I must be a fu€king moron cause I can't even water right...

Treehugginhipster

Active Member
All of my 6 seedlings droop and five of them are shriveled. I water ever two days but not alot of water. My question is should I water till runoff? and if so, should I do it every time time?

Ps my plants leaned over, shriveled up and died already...I plan to plant my best seeds now and have little room for error.
 
give good waterings until runoff and then wait for soil to dry out. I put my whole finger into soil and if its dry water, If not than wait. Small drinks constantly is no good IMO. I only water like once every 7-10 days. plus letting the soil dry out incourages roots to spread out in look of food which in turn builds strong root structures.
 
what kind of light are they under?
every 2 days is alot...depending on heat...and how much you give em.
what size pots are they in?

need pics, more info on setup, etc.
 
Seedlings like moist soil but its not hard to over water a sprout, much easier to underwater. Keep in mind if the soil you are using has poor drainage, or is pre-fertilized, this can be just one of many possible problems causing your plants to die. Tell me about your setup, indoors or out? what type of soil? what type of water? are you feeding nutrients? (you should not be for the first few weeks), The best thing you can do for your plants is get a soil-less mixture (meaning no nutrients added to the soil) and keep the soil moist for the first week or so. Make sure there is adequate drainage and make sure temps are between 75-85 degrees.
 
Here is my setup
Indoor
400w hps 2.5 feet away
FFOF
ROwater
They started out fine. I only used superthrive cause they are less than a month old, one is still in good shape
They were a sensi seeds mix from attitude
 
I bet its the light, or the heat that is demolishing your plants. Too much light on a seedling will kill it. Unless your giving them way more than 1 drop superthrive per gallon of water.
 
Yeah how much super thrive did u use that stuff can jack a plant up fast .What makes u determine that they need watering every 2 days?
 
watering is always a tough issue for ppl. i have a buddy that cant get it right. at first he wouldnt water enough. every time i would check his plants they would be light as hell and need water bad and he didnt even realise it. now he just waters them too much and when i pick them up they are always heavy as fuck.

there is a fine line when it comes to watering and i usually judge it by the weight of the pot. you want to give them plenty of water and have runoff. but you want them to use up most of the water and wait untill they are getting light again. ITS ALWAYS DIFFERENT, some plants use alot of water when under a light or in direct sun all day. and as the root systems grow they use up water alot faster.

so what im sayin is there is no schedual to watering its just how fast is the plant drinking...back to my budy, rather than just watering the lighter ones he has to water them all if hes doing any. "one needs water so they all do" wich is usually not true.

one maybe thirsty but it doesnt mean they all are, and usually watering one that doesnt need it will "drown" the roots and be bad for the plant.
 
I starve my seedlings to death.

Force those roots to find water. If you just give it to them your not encouraging root development.

Let them get to a point of dehydration before watering. It forces the roots to grow in search of water in order to survive. You only really need to do this the first week or 2. The goal is strong root development.
 
My soil is always dry.. like sahara desert dry. The lights could be a possibility but the leaves didn't raise they just dropped and shriveled. They have been under the same light since germination and they all looked healthy initially. I still think it's under or over watering. Next time I'll water till runoff instead of 5 sprays then wait three days opposed to my normal every other day schedule.
 
and do you till your soil? that is very important in my opinion. i use a toothpick and just stab holes in the surface of the dirt. (no stirring motion that will break roots i think) but just poke and poke untill its pretty broken up. this helps the water absorb into all of the dirt rather than just finding a hole to the bottom and going out. hope this helps and good luck
 
I think you found the root of the problem. Sounds like they are not getting enough water.
 
imo the light is a bit strong for seedlings. are you using cups or pots for seedlings? i start out in cups if cloning but my seeds i put straight into my pot after soaking. i'll soak the whole pot and then put the seed about 1/4" and put under lights. within a couple days the seed should pop thru(if viable) and a good root system should be going. the main importance here is keeping the tender new roots moist, not the whole pot. theres plenty off water in the pot to hold off watering for 5-7 days, but i do give a teaspoon or two of water right at the base of seedling once daily, so it gets water and also searches out water. also not mentioned before is the PH of your water. ive had improper ph'd water kill many a seedling....
 
Plants need oxygen too.. They get it thru the roots.. so if the soil is perpetually soaked they are prolly O2 starved which looks alot like they are thirsty.. No biggie alot of people do that the first go round..
 
OOps if the soil is ALWAYS dry then sound like under watering... IS the humidity low? temps high? Its tricky to get it right.. Hang in there!
 
I starve my seedlings to death.

Force those roots to find water. If you just give it to them your not encouraging root development.

Let them get to a point of dehydration before watering. It forces the roots to grow in search of water in order to survive. You only really need to do this the first week or 2. The goal is strong root development.

Me too! I actually water around the edge of the pot so that most of the moisture is on the outer edges.
 
My soil is always dry.. like sahara desert dry. The lights could be a possibility but the leaves didn't raise they just dropped and shriveled. They have been under the same light since germination and they all looked healthy initially. I still think it's under or over watering. Next time I'll water till runoff instead of 5 sprays then wait three days opposed to my normal every other day schedule.

Ya the spray thing might be it. spraying with nutes is something i dont do anymore. and if your going to i would wait till it has a few branches at least... I used to spray with nutes but found its ALOT easier to burn a plant,, in my experience at least.
 
Ya the spray thing might be it. spraying with nutes is something i dont do anymore. and if your going to i would wait till it has a few branches at least... I used to spray with nutes but found its ALOT easier to burn a plant,, in my experience at least.

I spray all RO water and superthrive, no nutes yet. five squirts from a spray bottle
I have a plant that is just hanging like dark green dreadlocks it can't even support it's own weight.
 
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