Problem with 1 week seedlings!

[Hermione]

I've just started my first grow and have run into some problems, need some advice.
I'm growing two femenised Grapefruit under a 250w HPS and it has been smooth sailing up until now. Just before i went away for two days I think gave the girls too much water in addition to the plastic bags I put over them to deal with the dry air.

This is what they look like now (I realize you can't see much in theese pictures but atleast its something)

One of the leafes are pointing almost straight up and they are all starting to form like a cup. I've also noticed they are looking a bit pale in some places. A rash of pale is how i'd describe it with my bad english.

I'm guessing this is coming from overwatering? The soil is still very moist even though it was more then 40 hours since i poured all that water. How do i react in this situation to get them healthy again?

 

[Pipe Dream]

yeah overwatering and too high humidity from having the plastic over them. I bet if you expose them to fresh air and let the soil dry out a little between waterings they will perk back up.

 

[Hermione]

Okay, so i wont panic just yet ^^

What's the reason for them stretching so tall? Are they stretching for the light or is it normal?

 

[Hermione]

Looks good budlover =), never seen leaves like that before though.

And you're probably right, from what i understand Grapefruit is very much sativa and suppose to stretch alot. So its probably that manifesting already. Def gonna bury some of the steam when i repott them like you said.

 

[Hermione]

Yepp, i have big holes in the bottom and a good layer of clay pearls for drainage but i should get some more of them mixed with the soil for sure. I really think i fucked up leaving the plastic bags on for so long. I can already feel the soil starting to dry up and cooling down a few degrees.

This forum is really good for venting that initial feeling of overprotective fear/panic, so thanks to both of you.

 

[hazy]

hi hermione, the stretching of little seedlings is a light thing. Under the sun, there would be no stretching at this stage. No big deal, your's really don't look all that spindly. Sometimes mine get pretty tall in the first few days, especially if they aren't directly under the fluorescent lights.

 

[Hermione]

Oh, I put the light too far away when they were getting a bit dry thinking it was the heat. I realized later it was actually the low humidity here doing it and thats the reason for the plastic bags.

Now that i think about it the misting and folds on the plastic bags must have blocked a great deal of light most likely adding to this stretch.

All fixed now =), thanks

 

[RetroGrow]

They will be fine. Nothing wrong with them. Let them dry out a bit. They stretch to reach for more light. Those really aren't stretched very much at all. Don't over water!

 

[!!!]

Don't use humidity domes on clones, seedlings or any cannabis plant. If you overwater, perhaps put the pots on something absorbant so it will wick excess water away. Also up the heat and lower humidity—both will help the pots dry quicker.

 

[Hermione]

Woke up this morning just to discover some light yellow spots on the leaves. Soil still a bit moist but getting better by the second. Is that another symptom of the over watering so that I should continue riding out the storm?

I padded some water on the leaves last night in an attempt to keep them hydrated now that I'm not using the plastic bags anymore. So it might just be fucking myself over again, the leaves getting the light concentrated so that they got some sunburn.

 

[ibjamming]

Want a hot tip...ditch the HPS for starting seeds. Get a cheap 23W CFL and hood at walmart and use that...really close, 24/0...you'll love the results!

 

[hazy]

what ibjamming said ^^

 

[Hermione]

Can't afford getting CFL right now but i'll def get it for my next try. This light is just causing unnecessary stress aswell as using alot of electricity at this early stage.

I noticed my tap water had a really high PH so i figure thats causing some deficiency, hence the yellow spots. So i put them i new pots using fresh soil and some lemon juice to lower the PH in the water to a good level.

New pairs of leaves is coming along looking fresh and feeling healthy so i really hope they can both recover from these mistakes i made. I realized now I should have posted this thread in the infirmary but panic know no logic.

Maybe I'll return with another thread and better pictures if i ever get to flowering https://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=83

 

[ganja4]

Most of the mistakes are done because someone is paying to much attention to them not the other way.

 

[sman]

hey good luck man, id like you to post some more pics though. I'm doing my 1st grow now and they seem to be happy. as for your stretch problem i dont know but with mine i have 4 almost 5 nodes at 4 inches tall, but im using CFL's and they are pretty close to the lights. I'd actually like them to start stretching a lil so i can start lst'ing easier. well GL and HF. im learning too and this is a great forum!

 

[Stress_test]

hey good luck man, id like you to post some more pics though. I'm doing my 1st grow now and they seem to be happy. as for your stretch problem i dont know but with mine i have 4 almost 5 nodes at 4 inches tall, but im using CFL's and they are pretty close to the lights. I'd actually like them to start stretching a lil so i can start lst'ing easier. well GL and HF. im learning too and this is a great forum!

If you want more stretch? Raise your lights a few inches. Not too much at first, give em a day or so to see how much difference it makes and then adjust accordingly...

 

[fatass]

R U using see-through cups?

Roots should not be exposed to light...

 

[Hermione]

Hey sman, i would post more picture if i had a camera good enough to actually show anything. Will try to borrow a better one in the future.

When i was searching for the cause of my problem with the yellow spots i ran into information saying a potassium deficiency could cause stretching as well as a purple stem and yellow spots. So the stretching might just be another symptom of my PH fuckup rather then lighting being too far away.

As for your plants I'd love to see them ;D (update: saw the link now, feeling stupid). Instead doing like Stress_test says you could give them some more time to gain some height. If there is anything this first week has taught me it's to practice more patience. Maybe try both methods

R U using see-through cups?

Roots should not be exposed to light...

Woops, didn't think of that. It's actually soda bottles cut in half, i figured I'd start in them then put them into the 11-liter pots i bought. They have been light protected with duct tape now. Thanks, once again.

 

[fatass]

Make sure you have BIG holes at the bottom and paint them black.

Don't worry about deficiencies these are very small seedlings they don't need anything but water.

If your really want to give them something you can let them have some roots stimulators (at the lowest dosage please)
-
Don’t care so much about the leaves – they will fall off in a week or two making place fore real leaves
Just sit back an relax

 

[roorfanatic]

not to scare you brother but your situation mimicks mine quite a lot and it had a pretty bad ending. this is just a little exerpt from my post explaining the situation

I have done some reading and it looks like some T5's would do the trick for me, but I am looking for any tips on what specific models and how many bulbs of what length i should use to have adequate lighting for 2-3 moms in soil. My main system is actually a bio bucket system which i had some unfortunate results my first go around due to damping off i think. ((WHat happened what i left my seedlings ak48/ GHS cheese under some plastic wrap when they sprouted since my humidity reading was reading LOW. I also think i had inadequate amounts of dissolved oxygen since once i added 8 air stones to the system they seemed to do slightly better until all but one (the ak48) died. Each seedling(except the one ak) started developing brown spots on the leaves and the trunks darkened up to a purple almost. Eventually each leaf dried up badly like a leaf in autumn. All but one survived--and this one has a green stem and not purple, and when i transplanted i didn't put it as submerged (i know stupid mistake) in the water as i did with the other ones.))