3 Weeks old and looking like poop....HELP ME PLEASE!!!

Week 3
Seed : Bag Seed
Soil : Vigoro Organic Potting Mix 0.10-0.05-0.05
Lighting : CFL's 4 23W @ 6400 Lumens/5000K/18-6 ( About 3" from tops of plants)
Veg Space : 2x2x1 Cabinet I made out of stuff from the Local Hardware store

I have already posted my problem but I guess I didn't do a great job explaining. First off these plants are 3 weeks old from when they first popped their little heads from the dirt. They looked ok the first couple of days, and then I started to notice some small amounts of yellowing in lower leaves. I let it go for a couple of weeks, thought it might have been some nute burn. I flushed them with some purified water about 5 days ago. The one that looked the best of all four started to droop the day after I watered. The yellowing never cleared up since the start so I was starting to think that that might be low levels of Nitrogen. I went out and purchased some Fox Farm Grow Big and added it to today's batch of water @ 1/4 strength, hoping that that would start to clear up the yellowing. So now I am waiting to see what these things are gonna do by tomorrow. If the yellow/light green leaves start to slow down then I know that they were lacking that Nitro.....If plant #1 continues to droop then I know for sure I have been over watering I would appreciate anyone that wants to answer this thread with any advice. Should my space be bigger? Should I get more lights? Should I put lights closer to plants? Should I do anything but be super paranoid like a father that sits and listens to the baby monitor all night? So anyways, these are for some practice till my real deal seeds get here....Just trying to work out the logistics of things....I like to be more prepared than over prepared....

Plant #1 is the first in the pics down at the bottom
 

jez024

Member
Stop giving nutes!!! Also looks like it could be overwatering. Let them chill with whats in their soil until about 5-6 inches tall. Also do the containers have drainage holes?
 
yes I drilled some holes in the bottom of those solo cups for drainage....also added perlite to the potting soil when i transferred them...also they would be taller cause I kinda buried then stems down when i transplanted into the Solo cups
 

T.Huxley

Well-Known Member
Another thing, I notice your reading at 88 degrees, and its highest recorded says 97 degrees. Way too high. 75 degrees is optimal, 85 is too much. 97 all growth has been halted.
 
Those look exactly like mine did. Its over watering dude. Don't over saturate seedlings when watering just give them enough to make the soil moist. No runoff out the bottom thats too much. Keep an eye on the dirt in the bottom of the pot. When it starts to get really dry at the bottom then soak em otherwise just a few ounces of water will do.

There is not enough info on this site specific to taking care of seedlings. I found waiting a week or so(or however long it takes to make the soil dry) then soaking them(Like people recommend for MATURE plants) just drowned my seedlings. I have a similar mix to you organic soil and lots of perlite. I found giving them a tiny bit of water every 2-3 days is best. Just saturate the top of the cup and let it leech into the bottom. If you see runoff out the bottom you gave them too much. Once they get bigger then a conventional watering schedule is in order, but for now think "less is more".

You can do waay more damage by overwatering than underwatering. I just learned this the hard way.
 

stumps

Well-Known Member
I would think about 3 weeks is when you should be giving the first maybe the second watering. plant water well and don't water again until that cup is light as a feather. I do 15-20 at a time under a 4" fl tube set 32w for the first month.
 
it says 91 degrees you guys are seeing some weird sort of glare on the screen....I mean high of 77 low of 97 where you guys think I like the center of the earth?
 
And I will take all your advice and use it....these are my lowly test subjects....I could kill these and it won't matter...although i would love to keep them alive....hopefully using all your help I will be able to
 
Also don't be fooled by how small they are when i transplanted from the jiffy pots to the solo cups I buried them down a little...They have been in soil for about 4 weeks...
 
Yeah its kinda difficult I do live where its kinda hot....all the time....and my central air is busted...but that will be solved before the real seeds get here....just trying to practice and work out logistics
 
I am thinking of opening another intake hole or two do you think that would help pump some more cold air in there? As of now I have 1 2" opening with a fan...and flexible ducting running to my window...The temp in my house is about 80 degrees on a cool day and its gone as low as 60 this past couple of days
 
Also when abouts do these things stop being seedlings/sprouts and veg starts? Cause from what i have read 1 month in I should be veg by now right?
 
Dude your seedlings are overwatered/heat stressed. That time line is for optimal conditions. You basically set yourself back 2 weeks of growth. They need to recover first. I just made the same mistakes as you and it took 2 weeks for them to come back and start growing at a normal rate again. They are almost the size of yours now and they are 1 month old. In the last week i have seen lots of new growth, but 2 weeks before that not really jack shit for growth. Its going to take time/patience to bring those babies back. Many experienced growers would just start over from seed at this point as all this stress will affect the final outcome of the plant. I refuse to do that and mine did recover, but like i said lots of time/patience bro.

Get those temps down, buy a humidifier(50-60%RH is ideal) from walleyworld, and water less. Give us an update in 2 weeks.
 
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