Slow, ugly seedlings

[Guest]

Hello, after taking a long break from growing I am beginning again with some Serious Seeds, Kali mist, I have sprouted 8 seedlings and they popped in no time.

I then planted them in Light warrior (which I am new to using).
The growth has been tremendously slow. They are 2 weeks old and are only about 1.5 inches tall. They have two sets of true leaves. they may be soo short due to the use of t5 lighting. They are also not very green, droopy leaves with some twists and turns in some. I began watering them with only RO water but then soon changed to feeding them 2.5 ml/gal. pbpG. due to the slow growth.My runoff with the nutes comes in at 6.9 Ph. I may also be overwatering due to the new medium, but i have let some go pretty much bone dry and that does not even help. this sucks!!!! I have never had this problem before. I have also transplanted one into a mix of 2 parts FFOF 1 part light warrior with some perlite and it seems to be a bit healthier, not so pale and not droopy at all. But still slow growth. Oh yea my temps are running between 70-76F with 24/7 lighting with an RH of about 30%. Help would be greatly appreciated I NEED THESE TO SPEED UP! thanks

 

[MynameStitch]

Your problem is using RO water on seedlings is a no no; it has low calcium and magneisum; you should wait untill the time you can feed your plants before using RO water.

Another thing; how often were you watering them?
Try tap water if your tap water is safe to use and not to hard and as long as you do not have a home water softner installed.

How close is the T5 lighting and how many watts?
T5 can grow good plants you just need to have them close and have enough watts.....

Dude you burned them, 2 sets of leaves in light warrior mix and 2 ml of PBPG....... and transplanting them into FFOF soil mixed with light warrior?

More humidity would help greatly with those seedlings; they need a little bit higher moisture level around 50%.

I think it's a mixture of you over watering and using RO water that caused them to grow slowly; you got pics of them?

Your ph is fine, how big of a pot or cups were these seedlings in?
How often were you watering them and how much?

Your temps are fine though a little low 70 is to cold for them; colder temps cause phosphorus to be absorbed slowly in plants and seedlings need a certain amount of it to promote healthy root growth.

You wanna keep temps around 75, not to warm otherwise anything like 85 and with you watering often can create fungus issues and damping off.

You have pics of these seedlings?

 

[Guest]

Hello Stitch, as always your feedback is greatly appreciated. I am watering the seedlings just about every other to every third day. When I water, I let water drip through the holes in the bottom of the cup. My Lighting setup is a 4 bulb t5 98 watts total and I keep its roughly 2-3 inches from the plants. I have no way of raising the humidity due to the season. In the past I have watered with RO all the way through but used FFOF mixed with coco coir instead of light warrior. When I water with my cities tap I notice a Lockout on nitrogen and have similar results that I am seeing now. To supplement magnesium could I feed with a bit of sweet? Pics to follow.

 

[Guest]

Well, I would love to upload the photos I just took but for some reason when it comes time to process them there is an error and it says the file format cannot be read, I am using 72 dpi JPEGS. ???? confused ???? I have uploaded before just fine

 

[Guest]

Green Algae on soil?

Green Algae on soil?

Well i just went and checked on my seedlings and noticed a slight green tint to some of the perlite in one of my cups. it is not in any of the other cups. I scooped out as much of the soil as i could. Is this algae? Should I take more action and remove the roots and seedling from the cup with algae? will this harm that plant or others if just left in the same cup? what causes this? I'll look around.

 

[MynameStitch]

Ya, ICMAG seems to be having that damn problem again...... I need to see pics before I can say anything. Tap water is NOT going to cause magnesium issues unless your water company is using a water softener and has sodium in your tap water.

THat would be more likely be due to the issue with plants wanting food rather than the tap water causing it if your company does not use a water softener.

I would not use anything on any seedlings to fix an issue; if there is an issue with seedlings the problem is the grower has made a mistake. How big are these seedlings?
How many leaves do they have on them?

 

[Guest]

4 leaves total and are 1.5-2 inches tall. They are actually looking better except the algae in the one cup.

 

[MynameStitch]

Alge growth means your soil is to moist which would cause your "slow ugly growth"

Get some h202 mixed with a little bit of water and water them; Since your RH is low your watering to frequently is the cause.


I would not disturb the soil, because the roots are very delicate right now; h202 will kill it.
How much water are you watering them and how often? WHat kind of cups are these in? Cocktail cups?
Dixon cups?

 

[Guest]

8 oz styrofoam cups. I water almost every other day if not every three days. When I water I water until water comes out the bottom.

 

[Guest]

I am watering the seedlings just about every other to every third day. When I water, I let water drip through the holes in the bottom of the cup.
Pics to follow.

That sounds like a lot of water for itty bitty and kinda sickly plants.

But my crystal ball is buggered

 

[Guest]

yea i am probably overwatering

 

[Guest]

read up on lifting the pot to judge moisture

Ya can't teach em ta swim - I've tried!

 

[10k]

heres a clickable link for the "lift the pot" method

hth

 

[Guest]

10k - a handy man to have around! lol

mus be important if he makes it his signature!


Watering is the first and single most important skill you will need

Get that right and your most the way home.

well accept for ph, humidity, ferts, cloning, hydro, aero, , , , , , , l,,,,,



edit - ya know,,,, the lift the pot thing assumes one starts with small pots - it don't work near so well with sprouts in 5 gallon containers - ok exageration but,, I transplant regurarly and often and feed very lightly till we have a hella root system

ideally - ya really want to water the plant slightly before it starts to wilt - or slightly after it starts to wilt - slight wilting is far better than slight overwatering - figguring regular plants - not sprouts - sprouts want a lil better care.

hang in there, you can do this

 

[Guest]

Yea guys I appreciate all of the concern and helpful feedback, the plants are looking better now that I have left them alone. I guess the reason why this whole situation is soo frustrating is cuz I have grown many times before and I am rusty since I have not done it in a while. But, everything should work out. I just want to harvest before mid march.