Seedlings dying. Help

It is becoming clear to me now that those greenhouses I had used in the beginning were definitely the biggest problem I had. With outdoor conditions like these, obviously a greenhouse is a bad idea. My original seeds were probably boiled to death lol

Luckily, these seem to be doing much better. They have been outdoors for 3 days now and are getting bigger everyday. I'm already starting to see new leafs pop up. Usually the humidity is around 60-75%, and the temps range from 75-100f. Today was exceptionally hot and humid after an odd 10 minute rain storm, so I moved the seedlings to a shady area were the temp was a cool 78f for the majority of the day. They're out getting some sun now that it's cooled down to 89

The only thing that has me a little concerned is the fact that 2 of the plants seem to be yellowing already. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Welcome to RIU big boy. I see that you transplanted them too high. They will be leaning over soon so stalk them with bamboo shoots or else....

cassinfo said:

Welcome to RIU big boy. I see that you transplanted them too high. They will be leaning over soon so stalk them with bamboo shoots or else....View attachment 3457971

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They may not. I like a little stretch. But yea they will break in a strong wind.

I like the stretch because I hate it when I plant them close to the leaves then when it gets bigger and droops for what ever reason the bottom leaves are in the dirt.

Thanks for the input. Next time I transplant, I will do it lower. That's just how tall they naturally grew on their own, so I thought it was good.

Can anyone tell me what would cause a seedling to start yellowing so early on though?
It's only one seedling, and it's the only Northern Lights strain that I planted. Could it just be genetics, or something funky with the particular strain?

So you guys were right, and 3 of the plants fell over last night from becoming too top heavy.
I used some twigs to prop them back up, and gave them some water. I will try to retransplant them all tonight and place them lower.

Still no thoughts on the yellowing plant?

post up a picture-a yellowing seedling usually means it is getting too much water. are you talking about seedlings that fell over? they shouldn't do that necessarily if they are healthy, i've got some that's a week old that are stretching to the light and are fine. do you have a fan going?

Dong put a strong wind on them stretched ones. Just a light breeze and don't mess with it. Moving it will break it. Less water. Let them dry out. Transplant into solo cups and bury the stems a little.

The 3 that fell over seem to be doing good now. I had gone 2 days without watering to let the soil dry out a little bit. Before that, I was adding roughly 2-3oz of water every other day to each pot.
I propped them up using little sticks and added about 3oz of water to each plant, and after sitting in the sun all day, they now look like they are holding themselves up again with no problem. So I think that it's just from not watering in a couple days, and them getting too top heavy.

I'm not going to immediately retransplant, but next time I do, I'll put them lower.

@undercovergrow I do not have a fan or anything else on them. I'm growing outdoors

Here's a few pictures of all the plants (The yellowing one is on the bottom of pictures 1&2, and on the far left in 3)


And here is a closer picture of the yellowing one
(Like I said before, it is the only Northern Lights that I have, so could that have anything to do with it?)

cnc24 said:

Looks like I may have finally caught a break. I have one good looking sprout. It's Dr Kripplings Incredible Bulk.

I'm about to plant the other seeds that I've soaked all day the way you guys suggested

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Ditch those peat pellets, ASAP!!!!! the nylon netting will restrict the root growth! at the very least start in 16 oz party cups...I start mine in one gallon pots, so less trauma when young due to transplant shock. Like what has been said before, soak over night (24) hours but no more than (36) hours, that way you don't mess with the tap root...and if you do mess up the tap root, you will stunt the plant....also, when you do transplant, wait until the pot is dry...that way it lifts up more easily and again, less shock...that's why I go from one gallon pots to the pots that I plan to finish them in...3 gl pots are ok...7 is better...15 and up is best...best of luck to ya

sorry @cnc24 i forgot you were outside. i do agree with @dirtpower though--ditch those peat pellets; they will restrict root growth. i used a free one on a freebie seed once and it stunted her growth terribly as her roots couldn't get out sufficiently. the yellowing doesn't look bad at all, it could just be genetics. she looks okay. all the seedlings look good.

I've never had a problem with the netting on the plugs. I use them for starting everything in the garden.

Thanks for the advise @dirtpower, I was already planning on not using them anymore on future grows. I just used them on this one because I had them available, and thought they would make things easier on me. Next time I transplant, I'm thinking about trying to cut up the net a little to let the roots out easier. I'll have to see what the roots look like before I decide if that's worth doing.
Last time I transplanted, the tap root had shot straight through the bottom of the netting on each pellet, and it looked like the net wasn't giving the root any trouble at all, so who knows.

And thanks for your input @undercovergrow, I'm hoping the yellowing is nothing to worry about. One thing that has me a little worried is that I'm growing 6 different strains (Incredible Bulk, Lemon Kush, Fast&Vast, Northern Lights, Smoking Gun 2, and Nebula), and I already know that growing each plant will be unique. From what I've picked up, each strain has different needs and acts differently throughout it's growth, so it'll be interesting. Plus 3 of my 11 plants are autos (the one Smoking Gun, and the two Fast&Vast), so that will also be interesting. So, for a first grow, it might be a little tougher, and I might not produce as much as I'm wanting, but hopefully it'll make for a good learning experience so I can go into the next grow with more confidence lol

I've decided to go ahead and retransplant some of the plants tonight into bigger pots, so that I can set them deeper in the soil.
Last time I transplanted, I simply put the pellets into a pot with a seedling starter soil. This time, I'm planning on taking them and putting them into pots with Hapi-Gro potting soil.

Got them all transplanted.
I found some kind of white mold down in the soil on some of the plants while I was transplanting, is that something I should be worried about?

Just posting some updates. They're all looking good today, and they're all starting to grow even more leafs

Hey guys, quick update.
Plants have all grown a bit in the last week, but they seem to not be growing at all in the last few days.

I've run into 3 main issues that I'm hoping you can help me out with.

1) The plants seem to have stopped growing. (Maybe they need to be moved to bigger pots now?)

2) Something is eating at some of the plants, but not all of them. No sure of who the culprit is or why they have targeted only a couple plants and not all of them.

3) I'm starting to see some yellowing around the lower leafs, and the original round leafs towards the very bottom are all dying off.

the cotyledons (original seedling leaves) are supposed to die off so that is fine. those are very small containers even for little plants like that. I personally HATE those peat pots. When you do transplant them...

#1 get a better soil please, that stuff looks like shit. definitely not enough drainage so add some pearlite if you keep using that soil mix. I bought some Pro Mix shit from menards for some of my vegetable garden stuff... it was utter shit. after almost a month after sprouting a couple plants in the crap soil, my plants were no bigger than what you have in the picture. I suspected the soil was crap, and I removed the soil from the pot, removed as much soil from the thin stunted roots as possible, and planted in the soil mix i use in my indoor garden. 3 weeks later i have beautiful healthy plants and you would never know that they almost got tossed had they not been my last two seeds of that tomato strain.

#2 tear away those peat pots, do not leave them around the roots, and then transplant them into a container no bigger than 1 gallon asap. if you plant into to big of a container and water it down, the roots are only in a small zone when transplanted to a new pot, and can not dry the pot out fast enough. This will continue to stunt the plants growth and the roots can rot and kill the plant when kept wet for too long. Let them grow in the 1 gallons for at least 3 weeks and no more than 5 before transplanting again. this should allow you to build a healty root ball provided they are being cared for properly. Then you plant into a container the size NECESSARY for growth. 1 gal of soil = 1 month of growth. so if you go from one gallon container to a 5 gallon container your plant should be good for 3 months minimum in that container. If you transplant them in more than what they need, you are wasting resources (water, nutes, soil, etc....). Also when you transplant only water the ROOT ZONE. don't know where the root zone is? hint: it should be no more than the size of the container you just pulled it out of So what you can do is water the plant BEFORE you pull it from the 1 gal container (which will make it come out easier anyway) and then just water it in lightly when you tuck it into the new pot. Note: if you use too big of a container, the plant cannot drink the liquid fast enough, roots sit wet, suffocate, and die (especially if you don't add more pearlite to that mix!) Not to mention when you are not watering because soil is sitting wet for too long CEC (cation exchange capacity is not effective because the roots have eaten the available nutrients around them and have nothing left to eat until you water again and get more food into SOLUTION around the roots. if you dont know what cation exchange capacity is i suggest you look into it as that is key for nutrient uptake process. The perfect soil is 50% medium, 25% water and 25% air (soil pores).

#3 As for the bugs, get some Neem oil and dilute 1/2 tsp into each gallon of water with a small amount of soap (dr. bronners is best) to help the neem coat the leaves.

Good luck with the babies! this will definitely get you on the right track. for the love of god, get some new soil lol

Thank You @ShLUbY. I appreciate the advice.

Since my last update, I have transplanted the girls to 3.5gal pots, and moved them out to their permanent home. They are hidden, way out in the middle of nowhere, where there is absolutely no chance of them being found. They get full sunlight all day, and are located near a small pond that is being used to water them. They are in a blend of soils (pictured below)

And here they are in their new spot.


Lemons are looking okay. Could be better, but we'll see if that changes now that they're in new soil in a new spot.


Incredible Bulk, pretty much the same.


The Nebula has been growing upward like crazy.


The Fast&Vast Autos are looking great. As well as the Smoking Gun 2 Autos. All the autos look great.

(Couldn't upload more than 10 photos, so this post will continue on the next post)

nice, looks like you're seeing some progress. good luck!

Northern Lights, not looking so hot... I'm about to start working on the bug problem. Hopefully she makes a comeback

And here they all are, 30 days old.




Here's a closeup of one of my Fast&Vast's. I'm starting to see some orange around the flowering area. Should I be worried that it's turning colors so early? I did have her in the shade for a few days, I'm not sure if this had a negative effect or not.



Now, here's my biggest concern. My soil pH sucks, even with the lime I added.

Oh, and here's another who didn't get a pot, and just went straight into the ground.

Obviously something is going to need to be done to buffer the pH.