seedlings falling over and dieing

[inreplyavalon]

I am losing my seedlings fast. about three a day. Lost three more last night. They have been out of the coco for about 4 days. Had 99% germ. and 48/50 pop out of the coco.

The temps are at 78 with low humidity. Very low.

The stems are just turning real soft and falling over. Like they can no longer support the weight of the seed leaves? Never had this happen. Anyone know what is going on?

Scared i am going to lose a years worth of seed purchasing.

 

[inreplyavalon]

some more information. I pulled up the sedlings that had fallen over. The roots looked white and healthy. it is the stem that is soft and almost mushy.
They have been on a heat mat from day one with fluoros less than an inch from the tops. The coco was pretreated with a small amount of calmag and liquid karma and once the seedlings had grown a few roots a root stimulator was added.
Thanks...

 

[blizz]

is ur light to high? maybe there stretchin to hard an fallin over ? idk without seeing it u got a pic

 

[inreplyavalon]

Thanks for looking Blizz.
the light is less than an inch from the top. The stems are essentially folding over and shriveling. It is really weird.
They are not overwatered as i have let the coco dry out before i watered them for the second time.
The pictures will just look like growing seedlingsa, or dead on their side seedlings. I am hoping to get some advice asap before anymore die in the time it takes me to shoot photos and upload.

 

[bluntt]

maybe not enough water without pics,watering schedule its hard to say

 

[inreplyavalon]

seeds popped approximately one week ago. waited until the coco dried out(3 days) and then watered them again. some appear drier than others, some of the coco still appears wet, both drier and wetter ones are affected. They are in small 8 ounce cups. The only thing wrong with environment is a low humidity. I have used this watering schedule successfully a bunch of times in coco.

 

[dominicangreen]

seedlings need high humidity and lots of water and no nutrients for a week or two just ph water..flourensent light work the best for this stage and keep temps 80 dont put a fan on them but you can point fan at the wall and the breez circlelate will be enough..for that coco keep ph 6.3-6.5 they to little for lower ph levels

 

[ibjamming]

It's watering if you ask me...either too little (didn't you say you let it dry out for 3 days? Or it's too much and you got the stem rot thing happening. Is it dark right at the soil line? And that's the soft part? Or is the whole thing soft and weak?

That's why they say NEVER put ALL your eggs in one basket. Always hold back some seeds...

 

[inreplyavalon]

I know all about holding back seeds, i just got WAY too much empty flower AND veg space. and recent successes with seeds...

Anyhow the roots look fine on all the dead ones. white and a few roots a few inches long on each. The stem folding did not happen at coco lever, but half way up on each and every one that died. No visible signs on the coco of a fungus.

I added a small amount of water with a small amount of aqua shield.

 

[Harvest Time]

if they r stretching too much as happens to me, i use regular plastic drinking straws! some say tooth picks or something to tie to...nah, in this case, i say take a plastic straw like from any store or resteraunt and cut it to the length of the stem so that no leaves are included and it includes the point they are falling over, then slit it lengthwise and carefully wrap it around the stem and add soil or something to create a small ant hill looking deal around the base. if this is hte issue this is how i would fix it...scratch that, how i USUALLY fix it, cuz it tends to happen to me.
good luck and hope this helps...

 

[Coprolite]

Damping Off

Damping Off

Captan or Daconil are fungicides available at local Hardware/Seed & Feed stores. Mix up small amounts, spray a fine mist on planting medium, to wet surface. Some times one spraying will do the job. I think the desiese is called "Damping Off". It worked for me.
Good Luck!

 

[HempKat]

Yeah it does sound like damping off to me too although it's hard to be certain with no pics. It's either that or the low humidity. During veg I usually shoot for a steady rh of 50%.

If it's damping off you could do like the previous poster said and here's a little bit about damping off, what causes it, how to avoid it and what to do when it does happen.

http://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/pubs/gd9.htm

If it's the humidity getting the temps up should help, the warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold and the higher the humidity gets. Also putting a humidity dome over them to trap the air around the plant, being a small confined area the moisture already present in the air and coming off the plant and medium gets trapped and raises the humidity. Seedlings and young cuttings tend to do better in a higher then normal growing tempurature environment. What I mean by that is that normally it is recommended to shoot for about 78 degrees F for plants as an ideal. For seedlings and young cuttings 80 seems to work better.

 

[CovertCrops]

Another vote for damping off

Another vote for damping off

 

[EvilTwin]

inreply,
I think the guys have it covered. I actually think it's both. I find that low humidity makes them weak and more likely to damp off.

I use a little sprinkle of powdered sulfur at the base as a preventative and pans of water to keep the humidity up. But an antifungal like Coprolite suggested would be even better. Good luck and I feel your pain. It hurts to lose a little one.
ET

 

[inreplyavalon]

Thanks for your suggestions folks. I do appreciate it. A tough week it has been with these babies. After such success germinating. Lost at least 20 by now and a good 8-12 look like they are on their way out.

I am sure it is damping off. I am also sure that the rootzone temp was a comfortable 80 degrees and that the humidity was low. Unlikely any pathogen were in my coco as it was a dry bale that i hydrated myself with RO.

I went ahead and popped a few more seeds today. mostly Mazars and a few other freebees i have received. Yeah i know i should have tested out my method on these first. I was clearly over confident in my previous success' and was smacked upside the head by good ole reality.
This time around i saturated the coco with botanicare Aquashield. Hopefully that will help.

 

[EvilTwin]

IRP,
If you have some weak or wobbly ones...prop them up using straws like Harvest Time suggested or I use little twigs and wire ties. Seems I usually have to offer support to some of them.

And on the Aquashield. Are you sure about that? Seedlings are very sensitive and can burn so easily. I'm not familiar with that product...but I never put anything on media for the young ones.
ET