Seedlings dying

[1seventiesguy]

Please Help !
I have germinated several seeds and when they reach about 1 or 2 in. the stem looks like it shrinks in the middle and they fall over and dye. They have there first set of real leaves and they look fine when this happens.
my wife and helper thought they was too wet, so we let them dry out .this continued to happen. so we watered them after thy had dried out. now I've just went bezerk and trying everything. I am a disabled Fire Medic and i can't afford more beans.
Please Help Me

 

[Donk Frog]

do you have any pics, whats type of light are you using?, temps?, growing medium?, hard water?

 

[JH420]

And perhaps the strain??

 

[1seventiesguy]

We germed several srrains. super lemon haze, RKS, AK 47, CH-9 female mix.
WE tried a few in a new deal from burbee that has coco coir plus with a wick system and dome. My partner dosen't like new contrapions so she did them in napkins and then into 4 in peat pots with a soilless mix that she has always used with success. We have a 250 watt mh above them. we put a small amount of olivas clone solution and some b thrive. We have been fairly successful for 6 years but we moved into a new grow room.
The seeds germinate nicely both ways but are faster with the burbee system. (like rapid rooters). But when they reach about 1.5 to 2 in. tall and have there first set of real leaves, they are not stretching, and look normal. That is when I can go bck into grow room and find 1 or 2 that had fell over. There stem looks sucked flat in the middle where they bend and fall. Temps are running 75 to 80 daytime and 60 to 65 at night. I have just bought a ppm meter to start hydro and I tested the dechlorinated water. It was 99 I believe, I just got it today. I also tried 2 under my 1000 watt eye hortilux, but about 2.5 ft. away

 

[hotrod68]

Not sure if i understand "they were too wet so we watered them"? If this is the case you probably downed them?

HR68

 

[Fred]

Sounds like damping off. Too high humidity from keeping under a dome, overwatering and keeping wet medium. The medium also has a lot to do with it. It can have disease problems itself. If it's hard to help with-out that info..

 

[1seventiesguy]

dying seedlings

sorry, I meant they apeared wet so we let them dry out. this continuedto happen, so i watered them after they had dried. How much water how often ?

 

[1seventiesguy]

dying seedlings

I forgot to tell ya, I took them out from under the dome when they poped through the medium and was about .5 to 1 in. tall. they would dry out in about 12 hrs. then we would water them. the ones my wife done are in a basic soilless mix of moss,pearllite, and worm castings.

 

[1seventiesguy]

Sorry type o, they apeared wet so we let them dry out. then we watered them.

 

[1seventiesguy]

My wife used mireicle grow. she has never had no problems with it

 

[1seventiesguy]

I have been reading all the germinating material I can find. No one talkes about watering and how much for seedlings

 

[1seventiesguy]

dying seedlings

Things are looking good this morn. I think I might have thought of what was going on. I think I was getting in a big hurry to get them going and did not let the root get no more than maybe 1/4 in. or less in the napkins and placed them in my small pots very shallow, When I would pull them up after they had fell over, the little root would barely be under the medium. Could it been drying out to quick because the top 1 in. of the medium would be dry while the rest of it would still be wet lower than the root.
That is why I wasn't sure if they needed water or to let dry more. Now I am letting the root get at least 1 to 1.5 in before I place them in the medium approx 2 or 3 mm deep. the istead of soaking the medium, I would just moisten it and put them under cfl's instead of the 250 watt mh. I hope this continues to work.
Thank everyone for your time and help.:whew