Hi all, I'm a first time grower and need a little help with my seedling. It is a Northern Lights feminized. I germinated it then placed it in a starter pellet of soil that came with my Pot for Pot 11 days ago. Yesterday I put it in a larger pot with Fox Farms soil. I haven't added anything else so far. This morning I noticed that the edges are turning pale. I have included pictures of the leaves as well as a picture of my grow tent set up. I initially had some issues getting the conditions right in the tent, but for the last 4 days the temp. has been between 73 - 77 degrees and the humidity has been between 65 - 70 percent. The light is about 19 inches from the top of the plant. Any ideas would really be appreciated.
Seedling problem
- Thread starter khoyle
- Start date
Hey K,
Welcome to 420. Were the roots visible sticking out of the peat pellet? Its ok either way but I’m curious. I‘ve never had success using those. I know other growers here have used them and they turned out ok. In my case I did rootopsy (autopsy on young but dead plants) and in several instances my roots never penetrated the outer membrane well enough to catch on.
I see that you have transferred them into the pressed fiber pots, we have seen probs with those before for same reason. The idea is that roots are supposed to grow right thru them but unless they are soaked for a week or two before use they don’t seem to work out quite right. If you do begin to soak them I suspect you may drench your soil.
How often do you water them? How much water do you use? What prompts you to add more water? I suspect slight overwatering by not letting soil dry out enough between watering sessions. Of course the light colored leaf tips could be caused by light bleaching. What’s the wattage draw of the blurple? The cheap Chinese lights often say 1000 watts but that’s hps equivalent when in reality it may only draw 90 watts
If there were no roots visible poking out from the peat pellet, I would consider removing the peat puck and snipping the outer membrane away and then transplant into a regular container and skip that fiber pot altogether.
my 2 cents - more peeps will jump in later
Welcome to 420. Were the roots visible sticking out of the peat pellet? Its ok either way but I’m curious. I‘ve never had success using those. I know other growers here have used them and they turned out ok. In my case I did rootopsy (autopsy on young but dead plants) and in several instances my roots never penetrated the outer membrane well enough to catch on.
I see that you have transferred them into the pressed fiber pots, we have seen probs with those before for same reason. The idea is that roots are supposed to grow right thru them but unless they are soaked for a week or two before use they don’t seem to work out quite right. If you do begin to soak them I suspect you may drench your soil.
How often do you water them? How much water do you use? What prompts you to add more water? I suspect slight overwatering by not letting soil dry out enough between watering sessions. Of course the light colored leaf tips could be caused by light bleaching. What’s the wattage draw of the blurple? The cheap Chinese lights often say 1000 watts but that’s hps equivalent when in reality it may only draw 90 watts
If there were no roots visible poking out from the peat pellet, I would consider removing the peat puck and snipping the outer membrane away and then transplant into a regular container and skip that fiber pot altogether.
my 2 cents - more peeps will jump in later
- Thread starter
- #3
Hi there and thanks for getting back to me!
I actually did not notice any roots sticking out of the peat pellet. I had read that the seedling should be ready for transplant in about 10 days as long as the second set of leaves were as long as the first set. I may have transplanted too soon. I'm trying to read up on the best time/conditions for it.
I did cut the outer membrane off before transplanting to the larger pot but left the soil from the pellet on the plant. The pressed fiber pot is only temporary until the cloth pots I ordered arrive, so it will be gone soon.
As for the watering questions: this is the very first plant that I have ever tried to grow. I started germination on 5/14 then put it in the peat pellet on 5/16. It has only been growing for 11 days so other than the initial soaking of the pellet I have just been spritzing it with a spray bottle. I only just transplanted to the bigger pot yesterday (5/26).
This is the light I'm using: 1000w LED Grow Light with Bloom and Veg
Choosing the light was the hardest part for me. I can't really afford a better one right now so I hope I didn't get a bad one. Any tips in this area would be really helpful!
I actually did not notice any roots sticking out of the peat pellet. I had read that the seedling should be ready for transplant in about 10 days as long as the second set of leaves were as long as the first set. I may have transplanted too soon. I'm trying to read up on the best time/conditions for it.
I did cut the outer membrane off before transplanting to the larger pot but left the soil from the pellet on the plant. The pressed fiber pot is only temporary until the cloth pots I ordered arrive, so it will be gone soon.
As for the watering questions: this is the very first plant that I have ever tried to grow. I started germination on 5/14 then put it in the peat pellet on 5/16. It has only been growing for 11 days so other than the initial soaking of the pellet I have just been spritzing it with a spray bottle. I only just transplanted to the bigger pot yesterday (5/26).
This is the light I'm using: 1000w LED Grow Light with Bloom and Veg
Choosing the light was the hardest part for me. I can't really afford a better one right now so I hope I didn't get a bad one. Any tips in this area would be really helpful!
Mayne
Well-Known Member
Hey man, can send the light back? and trade it for a Viparspectra p1500, ( $139) and might be a $40 coupon too, and $95 on ebay
Most excellent, you are in great shape then!! Yes it’s best to leave the soil around the roots and not disturb them, your water spritz method sounds perfect!! Photoperiods can be transplanted multiple times however most here agree that it’s not good to transplant an autoflower. For autos its best to start out in large final container.
All things considered you have done a terrific job and nailed it. Things move slow in soil but that’s a good thing - keep an eye on temp and rh. Growing is a lesson in patience
All things considered you have done a terrific job and nailed it. Things move slow in soil but that’s a good thing - keep an eye on temp and rh. Growing is a lesson in patience
- Thread starter
- #6
I will look into it. Thanks so much!
- Thread starter
- #7
I actually meant to add in the last post that I am using the Ocean Forest mix from FoxFarms. I checked on the website and it says that the mix is ok for a seedling and though it may show signs of nutrient burn initially, it will go away once the plant becomes accustomed to it. Maybe that was the problem?
Starter pellet of soil? Was it really soil or was it a pellet made up of compressed peat moss? I figure it was the peat moss.
Most likely the yellowing of the edges was the first sign of 11 days of nutrient starvation. Unlikely it would be caused by nutrient burn since you just transplanted into the Ocean Forest soil the day before and you did mention that the roots had not yet penetrated through the sides of the pellet.
Just keep an eye on the new leaves. A little tiny bit of yellow on the very tip of new leaves is not anything to worry about. Some growers consider that little bit a sign that the plant is sitting right on the very edge of getting the optimum amount of nutrients.
It is when the yellow area starts to get the size of a pencil eraser or larger that problems could be developing. If more than one leaf gets large yellow or brown areas then it is a good idea to check to see if something is going wrong.
- Thread starter
- #9
I'm pretty sure the pellet was peat moss. It came with my Pot for Pot kit. My husband and I were discussing whether it would be better to just put the seedling straight into the soil that I will be growing in. I've read that some people just germinate the seed right into the soil. Is it better to use my FoxFarms soil from the start?
I've been keeping a close eye on my little plant and it doesn't seem as though the yellowing is getting worse so that's good.
Thanks again for all the comments!
Mayne
Well-Known Member
nah, You'll be ok with FFOF. Its the go too for many, and like Wings said, it will grow into the nutes,..
AND, try to get that light if possible. You definitely wont regret it, and most likely double your harvest just with that change alone. and being your first grow experience, learning about different problems is different when you KNOW you at least have decent lighting to begin with.
Also, get a LUX meter if possible. pretty cheap, and well worth the money.
Also, calmag, a MUST. 150PPMs weekly till week 3 veg, 250 thru veg and flower, stop using at 3weeks to chop. then just use epsom from there.
Great growin to ya!, and take notes,lol..
AND, try to get that light if possible. You definitely wont regret it, and most likely double your harvest just with that change alone. and being your first grow experience, learning about different problems is different when you KNOW you at least have decent lighting to begin with.
Also, get a LUX meter if possible. pretty cheap, and well worth the money.
Also, calmag, a MUST. 150PPMs weekly till week 3 veg, 250 thru veg and flower, stop using at 3weeks to chop. then just use epsom from there.
Great growin to ya!, and take notes,lol..
Welcome to the forum @khoyle 
It's not going to starve with those cotyledons still being green, they're feed sacks for the baby, when they turn yellow, then the seedling needs some nutrients...the peat pellet was soaked too much, and it over watered the seedling
I only use the peat pellets for clones...I use Fox Farms Happy Frog for my seedlings, and FFOF for my bigger girls
The seedling can go right into the soil instead of being put into the pellet. And the seed itself could be put directly into the soil skipping the extra steps of using a paper towel and transplanting into a peat pellet only to put the peat pellet into the soil a week later.
You and I have discussed the peat pellet and peat pot topic a time or two. I am now sitting here, for several hours actually, thinking that we may be looking at the issue of root growth combined with using these peat moss based products all wrong.
The peat pellet and the peat pot are the same sort of growing device as a cloth pot or a plastic air pot. The roots do not grow through the sides of those and that is why some growers use them. The roots will not grow through the side of the peat pellet because the moisture is inside the pellet and the membrane on the side 'air prunes' the roots.
Put the pellet or peat pot into a larger pot of soil and then water beyond the pellet or pot and the roots will chase the moisture.
Done this for years:
Soak peat pellets in very weak root tonic, squeeze out excess water
Pop them into a fibre pot and nestle in with some kind of lite mix (don't water the mix)
Stand the fibre pots in weak feed solution and they will draw up the perfect amount of water and soften
Roots start to appear from from fibre pots in a week or so - put the whole lot directly into coco and carry on growing
Roots develop in peat, find a bit of nute in the soil, grow to find more through damp fibre pot
Hope that makes sense
Soak peat pellets in very weak root tonic, squeeze out excess water
Pop them into a fibre pot and nestle in with some kind of lite mix (don't water the mix)
Stand the fibre pots in weak feed solution and they will draw up the perfect amount of water and soften
Roots start to appear from from fibre pots in a week or so - put the whole lot directly into coco and carry on growing
Roots develop in peat, find a bit of nute in the soil, grow to find more through damp fibre pot
Hope that makes sense
I have the mental picture of your method from reading the message. Makes sense to me.
Y'all are over thinking it
I don't soak the pellets, just moisten them till they're soft so you can spray them when they dry out (ONLY SPRAY THE OUTSIDE, DO NOT SOAK THE PEAT), that's how you make the roots look for water and grow ...and I've never had them air prune themselves in peat pucks 
And, with seedlings, IMO it's better to germ in a cup of water, then a paper towel, then straight into FFHF...never had a problem
- Thread starter
- #17
OK the light is on the way, should be here tomorrow (thanks for the tip about the coupon!). I did get some calmag but I still have to study up on when to use it since I just have that one plant so far and it's not very big. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to mess with nutrients too much since I'm using FoxFarms, but I do have the meters to test water just in case. Also, this is the first time I've heard of using epsom. How do you go about that?
I took these pictures today. The discoloration around the edges hasn't gotten any worse and the 2nd set of leaves have gotten much longer plus, the third set is coming out. This is after 16 days of being in soil (the first 12 days it was in peat moss with no nutrients; the last four in the FoxFarms). I hope it will be ok because MochaBud has some 2 week pics of plants posted above that look very different and a whole lot better than this one:
Mayne
Well-Known Member
AWESOME, now, you can take the light out of the equation of possible failure.
This is your first grow, and it takes several sometimes to get things dialed in, so dont rush learning, just enjoy the process, and take notes like i said.
They are looking good by the way. just dont water them till they dry out almost entirely. Nice to have a spray bottle handy, and just spray the top of the soil to lightly wet to help with humidity around the plant, they enjoy it at this stage.
You want to give her about 250 par at this stage of life. The cool thing is, I will give you those measurements, you will just have to use a ruler to get the height correct. I will have it later for you, then you can get a general idea of what kind of intensity your getting.
as for the calmag. FFOF is pretty good at supplying enough till like week 4-5 of flower, but it wont hurt to get 100PPM in a week at least. If your using tap water, you should be OK, depending on the tapwater conditions itself.
PH is the important part of this, so just make sure you keep in the 6.4-6.8 range and you should be good for a while. when week 5-6 rolls around in flower, you might need to add nutes to push thru to harvest, depending on pot size and veg time of course.
This is your first grow, and it takes several sometimes to get things dialed in, so dont rush learning, just enjoy the process, and take notes like i said.
They are looking good by the way. just dont water them till they dry out almost entirely. Nice to have a spray bottle handy, and just spray the top of the soil to lightly wet to help with humidity around the plant, they enjoy it at this stage.
You want to give her about 250 par at this stage of life. The cool thing is, I will give you those measurements, you will just have to use a ruler to get the height correct. I will have it later for you, then you can get a general idea of what kind of intensity your getting.
as for the calmag. FFOF is pretty good at supplying enough till like week 4-5 of flower, but it wont hurt to get 100PPM in a week at least. If your using tap water, you should be OK, depending on the tapwater conditions itself.
PH is the important part of this, so just make sure you keep in the 6.4-6.8 range and you should be good for a while. when week 5-6 rolls around in flower, you might need to add nutes to push thru to harvest, depending on pot size and veg time of course.
Mayne
Well-Known Member
ok khoyle, These are from 14 inches from the light
1000 PAR @100%
750 PAR @ 75%
530 PAR @ 50%
410 PAR @ 37% ( half between 25/50%)
300 PAR @ 25%
250 PAR @ 22%
What you are aiming for is hitting DLI values. That is the amount of light the plant can take in 1 day.
The stage your at right now, you need 15 DLI, so thats 16 hours of 260 PAR. Every 7 days, increase PAR by 50. so, in 7 days from now, you want 300 PAR, or about 25%. In 5 weeks, you will be at 50% or about 530 PAR. Right where you want to be in veg, which at 16 hours a day, and 530 par, gives you 30 DLI, which is the high end for great production, of course, as long as everything else is in tune. 15-30 DLI in veg is the target, so 30 is very good.
now, with having the 1 light, I think a 6-7 week veg is about the max, depending on width of the plant. You definitely want to learn low stress training and topping, because you want the plant to lay out as much as possible, to keep a level canopy.
Once you flip to flower, start the 50 PAR increase every 7 days again, till you reach 75%. So thats 4 weeks into flower. Then, increase 50 PAR every 14 days, and this really depends on the size of the plant, and how well you kept your canopy level. If the plant got large, your going to have to raise the light to increase the footprint, but also will decrease the PAR. You can always move the light around periodically if your always around it, lol.. SO keep that i n mind.
But even at 750 PAR, your getting 32 DLI, and you need at least 30 for good growth. There is speculation on 45 or 60 DLI in flower, but it seems back and forth on that one.
Hey, hope that helps you out some, great growin to you!
1000 PAR @100%
750 PAR @ 75%
530 PAR @ 50%
410 PAR @ 37% ( half between 25/50%)
300 PAR @ 25%
250 PAR @ 22%
What you are aiming for is hitting DLI values. That is the amount of light the plant can take in 1 day.
The stage your at right now, you need 15 DLI, so thats 16 hours of 260 PAR. Every 7 days, increase PAR by 50. so, in 7 days from now, you want 300 PAR, or about 25%. In 5 weeks, you will be at 50% or about 530 PAR. Right where you want to be in veg, which at 16 hours a day, and 530 par, gives you 30 DLI, which is the high end for great production, of course, as long as everything else is in tune. 15-30 DLI in veg is the target, so 30 is very good.
now, with having the 1 light, I think a 6-7 week veg is about the max, depending on width of the plant. You definitely want to learn low stress training and topping, because you want the plant to lay out as much as possible, to keep a level canopy.
Once you flip to flower, start the 50 PAR increase every 7 days again, till you reach 75%. So thats 4 weeks into flower. Then, increase 50 PAR every 14 days, and this really depends on the size of the plant, and how well you kept your canopy level. If the plant got large, your going to have to raise the light to increase the footprint, but also will decrease the PAR. You can always move the light around periodically if your always around it, lol.. SO keep that i n mind.
But even at 750 PAR, your getting 32 DLI, and you need at least 30 for good growth. There is speculation on 45 or 60 DLI in flower, but it seems back and forth on that one.
Hey, hope that helps you out some, great growin to you!
