Seedling issues again! WTF!!!

[darcey]

Hi everyone,

I had some issues with my last batch of seedlings (posted a thread about 3 weeks ago) Sadly they just seemed to stop growing so after 4 weeks i pulled them out and started again.

All of the seeding have some from Paradise Seeds Female stock...all arrived in their breeders packs so are 100% genuine

I popped my remaining 2 Sensi Star and 3 White Berry using a shotglass of water, all popped within 24 hours. They there them transplanted into soaked Rockwool cubes and placed under 5 24W CFL bulbs. After the seedlings showed signs of rooting they were planted in some very good quailty potting mix, in half cut 1.25ltr soft drink bottles.

5 days later they are looking ok but have started to develop brown spots on the leaves...They have been given only water (NO NUTES) every 3 days. Currently are sitting on a shelf with the lights over them and a desk fan blowing to keep temps down

Can anyone shed any light?

 

[darcey]

My (was) best looking Sensi Star (below pic) has also started to yellow

 

[LJB]

What is the PH of the water? I suspect that this is a lockout issue.

 

[AlwaysLearning]

Hey sorry to hear you're having problems. Couple of questions: What brand is that soil? and are the rockwool cubes soggy or do they dry out between waterings? I usually start out seeds with distilled water so you should check the pH of the water you are using. I start out seedlings in water like you do, but when they pop I put them straight in soil that is basically peat moss and perlite, giving them only water until the bottom smooth leaves turn yellow, then gradually add food. Best wishes.

 

[darcey]

Thanks for your replies LJB and AlwaysLearning

LJB - I hadn't actually tested the water until you asked...with my fish tank tester kit i think its around 7.3-7.5

AlwaysLearning - The soil is "Yates Seed raising mix"...Yates is a pretty well known and respected brand of soil mixes and gardening things in Australia. I potted some new herbs (thyme, basil) using the Yates mix at the same time i transplanted my seedlings and they seem to be fine.

I let the soil and rockwool cube dry out almost completely before watering them...The cubes are a habit i got into when growing hydroponically about 5 years ago, probably shouldn't have used them for soil growing

Could the ph be causing my problems? I have been reading the forums and people are saying 6.0-6.5 for soil growing?

Any help would be great!

 

[dkmonk]

Well thats your problem your ph of the water is 7.3, it needs to be lower than that around 6, depending on your medium i think soiless some people use 5.8.

Buy some spring water from the grocery store thats what i use and it works great.

 

[Schizophrenic]

this is a PH issue....... Attempting a grow without doing something as simple and basic as testing your water is clear evidence you need to do a bit more reading and research. there is plenty of useful information and FAQ's on this forum, take full advantage of them.

Good luck.

 

[maryj315]

Well if you are watering every three days then they are most likely over watered. I put my seedlings rooted in peat pucks in 16ounce dixie cups and soak it i do not water again anywhere from 5 to 8 days i probably would not water those things for 2 weeks unless you are giving just enough water to make the roots chase after it. Never got into that method seemed to complicated but some people do so i know it works.

That is some of the worst looking seed starting mix i have seen i would not put my babies in that but i am sure its good stuff just foreign looking to me

Wished i could help more maybe some one else can but you can not keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome.Plane carefully and make changes don't skip on any thing i blew through a ass load of nirvana beans back in the day now i might lose 1 or 2 just do not give up on to the next grow

Mj

 

[AlwaysLearning]

Yeah I looked up that Yates and it seems to contain "fertiliser" but I cant seem to find how much. Some people dont like to use soil with fertilizer for starting seeds as it can make it more difficult to figure out how to feed. Its really not too late to carefully cut away the rockwool from the sprout then bury it halfway up its stem in some peat moss perlite mix. Try it with one and if it works send the rest on over. Through out the cycle of the plant its going to be a bit weird for it as the rockwool will hold more moisture than the soil around it. A quick note about pH: A pH of 7 is 10 times more than a pH of 6. A pH of 8 is 100 times more alkaline than a pH of 6. Keeping the pH in the right range is quite important. Hope this helps!

 

[cannaboy]

Don't germinate in anything but soil unless your being tight or stupid!I 'm serious what is the rockwool going to do for the seed. It works but its a crap method for getting healthy seedlings soil is Gods natural medium and gives more females with regular seeds. Water is the only thing needed for the first 8 weeks always. 0.1 E.C /0.5 E.C with a ph of 6/7 or tap water. Or

you could have crap beans!!! I never get this problem...

Your red stem at that age is a sign of (K) overdose or dificancey with (MG) and other trace minerals seed is the most healthy way of growing and starting fresh. seedlings should be radient green and vigirously growing to the light..

buy from RQS or Grow Doc or mr nice seeds proper good relyable supplires. try again!

 

[darcey]

Thanks everyone for you help!

Dkmonk – Cheers mate, I plan on getting some distilled water tonight and giving it a try!

Schizophrenic – I know mate, pretty dumb thing to do but I have never had any ph issues in the past so it didn’t even cross my mind. 5 years ago I co-organised and grew commercially for a number of compassion clubs in my area... I grew hydroponically (DWC bubbler bucket style) and only ever checked the ph when I first started. I never had any issues after that and was growing roughly 5 pounds per cycle…guess a lot could change with the water quality in 7 years lol

Alwayslearning – Thanks for looking that up mate! I was a little worried about the fertiliser content when I bought it but sadly it was all the shop had in a decent brand I will try cutting away one of the cubes tonight and see what happens, the plants have a lot of root activity coming from the cube so I’m not that confident I will be able to remove without hurting the plant. Will let you know how I go

Cannaboy – Tight or stupid…I don’t see how using rockwool is being either tight for stupid. Its what I used religiously when growing 7 years ago and had nothing but great success with them. I never had an issue with lack of females when using rockwool either

 

[theHIGHlander]

soil is Gods natural medium and gives more females with regular seeds.

you got to be joking bro eh ,,,
plenty off people use rockwool to do the seeds with great results....


keep it green
highlander

 

[darcey]

I went down to my local supermarket last night and bought about 8 different brands of spring water and ph tested the lot. Found one brand which was spot on 6.0

Following Alwayslearning's instructions i removed the seedlings from their pots, carefully removed the rockwool cubes and repotted in some normal potting mix (no added ferts), gave them a small drink of spring water and left them under the CFL for the night

This morning they are all looking 100% better, the leaves have flattened out and are starting to green up My sensi star's even look like they have gotten bigger overight

Thanks again to everyone that helped, I will Vrip some of the finished product in your honor

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I know some people can start in rockwool and go intp soil, but rochwool holds so damm much water - the soil could - and I'll say could be a problem - but then the rockwool should wick back to the soil,,,,

I dunno about that one.

As to cutting the rockwool away,,,, not unless your adept at vascular surguery. You would rip the roots to shreds - and take it from me,,, plants really frown on that.


My entire rockwool history consists of about 1 month and 38 plants.
Started 38 and still have 38 - that for me is a new record.
BUT - big but - I have a local guru that has given me his nute schedual and we have the same tap water. Now to me - that spefific info was gold. We both start (seeds and clones) in the round starter plugs and grow in the 6-in blocks

When I grow soil - I use Fox Farms Ocean Forest, Lotsa pearlite and some Dolomite lime.
Start em in 8 oz styro cups and let em rip. about 5,6 or 7 nodes, transplant to 16 oz cups for about 3 weeks then a week or two in your 2 liter bottles.


Now that's for high elevation growing

--

 

[filo6942]

Just FYI, you can plant a clone without problems just by plopping the cube of rockwool into soil. I have also (with great success) pull the rockwool off the plants roots without hurting it, rockwool must be very wet to do this.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

thanks filo

well then nevermind

 

[lordbudly]

yeah it was definetly the rockwool, i dont seem to see if you even soaked the rockwool in ph appropriate water, but even if you did, it be like feeding 2 ph points higher then normal to your hydro plants, because rockwool is soil-less, glad to hear you got it sorted out

 

[Cyber9]

Yup, you didnt pre-soak your rockwool in 5.5 ph.
I made this mistake my first run and my skywalkers looked identical to those.

Ph can make or break a grow...