Very small seedlings died

F

Faithin420

420 Member
Hello,

I started this grow a little over 3 weeks ago. I used the paper towel method to germinate six seeds. They all tap rooted apart from one and then got potted into very small grey paper/cardboard pots not sure how big but definatley less then one litre. I used tropic mix, which is 70% coco and 30% perlite with some charge premixed in. I was only using plain 0 e.c water heated to 27 degreen celsius. The first two that popped sadly stretched while I was away for 2 days, the other three popped healthitly woth stronger looking stems. The day after, the original and what would have been the first set of true leaves started to yellow so I put 2 drops of canna rhizotonic in 1 litre of water ph'ed to 5.9. They perked up after this and continued to grow. I will now (if I can find out how) post a photo of this point when they were doing okay...
 
Then 2 if them started shrivelling there leaves, and their stems started to flatten. The stretch ones at first then the healthier one turns their leaves down and went really crunchy but oddly still green. All in 2-3 days time. You may have to zoom in to see these next picture.
 
While they died very quickly due to being very small. I am determined not to give up and will try again. I very much appreciate anybody who takes the time to have a look. This is my first time posting on a forum. So please message me if there any detail needed that I have left out and will post the information as soon as I can.

Many thanks,
Faith
 
it's sometimes hard to tell why seedlings at such a young age die.
I'm not sure about your mix and can't comment on it.
I don't know what you're using for lighting
Seedlings are sensitive to humidity at this age... range is at 50% plus
Did you dome them at all?
Wish I had better answers for you, I hate to see seedlings die
Keep at it though
 
I habe two seedlings not doing so well right now out of 5 aswell. Truth is sometimes they just all dont make it sometimes. My best guess would be you overwatered them. I dont know the brand coco you are using but maybe it was something in the soil that killed them. Humidity is a biggie for young plants and they will want def higher than 50%. How hot did it get while they were in there? My two that are doing crummy right now are smaller than yours and one has white true leaves and the other has no true leaves. The other 3 I have are doing great. Id make sure you know whats in your soil. If its too hot (meaning ph and nutrients in the medium) your plant will not do so well. Wait till your plants are 4 weeks to start adding nutes. And be patient dont over water. I want to say thats why yours died. Wait till the soil is completely dry or ive heard in coco mostly dry. Rule of thumb is if its dry to your 1st knuckle you can add water.
 
with coco, you never want it to dry out.
It drains so well though, that overwatering is never a problem
I have 2 seedlings that sprouted last Sunday and they are already on nutes
As soon as I saw the first true leaves emerge, they got nutes
remember that coco is not soil and should never be treated as such
it's basically inert and has nothing in it
That being said, the ppm or EC of the solution is very weak indeed
 

Hey Stunned,

Yep. I thought so myself (sometimes its hard to tell whu when theyre so small). I am using a 900w led for the first time. It was juat over half a meter away. Humidity i kept between 60-65% maybe thats too high?

They were in a heated propagator with the lid off as my partber felt because of the condensation settling inside of lid nit all of the light could get through.

Your time and good wishes are much appreacited. Ive got to start posting threads for my grows that dont go wrong!

Thank you,
Faith
 
Stunned said:
it's sometimes hard to tell why seedlings at such a young age die.
I'm not sure about your mix and can't comment on it.
I don't know what you're using for lighting
Seedlings are sensitive to humidity at this age... range is at 50% plus
Did you dome them at all?
Wish I had better answers for you, I hate to see seedlings die
Keep at it though
Click to expand...

Hey Stunned,

Yep. I thought so myself (sometimes its hard to tell whu when theyre so small). I am using a 900w led for the first time. It was juat over half a meter away. Humidity i kept between 60-65% maybe thats too high?

They were in a heated propagator with the lid off as my partber felt because of the condensation settling inside of lid nit all of the light could get through.

Your time and good wishes are much appreacited. Ive got to start posting threads for my grows that dont go wrong!

Thank you,
Faith
 
Sprouts need four things.

Some light. They don't really need much for they are small and almost in an automatic mode. But if you provide a good amount of light, make sure it's not too close. I recommend 30 inches for anything more powerful than a CFL.

They need high humidity. The leaves absorb almost as much water as the roots. (70-80% RH) Condensation is not a bad thing. I had it almost all the time when my plants were sprouts.

Some water, this is a kicker because most of us wet something way more than what is needed. Until the roots grow, we must provide an atmosphere that will keep them alive, but also not rot the roots. This is where the dome comes in. If using a peat cup, water from the bottom. Put water in a tray and let the peat cup absorb enough to be moist, and pour the rest out. If using a peat pod, do the same. This should not take much maybe 1-2 oz total, and will probably keep them alive for 4-7 days. More like 7 if you are not opening the dome. You should every day just to exchange the air.

Warm (70-84 deg F)......seedlings do not like being cold. It stunts their growth. (or can depending on the strain).

Dirt is hard to start growing in, but if you learn to do it, everything is much easier to grow in (in my opinion).

I don't know if this helps, but from experience, this is the most critical stage. Once you have some real leaves, things get easier.
 
Jazz Kiwi said:
I habe two seedlings not doing so well right now out of 5 aswell. Truth is sometimes they just all dont make it sometimes. My best guess would be you overwatered them. I dont know the brand coco you are using but maybe it was something in the soil that killed them. Humidity is a biggie for young plants and they will want def higher than 50%. How hot did it get while they were in there? My two that are doing crummy right now are smaller than yours and one has white true leaves and the other has no true leaves. The other 3 I have are doing great. Id make sure you know whats in your soil. If its too hot (meaning ph and nutrients in the medium) your plant will not do so well. Wait till your plants are 4 weeks to start adding nutes. And be patient dont over water. I want to say thats why yours died. Wait till the soil is completely dry or ive heard in coco mostly dry. Rule of thumb is if its dry to your 1st knuckle you can add water.
Click to expand...

Hey Jazz Kiwi,

I thought it could possibly be overwatering too. The temps were kept between 25-30 degree celsius. The temos of the warer were the same. In terms of not feed nutes, Ive hear dof not giving them for the first 2 weeks... 4 weeks... ill keep this in mind as my last crop got purple stems early on. This time round i jumped the gun when they started yellowing.

Again i appreciate you taking the time to read and look at my thread. I hope yours get better too :)

Thanks,
Faith
 
Bonsaiweed said:
Sprouts need four things.

Some light. They don't really need much for they are small and almost in an automatic mode. But if you provide a good amount of light, make sure it's not too close. I recommend 30 inches for anything more powerful than a CFL.

They need high humidity. The leaves absorb almost as much water as the roots. (70-80% RH) Condensation is not a bad thing. I had it almost all the time when my plants were sprouts.

Some water, this is a kicker because most of us wet something way more than what is needed. Until the roots grow, we must provide an atmosphere that will keep them alive, but also not rot the roots. This is where the dome comes in. If using a peat cup, water from the bottom. Put water in a tray and let the peat cup absorb enough to be moist, and pour the rest out. If using a peat pod, do the same. This should not take much maybe 1-2 oz total, and will probably keep them alive for 4-7 days. More like 7 if you are not opening the dome. You should every day just to exchange the air.

Warm (70-84 deg F)......seedlings do not like being cold. It stunts their growth. (or can depending on the strain).

Dirt is hard to start growing in, but if you learn to do it, everything is much easier to grow in (in my opinion).

I don't know if this helps, but from experience, this is the most critical stage. Once you have some real leaves, things get easier.
Click to expand...

Hello Bonsaiweed,

I will definatley try all of this out. Especially that peat pot watering method. Sounds like your talking from experience. (Not that the rest of you arent of course). I take into mind when reading of other peoples experinces, that different methods work for different people in different climates. I just havent found mine yet, so Im asking around :)

I was considering trying in soil at some point. Do you feel its better then coco? Also I heard you cannot put soil in autopot systems is that true?

Thank you for your advice, knowledge and time,
Faith
 
Faithin420 said:
Hello Bonsaiweed,

I will definatley try all of this out. Especially that peat pot watering method. Sounds like your talking from experience. (Not that the rest of you arent of course). I take into mind when reading of other peoples experinces, that different methods work for different people in different climates. I just havent found mine yet, so Im asking around :)

I was considering trying in soil at some point. Do you feel its better then coco? Also I heard you cannot put soil in autopot systems is that true?

Thank you for your advice, knowledge and time,
Faith
Click to expand...

I don't try to compare different media it's just not fair. Each media has its advantages and disadvantages.

Coco, works well but needs water often. I actually missed that you are using coco in the peat cups.

That was a HUGE mistake on my part (I do make quite a few mistakes)!!!

Soil is natures way. That is what I use. But is the hardest (in my opinion)

I don't know if coco will wick up water (never grown in it), but the peat cup will. If I were using coco, I would always make sure the peat cup is moist, and has a little water around its base. You may have to put it in a saucer and put water in the saucer to keep it moist enough.

Coco, as I understand cannot be too wet, although you can water too often. Once a day is typical, but I don't know about a sprout/seedling.

I would use a small rockwood cube or something else to put the seed in before putting it in coco. The coco just dries out so fast. (this is my opinion only)

@Stunned is right about the nutrients, and the moisture. He is growing in coco, so his advice is golden at this point.
 
Bonsaiweed said:
I don't try to compare different media it's just not fair. Each media has its advantages and disadvantages.

Coco, works well but needs water often. I actually missed that you are using coco in the peat cups.

That was a HUGE mistake on my part (I do make quite a few mistakes)!!!

Soil is natures way. That is what I use. But is the hardest (in my opinion)

I don't know if coco will wick up water (never grown in it), but the peat cup will. If I were using coco, I would always make sure the peat cup is moist, and has a little water around its base. You may have to put it in a saucer and put water in the saucer to keep it moist enough.

Coco, as I understand cannot be too wet, although you can water too often. Once a day is typical, but I don't know about a sprout/seedling.

I would use a small rockwood cube or something else to put the seed in before putting it in coco. The coco just dries out so fast. (this is my opinion only)

@Stunned is right about the nutrients, and the moisture. He is growing in coco, so his advice is golden at this point.
Click to expand...

Thats fair! Its interesresting. When the problems started i was watering 5ml a day each as the soil had started to dry up quicker about 2 days previously. So i stopped watering thinking that this was the issue. It only got worse after that. Considering what yourself and stunned say keeping the coco moist would have been better with coco's easy drain nature.

All opinions are welcome. Im very happy to have such a warm welcome and the advice/help others. When my new seeds arrive I shall start a new thread. Hopefully a happier one with things going more the way they should. All of you are welcome of course :)

Thanks,
Faith
 
Faithin420 said:
Thats fair! Its interesresting. When the problems started i was watering 5ml a day each as the soil had started to dry up quicker about 2 days previously. So i stopped watering thinking that this was the issue. It only got worse after that. Considering what yourself and stunned say keeping the coco moist would have been better with coco's easy drain nature.

All opinions are welcome. Im very happy to have such a warm welcome and the advice/help others. When my new seeds arrive I shall start a new thread. Hopefully a happier one with things going more the way they should. All of you are welcome of course :)

Thanks,
Faith
Click to expand...

If you start a new journal....... (hint hint)

Just tag us by adding @ right in front of our name. There has to be a space on each end, one before the @ and one after our name. That will alert us to the thread.

Like @Stunned
 
Im a new grower but I made the mistake of taking the lid off my babies to early and fried them. The condensation on the lid will not affect their growth at all. If anything this is a good thing as you know there is moisture in the dome for the leaves to suck up. Youre babies havent absorbed enough through their leaves to develop a good root system yet so when you take that lid off your taking away its main source of water.
 
Faithin420 said:
Thats fair! Its interesresting. When the problems started i was watering 5ml a day each as the soil had started to dry up quicker about 2 days previously. So i stopped watering thinking that this was the issue. It only got worse after that. Considering what yourself and stunned say keeping the coco moist would have been better with coco's easy drain nature.

All opinions are welcome. Im very happy to have such a warm welcome and the advice/help others. When my new seeds arrive I shall start a new thread. Hopefully a happier one with things going more the way they should. All of you are welcome of course :)

Thanks,
Faith
Click to expand...
To me that sounds like a very small amount of water bro. I dont know coco though.
 
Ah okay more water on the next run for sure! I was being to coy I think. Also I read somewhere that with young seedlings underwatering can look like overwatering. Will definatley invite you all to the new thread!

Thanks,
Faith
 

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