Plants don't seem to be doing very well - help!

Hi,

I have had 3 plants growing for approximately a month. For the first week and a half or so, the plants were either inside, in front of a (usually open) window, or outside in a very sunny spot.

Then I decided to create a very simple grow room (see attached pic). I basically put them in the corner of a closet lined on 3 of the walls with mylar. I am using 6500k CFL bulbs (GE Energy Smart 26-Watt Daylight Spiral Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Daylight - 6500k bought from Target -- http://www.target.com/Energy-26-Watt-Daylight-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B001F9OWWC/qid=1247155248/ref=br_1_9/175-4560541-9938512?ie=UTF8&node=1232462011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1).

On the other side of the closet, I have a small fan that runs all day. The lights are on a timer, and go on at 4am, off at 10pm (18 hours), and I leave the closet door cracked so that fresh air can get in.

This is my first try at this, and I don't think the plants are doing too well. I water them every day or every other day, depending on how dry the soil looks.

The soil is Scotts premium Topsoil.

It's hard to see in the pics, but the bottom leaves look very white (not really yellow, so not sure that this is a nitrogen deficiency issue), and the upper leaves, while not necessarily wilting, seem to be pointing downwards.

So, any ideas? Or am I being overly sensitive? Is my grow-room too unsophisticated for this type of operation?

Note: There is one plant much smaller than the others. This one has always been a runt, growing much more slowly than the others.

Note 2: These seeds are not all that high quality, this was meant as a test run before I try the good stuff.

Note 3: In the pics, the 2 lamps don't look all that bright, but that's due to the camera, they are 26 watt CFL's.
Thanks in advance.

The are really small for a month old, the light are too far away, bring them down to about 2-3 inches away.
You have the right lights (for veg) (even if by shopping at target you are over paying by going to that communist store, but I won't hold it against you.)
Sometimes I get a runt also but if you look at my post, I have some cheaply made lighting that has good results.
I'm a new grower myself and it can be frustrating.
I don't trust companies like MG/scotts they have bugs in the soil, also if it has extended release ferts then trash that soil and get something better.
I use Fafard, it's organic
55peat / pine bark/perlite and i add worm casting and vermiculite and get great results.


Get a soil test and see how your NPK and ph is, that may be a problem.

Thanks! Actually, those bulbs were only $3.50 each at Target, which is much cheaper than anywhere online. I have moved the lights MUCH closer to the plants (almost touching now), and will see if that helps. I will also look for some new soil, but is it too late to transplant these to new soil?

GrowFAQ<<<<<<<<<<<<<<get some of this into your grow

You'll cook the seedlings that close. Make your palm flat, fingers together. The light should at least be your index to pinky finger away from the plant tops.

TeaTreeOil said:

You'll cook the seedlings that close. Make your palm flat, fingers together. The light should at least be your index to pinky finger away from the plant tops.

Click to expand...

I think 3 to 4 inches for cfl's are ideal. 26 watts, i think are like around 2000 lumens. The lights are basically the sun to these things, try to mimick naturally settings