Curling and twisting seedling leaves. Help.

[w3rds]

Hey all, first grow and coming up with some problems. The leaves on two of my plants leaves are bending inward(witch of the west style) and one has its leaves twisting. I am using FFOF with 20% added perlite. A 350w LED at 10" running 18/6. Only used ph'd water so far. Plants are at 8 days since germination. Room is 4x3x6 and temp 75° when lights are on, about 65-68° when the lights are off. I started with a little water every day but am worried the soil overfed so I'm trying to cut back to saturation once every 3-4 days.

Anything else you need to know for help would be great. Pictures below. They aren't that great because I've been using the cups sides to try and force the leaves upward. But the front two on the left have the curl and the left front one is twisting.

Am I just over reacting?

 

[Loc Dog]

I do not have an answer, but chiming in so I can follow, since I have same problems also. I also have parts of leaves that are missing, so looks like bugs, but can not imagine them having any this early.

 

[w3rds]

I did see a fungus gnat on the 4th day, thats when I swtched up watering so the topsoil would dry out.

 

[Loc Dog]

Fugus gnats would not be a problem so early on. I think they only eat rotting roots, but are annoying as all hell. I had them so bad at one point, would be breathing them in.

They come in almost all coco. I have them completely under control. See one flying around, once in a blue moon. After expanding the coco, fill watering can with boiling water, and water them. I stockpile RO water, and throw mosquito dunks in the water, so they have 3 days to develop before being used. The bacteria eats them from inside out. Also yellow sticky traps nearby the pots for any stragglers. They would probably die before reproducing anyway, but just being safe.

 

[C. Breeze]

Overwatered. Both of y'all. You're going to have to get another hobby for a while to keep from killing your seedlings. That's usually the only answer for a while. If you don't find another way ronsp me your time you'll worry/ water them to death. Fungas gnat eggs come in growth medium to let you know when your overwatering.

 

[Jhhnn]

Am I just over reacting?

Probably. I just grow from seeds & lots of my seedlings did that with the first set of true leaves.

 

[Loc Dog]

Overwatered. Both of y'all. You're going to have to get another hobby for a while to keep from killing your seedlings. That's usually the only answer for a while. If you don't find another way ronsp me your time you'll worry/ water them to death. Fungas gnat eggs come in growth medium to let you know when your overwatering.

How dry can you let a seedling that just broke surface get?? I have been doing clones for years, and always sucked growing seeds. Can a seedling be allowed to dry out and not die. When paying $10 a seed and having to order overseas and worry about packages going through customs, more afraid of under watering, than over watering. Also, have heard many people say that you can not over water coco.

I hate coco with a passion, and have gone to RDWC. Only using it now to try and get some mother plants, to clone and put into RDWC.

 

[MJPassion]

Overwatering displaces availabl oxygen in your medium & causes root disease. I'm guilty of it too.

Those seedlings look real dark to me & FFOF is purportedly hot for seedlings so those babes might just need to grow into the plate they've been given.

Seedlings can get pretty dry before they start to wilt but I'm with ya in that I'd rather overwater then loose $10+ a pop to dehydrated to death babies.

 

[Loc Dog]

I did not know it was soil. I thought it was coir, since he mentioned fungus gnats. It is easy to over water soil. My advice is worthless on soil, since I never used it.

 

[w3rds]

Checked on them this morning and the biggest seedling is full torsion... all 4 true leaves are at a +45 degree bend. it would actually look cool if I wasnt stressing the health of my plants. Im just going to leave it be and hope she autocorrects with me raising the lights a few inches and cutting back my water regime.

 

[MJPassion]

If those seeds have Blueberry or Gorilla Glue in them, that could just be a distinguishing trait.
Blueberry varieties tend to show a bit of leaf twist as does GG#4.

 

[w3rds]

I honestly couldnt tell you. The 3 with twist are from free seed bags, only know the strain of my back 2 plants.

 

[w3rds]

Updated picture to show the further twisting...

 

[C. Breeze]

I grow from seed a lot, and I get it right about half the time and get a little overwatered half the time. The leafs twist from having difficulty taking up calcium in the waterlogged soil. You'll see purplmg that goes with it sometimes too- as the phosphorus is also tough to take in in those conditions. I let my seedlings get pretty dang dry. I don't want the soil to go to dust but I let seedlings get dryer than I let veggingnor flowering plants and I don't ever get them quite as soaked down to start with.

Your in good shape though I'd say- your well past the dangerous time and now it's just a delay not a crisis.

 

[C. Breeze]

When I say purpling I mean the stem on the seedling will get purple and woody instead of being flexible and supple.

 

[w3rds]

Just transitioned the 3 to gallon pots. 2 already were forming root balls, so here's hoping the new pots help.

 

[Shmavis]

They'll come back - use the weight of the gallon pot to know when to water. Looks as though you were overdoing it in the cups. Hopefully you took note of the weight before and after you watered in the seedling(s). This way you have a gauge for when to water. Good luck, hope your babies pull around for you!

 

[DjKinetics]

Your LED Is way to close in my opinion. I'm using a135w ufo at 30-60cm (12"-24") . If the twisting is not a genetic mutation it could be light stress,heat stress,over watering....seedlings don't need much water . that's my 2c

 

[Bluto]

It's the FFOF. It is mixed hot. A lot of my friends forbay it in early growth. Use RO water and they will grow past it; usually.

 

[Bluto]

The soil is too hot