Seedlings Emerged Discolored

[kuaikuaide]

Hi all,

I decided to try some autoflowers for my next grow but I am having some issues with seed sprouting. Started them in 5 gallons of organic soil, 50% new FF happy frog + 45% used local light soil compost mix + 5% amendments. The strains are Barney's Farm Zkittlez OG and Wedding Cake. I put them (4 seeds) in a cup of water for 24 hours and then transferred them to paper towels to let the tap roots grow (normally go direct in soil, rapid rooters, or rockwool but tried this method for autos in organic soil). Over the course of 4+ days only two seeds showed any tap root and even then it was very small, a mm or two.
Planted them in soil on the first and they came above ground on the fourth or fifth. Zkittlez had a seed helmet that I misted and then tapped off (no force, just tapped it and it fell off). Today, the ninth, the Zkittlez OG is standing a couple inches tall with its cotyledons still closed and the wedding cake hasn't unfolded from a U-shape yet, cotyledons still touching the dirt. The Zkittlez OG cotyledons have brown tips and yellow striping, this was present since they emerged and has not changed at all over the past few days. No growth at all 10 days from soil / 15 days from germinating is quite poor, especially for an auto on a death clock. I don't have any germination issues with my other plants, just the Barney's Farm seeds. They haven't been overwatered (watered once before they were planted on the first) and temps are 72-77 and RH 60-75%. Lighting is 300w of quantum board turned down to 30% for a 4x7' grow space. Does anyone know what the issue here might be, or are they just bunk genetics? Want to try flushing them as I think it might be nute burn, but the soil is still a little wet an inch down.

Images attached. I spritzed the wedding cake to remove dirt so you could see it better, soil is not actually that wet.

Cheers.

 

[Creeperpark]

Five gallon containers hold about 5000 ml of water and can be difficult on seedlings and spouts. Its best to start seeds in small containers so you can manage the water intake better. I use Dixie cups and weigh them before I water and after I water to make sure I give them enough and not too much water. I have a 100% succus rate using this method.

 

[Cuddles]

Hi, autos of course have a `death clock´ as you described it however, as I´ve been finding out from growing my own lowryder this year, the lifespan of an auto can be much,much longer than advertised! no kidding, you´d think that all autos are super fast, right? Well they´re not, necesarily, not by an means.

Another thing is, that 5 gallonns worth is far too much imo. My auto is in in a 1gal pot and frankly, that is kinda too big as I´ve come to realize

4 days for a tail to show is indeed kinda slow, but it does happen from time to time, nothing to be toooo worriied about some are just a little slow but they can still end up as cool plants.

 

[Creeperpark]

Using smaller containers can allow you to better manage the water and nutrient intake for fast growing plants. More is not always better when it comes to (Cation Exchange Capacity) and how a plants take nourishment. Good luck on your grow.

 

[Creeperpark]

When one supplies positive cation ions balanced with negative anion ions the plant will attract the prefect ratio of nutrients it needs. If the positive and negative exchange sites are not blocked with impurities or out of balance the plant will do well with very little.

I'm saying all this to remind everyone you don't have to use a lot of fertilize IF, you keep the pH stable. Please don't poison your plants and the environment.

Use pure water without any nutrients and let the sprouts work and adjust to the soil.

 

[f-e]

5w per foot is low, but they should still look for it. 72-75 is cool. I find seeds slow at those temperatures. I won't go below 75 and would be happier at 80.

I can't really see how moist the substrate is. It's certainly dry on top though, and not very peat like. Perhaps chop a bottle to make one a dome. Then get it some light.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Hi all,

I decided to try some autoflowers for my next grow but I am having some issues with seed sprouting. Started them in 5 gallons of organic soil, 50% new FF happy frog + 45% used local light soil compost mix + 5% amendments. The strains are Barney's Farm Zkittlez OG and Wedding Cake. I put them (4 seeds) in a cup of water for 24 hours and then transferred them to paper towels to let the tap roots grow (normally go direct in soil, rapid rooters, or rockwool but tried this method for autos in organic soil). Over the course of 4+ days only two seeds showed any tap root and even then it was very small, a mm or two.
Planted them in soil on the first and they came above ground on the fourth or fifth. Zkittlez had a seed helmet that I misted and then tapped off (no force, just tapped it and it fell off). Today, the ninth, the Zkittlez OG is standing a couple inches tall with its cotyledons still closed and the wedding cake hasn't unfolded from a U-shape yet, cotyledons still touching the dirt. The Zkittlez OG cotyledons have brown tips and yellow striping, this was present since they emerged and has not changed at all over the past few days. No growth at all 10 days from soil / 15 days from germinating is quite poor, especially for an auto on a death clock. I don't have any germination issues with my other plants, just the Barney's Farm seeds. They haven't been overwatered (watered once before they were planted on the first) and temps are 72-77 and RH 60-75%. Lighting is 300w of quantum board turned down to 30% for a 4x7' grow space. Does anyone know what the issue here might be, or are they just bunk genetics? Want to try flushing them as I think it might be nute burn, but the soil is still a little wet an inch down.

Images attached. I spritzed the wedding cake to remove dirt so you could see it better, soil is not actually that wet.

Cheers.

The Fox Farm may be a little hot. I would give them 0.4 EC/200PPM on the 50 scale, of high P/K flowering nutrients, and 0.1 EC/50PPM epsom salt (MgSO4). This will comparatively lower the nitrogen ratio, which is what often causes hot soil or purpling of stems on seedlings. The P will stimulate root growth, K stimulates stem growth and Mg makes the leaves very healthy and phototropic.

5 gallons is right for a plant that is expected to grow to 5 feet. Just saturate the medium slowly and completely, and then do not water again until the top of the soil is dry in the morning. Think of it as the medium watering the plants through evaporation. Also, if you're using a drying method like this, always use a lower nutrient concentration, because drying increases nutrient concentration. 0.4 EC is very safe for coco coir and other media. Use less in subsequent waterings in pre-fertilized soils.

 

[kuaikuaide]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had wrote a reply awhile ago but it looks like I forgot to post it, whoops!

Yes 5 gallons is a rather large container to start seeds in, I have had luck in the past by only watering in circles around the seedling and then transitioning to full waterings later. It is a rather error prone method though, it may be worth transplanting autos still.

All the same, she has recovered nicely by now and is well into flower. Over three feet tall with dozens of bud sites, not bad at all for initially stunted growth! About 20 days into flowering her bud development seemed to halt, there weren't any other signs so I figured it could just be genetics. In the past few days though she has developed "burned" leaf tips (not like nute burn which was my first thought), rust spots, yellowing and dying of lower leaves, and red stems. Definitely something awry, seems like magnesium and potassium to me. She is getting top dressings of a complete amendment mix so this really shouldn't be happening. The runoff pH is way low, goes in at 6.8 comes out at 5.2. I added a 1/3 cup of dolomite lime to bring the pH up and gave her a ~70% dose of hydroponic nutrients with extra epsom salt. Ran 4 gallons through the soil and runoff was 5.4pH so it is an improvement. That was yesterday and it looks like symptoms are still progressing rapidly, but I will give it a couple more days to take effect. Perhaps I should try foliar feeding magnesium, not decided yet. Probably going to end up with buds on the smaller side which is unfortunate as she could have been a heavy yielder even with initial stunting, she covers 4 square feet at 3 feet tall so quite large for an auto.

 

[Creeperpark]

When you add dolomite lime to the mix, you take away the hydrogen which is needed to exchange with other nutrients. You have an imbalance in the cation and the anion in the grow medium called a nutrient lockout. It will be hard to fix the soil and where it will be balanced again at this point.

If I may make a suggestion, try using pro mix hp peat with hydro nutrients. It's the easiest way to grow and have easy success. Organic can be difficult for new growers. Every mistake is a golden opportunity to grow and get better if we learn from them.