips mixed in. Where did you get the wood chips, where did you the soil they're mixed into? You mentioned layers of differing consistency. What products did you use for all that?

The more informative you can be, the more people might be able to help.

How did you get the idea to mix wood chips, and have layers of soil? Did you see someone doing that successfully? (You're using the same products?). My concern about wood chips, they can draw nitrogen out of the soil, away from the plant.

It sounds like you might not have common products (potting mixes) there. You might have to discuss what is available and how to create something that will work. You might have to get into composting your own "super soil" (you can google about that).

 

[az2000]

once they get outside they go great but that can take months to get them strong and big enough to handle the outside sun,

I've never grown outside, but couldn't you create a greenhouse with diffuse/filtered light and grow in the outside soil from seedling? Wouldn't that just be a matter of reducing the strength of light? Harden them as they get larger?

If they grow well in your outdoor soil, what if you made your potting soil from that? (I've always heard that's a bad idea. But, if you can't get potting mix... maybe it's the lessor of two evils?). Or, just plant directly in the ground and have a moveable shade structure that you can increase light as the plant grows? (instead of a greeenhouse that you would move potted plants out of).

I lived in South America for awhile. I remember there were a couple of services that allowed people to order things from Amazon (US), have it delivered a warehouse in Miami. And then, all the purchases were consolidated into one freight shipment. It was very affordable compared to ordering directly from Amazon. (In most cases, products weren't even available for shipment outside the US. So, having the Miami delivery address was the real value of that service. Without that, you couldn't buy anything. You put money into the service's account, and used their credit card so the delivery address matched the "purchaser's card." Something like. I've forgotten.). If you had a service like that, you could probably get a decent potting mix without it being too expensive.