First grow: White Widow growth issue?

GrowSlow

420 Member
Hey everyone, first time grower looking for some advice. I picked up some White Widow fem seeds from Crop Seed Kings. I germinated one seed without any issues and was surprised how quickly the process was. I'm on day 17 since the seedling popped out of the soil and her growth seems very slow.

I put the germinated seed in some organic soil (0.3-0.1-0.1) and perlite in a solo cup. Once she sprouted I put her under a Mars Hydro 240W LED light about 24" away as per the light instructions. The seedling is in a 3x2 closet with the door open about 1/2 inch and a fan blowing in fresh air. The temperature varies between 73-70 depending on if the light is on. Light cycle is 18-6. Humidity had been around 50-55% but over the last two days has dropped to about 40% (working on getting it back up). I've been using tap water that has a pH of 7, letting it sit for at least 24 hours so the chlorine dissipates. Im going to pick up a pH meter tomorrow to check soil.

I'm worried I have a dud and I'm wasting my time but I'm also brand new to this so I don't want to chuck her out if she's salvagable. I'm open to any suggestions, thanks!

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Other's have it covered.

I'd add a couple of observations. I'm a n00b midway though my first grow, but I'm extremely observant. Still, take this with a grain of salt and think before applying it to your setup. Wish my tap spewed 7, MJ likes it a little sour side. 6 to 6.5 for soil, a point lower for hydro?, IIRC. I wouldn't worry too much about soil Ph unless I dug it from the yard or I dumped crazy Ph on it over time, but a good flush would sort that without expense.

2nd, the depth of soil in pots should equal the diameter of the pot especially when roots are fragile. This makes sure that the whole root ball will come out as one instead if in sections. When you take them out of the germ cups, do it when they're dry. Let the plants droop a little. It will shrink the soil away from the edged and give it a firmer texture so it won't crumble. Do it right after watering and you're spooning raw batter instead of a nice loaf out of the oven.

3rd Your soil is already amended so don't add nutes until after final transplant and the plant asks for them.

4th Research PAR and get the girls in the right range. 800's the ideal from all I've read. I start seedlings around 400 and let them tell me where to go from there. They will take higher than 800, but only up to a point and depending on variables. Most of the ads on Amazon have the cone chart as on of the pics. Mylar can increase PAR up to 25%, but there are variables, biggest being air space between plant and reflective material. Too little space, less 'echo', too much distance and no 'echo'. There's a happy medium.

5th No matter what you read or are told, you need to understand where your givens might differ from the advisor and apply it to your garden with your givens. In other words, don't go off half-cocked, look before leaping, all that jazz. If your plant has a symptom, don't treat it for the first thing you found that it 'looked like', make sure there's nothing else that could be a possibility. Don't put a tourniquet on for a scratch or splinter is the general idea.

I've done nothing but make sure I know where I am with PAR and water them with correct Ph and I can't kill them. And I've tried. I got cute with the nutes at first and had an issue. Flushed the plant, stopped the nutes and they've been going for 3 months with just water. I just started adding an 1/8 of the smallest dose every other watering and I'll go from there. I researched the deficiency symptoms so I can see it right away and adjust accordingly.

Should get you started.
 
I
they've been going for 3 months with just water.

I need to explain this, it's been a month since last transplant so the newest and greatest mass of soil is only one month old. I could get cute and dose just the center where it's most depleted, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it is my motto. If the plant asks I'll be more than happy to provide, but I'll never force-feed again.
 
Thank you all for the responses, especially BustedFist for your detailed response. I've backed the light up and will reduce watering (I've only watered 3 times, at most 1/4 cup).

I'll update in a few days if anyone is interested!
 
It likely will recover; I'm growing 3- CropKing's Cali OG Kush and right now the smallest initial plant that appeared not to be able to make it is now competing to be the biggest plant.
Hopefully, you did make drainage holes in the cups; I personally split the cups mine were in three ways (ease of removal for when I transplanted) and put those cups in another one with holes made a heated screwdriver.
I also added more soil while they were in them to keep from getting too leggy.
 
This Crop King WWF is 3 weeks old under a Viparspectra 600 VT light @40". The light is set at 5%veg 1%bloom, 44 watts total. At 44 watts the plant still shows some light yellowing. Light was set at 40v-15b @40" which was too much causing light burn, turn down to 25v-5b, still to much, got it at 5v-1b now. LEDs need to be farther from plant than most think. Too much light shows up later as a calcium deficiency which leads to other growth problems.
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This Crop King WWF is 3 weeks old under a Viparspectra 600 VT light @40". The light is set at 5%veg 1%bloom, 44 watts total. At 44 watts the plant still shows some light yellowing. Light was set at 40v-15b @40" which was too much causing light burn, turn down to 25v-5b, still to much, got it at 5v-1b now. LEDs need to be farther from plant than most think. Too much light shows up later as a calcium deficiency which leads to other growth problems.
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Excellent info. I'm lucky that I only used the Veg side of my light at first or I'd have done a major mischief to the seedlings. Didn't know any better at the time, but it gave me time in my first grow to make the mistake without consequence. Hopefully PAR meters come down in price now that more gardens are springing up. Either that or people learn to read PAR charts.
 
Forgot one thing on your OQ, your temps are also too low for seedlings, temps need to be 80-82F.. Once you get your soil to the proper moisture level you can put a cut out water bottle over the cup to raise your humidity and temps. Poke a few small holes around the bottom and top of bottle for vents. Good luck
 
The plant is nutrient locked ph wise. I think your ph is too high with 7.0 tap and likely a high ph soil. Why do I say? Well phosphorous in soil grown plants is best available 6.5-7.5 and a deficiency is shown through purple stems like yours. So to fix I would get some soil acidifier. Espoma makes a good one. I think your final runoff ph could even be over 8.0 as the plant has a general overall chlorosis which could be a nitrogen deficiency as it gets locked out around the 8.0 mark. Again the acidifier would fix that too.
 
The plant is nutrient locked ph wise. I think your ph is too high with 7.0 tap and likely a high ph soil. Why do I say? Well phosphorous in soil grown plants is best available 6.5-7.5 and a deficiency is shown through purple stems like yours. So to fix I would get some soil acidifier. Espoma makes a good one. I think your final runoff ph could even be over 8.0 as the plant has a general overall chlorosis which could be a nitrogen deficiency as it gets locked out around the 8.0 mark. Again the acidifier would fix that too.

I'm picking up a pH meter this evening so I'll check the soil. I did increase the heat and backed the light up and she looked like she was starting to come around. I also started germinating two more seeds to see if this one plant is a dud.
 
Here's an update from a few hours ago. Light has been at 40" away and temp around 75-77f. Struggling with humidity as it's been around 45-50. Been misting water inside the room (some got on leaves in pic). The soil is just starting to feel dry until 1/4" down. The leaves appear to be yellowing, burn from light or nutrient lockout? I'm using Myke organic soil that says it feeds for 16 weeks, haven't added any nutrients.

Picked up a pH kit today and tested my tap water which seems to be around 7.5? See pic below, I can't really tell. I got some pH down and got my water jar to around 6.5. I don't know what my plants soil pH is as I am just getting the soil dried out from potentially overwatering. I want to test the soil but I would have to get runoff and potentially overwater it again. Do I test the soil now or wait until it needs to be watered using the 6.5 pH'd water and catch some of the runoff for testing?
 

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Your problem isnt ph so much as it still looks too wet and too much light. To correct water add white vinager or lemon juice for ph down and baking soda for ph up. Seedling is looking better. Make sure there are holes to drain in the cup or up pot it to help get the moisture level down. Set the plant at the edge of the lights foot print will help it come back from light burn.
 
Your problem isnt ph so much as it still looks too wet and too much light. To correct water add white vinager or lemon juice for ph down and baking soda for ph up. Seedling is looking better. Make sure there are holes to drain in the cup or up pot it to help get the moisture level down. Set the plant at the edge of the lights foot print will help it come back from light burn.


I do have holes all around the solo cup and on the bottom. Maybe not enough perlite. It's hard to keep temps above 77 as the LED doesn't give off any heat, the humidity is at 45% so it should be drying out. Moved the plants to the side of the light. Thanks for tips.
 
Forgot, your ph looks like its closer to 8, drop it to 6.5-6.0 with any of the acids i listed. You can set a bowl of water in front of a fan to help raise humidity. Warm her up as much as you can, 82 F is your target temp for seedlings.
 
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