seedlings just kinda stopped growing???

[salgjkhaf]

ok so this is the second time this has happened to me. i have a seedling that is about 4 inches tall and is just barely starting to pull out its leaves from the cotyledons (sp?) the first time i chalked it up to the heat and putting under hps too soon, but now it's happening with 74 degree temps and flouros. i have the ph at 5.8 and ppms at 150. the water is RO water but the filters are almost ready for replacing. our tap water is pretty hard too so that 150 ppm might be calcium or chlorine. I have them in 1 inch rockwool cubes under a humidity dome. i water twice a day and i dont oversoak the cubes. and it just stopped growing and is slowly falling over day by day. this is day 3 of no growth. any ideas? thanks. i can take pics after i get off work today if need be.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

sounds like u overwatered it.... very hard without pics... might have been nute def or pythium, not too sure...

 

[salgjkhaf]

so would opening the vents on the humidity dome help? pics to come later tonight.

 

[wygram]

If they are four inches tall and just have cotelydons or one real set of leaves (which is what I think you said), then they are starving for light.

I believe you should reduce you watering to a semi-soak* every 3 - 4 days, like rooting cuttings in rockwool. * = dip the bottom quarter of the cube for long enough so that it draws in plenty but is not soaked. Let the roots seek moisture and give them oxygen.

 

[MynameStitch]

You should never use RO,distilled water on seedlings; the micros in there help the plant grow and without them they can cause problems and stop the growth.

Why not use tap water?
overwatering sounds like its a contributing factor as well
is the seedlings yellow or any discolration?

 

[salgjkhaf]

yeah pics!








the bigger one has not been growing for about 5 days now but still seems to be living. as you can see, they are in little net pots and the 1 inch rockwool cubes are under the hydroton pellets.

i opened the vent at the top of the humidity dome. i'm also giving them 200 ppm water now with ph of 5.9

and no discoloration that i can see. everything is a nice green.

i'll try that dip thing you're talking about next time i water wygram. and by the looks of things, how often do yall think i should water. temps are always between 68 and 75 and humidty is like 20%. lights on 20/4.

???

 

[SuperLarry]

i dont think you need a dome. i would take off the dome. and as far as i know you can water multiple times a day in hydroton. just dont let the rockwool get to waterlogged of it might rot, especially if its not breathing i would think. you can get your flourescent close to those little seedlings too. it shouldn't hurt them.

 

[statictattoo]

yah man take the dome off, i kept it on for a week my first attempt and my seedlings stretched pretty good. You are sposta take the dome off right after the seeds break the surface of the rockwool cubes, i missed that part in my growbible. I wont be making the same mistake again

Humidity is only 20%??? How can that be when you have a dome on there and your watering like 3 times a day.. which is way over watering btw.. Like i live in a very non humid place and i got like 50% humidity in my grow tent with just 10 cubes and no dome...

 

[salgjkhaf]

alrighty then. i took the dome off and put in underneath the tray so that the seedlings are now about 10 inches closer to the light and that makes them about 10 inches away from the light bulbs. and yeah my humidity is like 20 percent or less. anything less than 20 percent and my meter just reads LO. temps are 76. and i just gave them each 3 squirts of my water bottle. jsut tested the water and its at 350 ppm and 5.8 ph. good?

 

[wygram]

What are you using as light? Fluorescents should be within 1 inch of the plants. HPS at 10 in is too close and will kill seedlings.

 

[salgjkhaf]

my flouros are 4 2ft t8's i think. they are a mixture of the warm and cool colors. Total of 80 watts. my flouros are fixed to my ceiling so i'm limited to how close i can get them to the light.




so since i have a fan in that mom closet pulling about 200 cfm's through there, wont that dry out the rockwool really fast? thus needing to water more often?

 

[MynameStitch]

Those seedlings need more light, the light needs to be closer, those are stretched.
So I would get the light as close as possible, if you are using fluro tubes get them about a few cm away..... do not let them grow up into the ballast though, they can get burned.

ALso stop using distilled; you will pay for it in the end.......

 

[salgjkhaf]

alright, moved them closer to the lights. they are about 2 inches away now. but what about the watering thing. How often should i water the 1 inch rockwool cubes. should i try that thing wygram is talking about with dippin just the bottom of the cubes in water. but then how often do i do that? i know i'm water happy cause going dry can kill them quickly.

 

[statictattoo]

well I'm just a n00b but after readings lots and asking questions.. the answer to how often to water varries.. based on your enviroment. Some people need to water every 3-5 days... myself personally, after i messed up my last grow i did a lil test and well it took 2 and a half days to totally dry out my cubes and kill my plants..

Personally I pick the cubes up dry, get a feel for the weight flood them, get a feel for that weight... and then when they feel light they need a watering... I take my cubes and dip them in a glass about 1/2 down for 2-3 seconds, this allows the cube to suck up the needed water but not be to wet..
Hope this helps man

 

[salgjkhaf]

good news!!! the seedlings are perking up and staring at the lights again rather then slowly falling over!!! Huge thanks to everyone who helped me save my babies.

wygram and statictatoo,
i tried thatwatering method yall recommended and i'll let ya know how it works for me.

Thanks again

 

[salgjkhaf]

so it has been rouighly 24 hours since i tried that dipping of the cube watering thing and now one seedling has died. the top just kinda fell over. I didnt drop it or nothing. any ideas?

 

[MynameStitch]

Seedling looks like it got watered to death..... damping off could of done it too.
How often did you water that?
Not to mention you should not put them into hydroton or anything until roots start to show out of the cubes......

You using rockwool cubes? 4 in ones?

 

[statictattoo]

ouch, sorry to hear about your luck man, i feel your pain... better order up some more seeds just incase

And yah i was gonna say like stitch, from everything Ive read... your not sposta put the cubes into hydoton or a system till they are 2-3 weeks old.. like you keep all the rockwool together so it doesn't dry out as fast.. you should only be watering every couple days at this point i think.. i just watered mine for the first time since they got soaked, and I'm on day 4... hope that helps man, good luck.. I'm pullen for your babies!!
Day 3

 

[salgjkhaf]

more bad news. a second baby died. i've got a lot of other seeds from a pollenated grow. so i'll start some of those i suppose. still one growing good though. and it's one of my good seeds.

 

[MynameStitch]

Well, hopefully this won't happen anymore and is this seedling in the same situation?