Young Seedlings Dying!

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albertroid

albertroid

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Hello THC Farmers,

I am VERY new to cannabis cultivation and I am having some trouble with my three seedlings. I bought some Strawnana seeds and germinated three. It took me a day to germinate them and I subsequently transplanted them to 3-inch Jiffy Pots in this growing medium and water them using deionized water. I grew them in a homemade tent in my living room using a blanket and this light light 20 inches away and they were growing fast and tall in my 18hr on 6hr off light cycle.

On day 2 they were about >1 inch tall and looking healthy. One seedling had four leaves, the other two had seed shells obstructing their leaves from blooming.

On day 3 they were twice as tall but two still had seed helmets so I removed them using sterilized tweezers.

On day 4 my growing tenttent came and I moved my little babies to their new home. After leaving them in the tent for around an hour I realized that the temperature inside spiked up to 31C. I freaked out so I added a fan on low to help decrease the temperature. The new temperature stabilized at around 25-28C.

On day 5 in the morning, my seedlings were looking great. In the afternoon, two of the three had fallen (not the same two that had the seed helmets). After a quick google, I learned that they might have been stretching so I lowered the light to about 12 inches away, and loosely tied them to a stick.

On day 7, all three seedlings were leaning down :c. With no knowledge of what I can do, I quickly gave them 2.5tsp of plant food, as recommended, along with more soil, and more water.

On day 8 (today), they look worse and appear donzos 😭.

Below are two pictures, one of day 4 and one of day 8 (close up of one seedling). Are they still salvageable? What can I do in the future to prevent this from recurring? I have more seeds to germinate but I would appreciate the community's feedback on how I can improve myself during my next trials. Thank you all for your time and assistance.
 
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Jack og

Jack og

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Can u take pics without the grow light on? With just regular light. The issues are the drastic changes over very little time. The light should always be 18-20” above the tops. Seedlings won’t need to be fed for about 2-3 weeks of life.
they do require warm temps75-89dgf at about 80-90% humidity ( this will lower once plants are bigger)
The stretch is ok. They stabilize over time but it’s important that when you pop them and then transplant, that the popped seed is about 2” below soil, this ensures a good strong root and stem development , and very gentle air movement across them.
The last pic with the top blown off may not survive. But I’ve had a few come back here and there but most likey cut yr losses and if u have more seeds to start over
 
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albertroid

albertroid

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Hello Jack,

Thank you for your reply. I have attached two images below. That makes a lot of sense. I actually transplanted my germinated seeds to a hole 1/4 an inch deep instead of 2 inches. I will start germinating another three and will follow the advice you mentioned above.
 
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Jack og

Jack og

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Hello Jack,

Thank you for your reply. I have attached two images below. That makes a lot of sense. I actually transplanted my germinated seeds to a hole 1/4 an inch deep instead of 2 inches. I will start germinating another three and will follow the advice you mentioned above.
Yea bro kinda be gentle and they don’t require much in the first weeks
 
4SkateMafia20

4SkateMafia20

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that looks like dampening off to me,damn that sucks.in the first pic they looked on par some, yes something serious happened over the couple days.my guess is too much water and maybe too much feed.But dampening off is my conclusion.light and heat had nothing to do with that,maybe the fan wind was too strong ?
 
albertroid

albertroid

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that looks like dampening off to me,damn that sucks.in the first pic they looked on par some, yes something serious happened over the couple days.my guess is too much water and maybe too much feed.But dampening off is my conclusion.light and heat had nothing to do with that,maybe the fan wind was too strong ?

Yeah, that could be it too! I sprayed it with water like 20-30 times every day. The growing medium kept looking dry to me so I gave it water daily. The fan was not blowing directly at my plants because I feared it would be too much for them. Thank you for your feedback SkateMafia.
 
jaguarlax

jaguarlax

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When you say you gave 2.5 teaspoons of plant food how did you administer it?
 
4SkateMafia20

4SkateMafia20

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Yeah, that could be it too! I sprayed it with water like 20-30 times every day. The growing medium kept looking dry to me so I gave it water daily. The fan was not blowing directly at my plants because I feared it would be too much for them. Thank you for your feedback SkateMafia.
no problem,spraying the plant so much caused that unfortunately.
 
B

Burned Haze

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Lights too strong for that seedling

If no dimmer/ if you do have dimmer : lower dim and make sure your canopy is correct inches to your canopy for the light specs ( example a cob vero 29 from canopy is 14 inches - 20 inches and a spydrx is 6-8 inches , big difference in inches and the PPFD is very similar )

get a seedling/ cloner stage led or t8 light for first stage (if it was me)
Suggestion brand and top 3 for sure and worth your dollar ( this is what I got for this stage )
 
Beachwalker

Beachwalker

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This ^

This is what damping off looks like
Screenshot 20200503 083947 Google


In my opinion it looks like they were too dry &/or not properly watered and you cooked them with the light and/or heat

It's necessary to water that whole medium well, not try to water with a spray bottle, good luck!
 
albertroid

albertroid

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When you say you gave 2.5 teaspoons of plant food how did you administer it?

I gave each plant 2.5 teaspoons of plant food that I placed superficially and spread it out evenly. I then gave it like an inch more of soil so that the plant food was kind of sandwiched in.
 
B

Burned Haze

Guest
This ^

This is what damping off looks like
View attachment 968677

In my opinion it looks like they were too dry &/or not properly watered and you cooked them with the light and/or heat

It's necessary to water that whole medium well, not try to water with a spray bottle, good luck!


That’s a possibly it’s damping off, but that light in the picture also looks so damn strong for that that specific stage of plant .

product suggestion for damping off & root protection (8-12 weeks )
to always be preventive against damp off and f wilt and many root based issues. This stuff is definitely concentrated and works and also gives yours plants a major defense vs so many that are bs or little spore counts . This tuff is difect

  • Grows in soil and on roots, shields roots from pathogens
  • One application provides up to 12 weeks of protection
  • Drench for use on nursery, greenhouse and vegetables
  • Easier mixing – water soluble carrier
  • Releases enzymes that dissolve the cell wall of many fungal pathogens
  • Promotes a healthier root system, increasing root mass potential
  • Compatible with many chemical and biological inputs
  • Well suited to a wide range of soil types
  • Enhances nutrient uptake”


 
Jimster

Jimster

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I gave each plant 2.5 teaspoons of plant food that I placed superficially and spread it out evenly. I then gave it like an inch more of soil so that the plant food was kind of sandwiched in.
To my untrained eye, the plants were looking good but then look ike they somehow were overfed. I don't normally feed anything for a few weeks as even mediums without added nutrients have enough to get them going. When I plant my seeds, I simply stick my finger to my middle knuckle (roughly), plant the tip down so that the seedling is just barely below the level of the surroundig medium and gently press the medium around the root. I plant directly into my final growing container, as the larger amount of medium will have plenty of moisture for the roots to explore. Cups seem to dry out too quickly and roots are easily damaged. FWIW, I NEVER pick off the seed shells... even after growing for close to 40 years, I still damage the seedling EVERY time I try to help things along. They will eventually fall off unless the seed is gimpy.
 
skaterdude

skaterdude

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Two things. First, I only have to water mine in Jiffy pots every other day. If you keep them too wet, they get damping off disease as several posters have noted. You also get fungus gnats. Second, you should not apply concentrated fertilizer. It's not clear from your post what the "2.5 teaspoons of plant food" were. Are you talking about concentrate? Crystals? I used the General Hydro solutions, diluted as shown on label, once a week and mine have grown great. Not plugging GH here, just noting one way to grow / water / fertilize them. Seedlings will grow for many days in jiffy pellets with no fertilizer, so I don't think that's the problem. I use them for all kinds of plants.

It looks like you're using LED lights. I would not expect them to be a heat problem within 12 inches of plants. I've had uds grow up through my (custom made) LED lights with no issues. Seedlings are a bit more sensitive, obviously. Try 18 inches or more above them.

Good luck with your next try.
 
albertroid

albertroid

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Two things. First, I only have to water mine in Jiffy pots every other day. If you keep them too wet, they get damping off disease as several posters have noted. You also get fungus gnats. Second, you should not apply concentrated fertilizer. It's not clear from your post what the "2.5 teaspoons of plant food" were. Are you talking about concentrate? Crystals? I used the General Hydro solutions, diluted as shown on label, once a week and mine have grown great. Not plugging GH here, just noting one way to grow / water / fertilize them. Seedlings will grow for many days in jiffy pellets with no fertilizer, so I don't think that's the problem. I use them for all kinds of plants.

It looks like you're using LED lights. I would not expect them to be a heat problem within 12 inches of plants. I've had uds grow up through my (custom made) LED lights with no issues. Seedlings are a bit more sensitive, obviously. Try 18 inches or more above them.

Good luck with your next try.

Hello skaterdude,

I linked the plant food that I used in my original post. The hyperlink is attached to the name “plant food”. I only used the plant food after they toppled down and all my other options were exhausted. But I agree it probably is a damping issue. Im am not entirely sure what’s the correct amount of water is and how I should be watering them. My soil always looks dry, maybe my moisture control soil is not that great for my plants. Thanks for your advice and feedback!
 
Beachwalker

Beachwalker

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Is that soil? What I do is water them fully until some water comes out the bottom then don't water them again until the pot is light

and don't try to water them with the spray bottle because you don't know how much it's really spraying

Never feed a Seedling for 10 days - 2 weeks, depending on the medium. in rich soil I've had plants that I've never fed until they were in bloom

And finally raise the light all the way up, or turn it way down, seedlings need very little light, I keep mine under a 23 watt CFL bulb and it's adequate, better luck next time!
 
Madbud

Madbud

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Like jack said, planting deeper will solve your problems, the soil will pull off the seed case and they won’t stretch so bad. Whoever said spray the pots gave the best advice, otherwise they suck the water up instead of the plant.
 
jaguarlax

jaguarlax

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I gave each plant 2.5 teaspoons of plant food that I placed superficially and spread it out evenly. I then gave it like an inch more of soil so that the plant food was kind of sandwiched in.

what kind of plant food? You did not dilute in water first? Sorry I know you have alot going on, but this is important imo.
 
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