Help, my seedling keep dying

[rangercj]

Hi, new here and need some help. I am starting my seeds in rock wool. They germinate and grow their first set of leaves and then die. Roots seem to grow to the end of the rock wool but won`t grow out of it. The roots are usually brown. I have killed more than I can count. I have had so much advice I don`t know what to do.

I have tried lots of water, keeping them wet, letting them dry out, adding dilute nutes, no nutes, special starter nutes, lots of light, no light.....

I must be making a basic mistake...this shouldn`t be as difficult as it is...

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

Keep the temps 75-80. If the rockwool is constantly wet they will rot. I don't saturate the rw. It should be just moist and feel quite light when you lift it. You don't need much light at all- even a small cfl will work

 

[420Steve]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

Yeah sounds like a typical case of to much water/moisture also use a humidity dome and try keep the Room Humidity at 80% once they start to show some leaves and most important advice be patient!

No nutrients try and give them distilled water from your local supermarket instead of tap water as tap water has loads of impurities.

75% Distilled water
25% Normal Tap water
PH: 6.3 (soil)
PH: 5.8 (hydroponically)

Do all those things and your pretty much increase your chances by almost 100%, i germinated my seeds in a wet paper towel in the dark, then once they sprouted i planted them into rockwoll and 2 - 3 days and she was good, few yellow leaves but it will grow new leaves so dont worry to much!

 

[PeytonManning]

Try this

CC's 2liter Coke Bottle Hempy Cloners

 

[5chord]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

How about this.......Just put it in the grow medium as soon as they show above the top of the Rockwool and start the grow?

 

[rangercj]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

By the sounds of it, I am drowning the babies. good news it's easy to fix. Also, patience was never my long suit.

Thanks to all.

 

[dirtybud]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

Does this make sense?
The rockwool at full saturation is too much water for a seedling. It should be saturated, squeezed gently (gently is relative). But the RW should be moist. As the plant grows and consumes more water, there is a point it can handle full saturation because the roots will take up the water quickly so it won't sit in water long. Roots sitting in water will die. Plain and simple. Roots need air. More than you thought.
Your experiments have too many variables due to your impatience, I'm afraid. But you will learn. You will also learn that there is a lot to learn for perfect grows ...
I like it because I can incorporate physics, biology, chemistry, thermodynamics, mechanical concepts, etc. I could go on and on. The more you know, the better you can apply the complexities of a perfect grow. Or you can simply go outside and push a seed in the ground and nature will do everything.

 

[rangercj]

Re: Help, my seedling keep dieing

My first two grow went well. Then I think I started chasing problems, was fixing one while the next was developing. I had an air hose partially off that was starving my res of O2, then a bout of larvae that were eating my roots, another weird growth of fungus or mold or something, replaced the batteries in my ph wand at some point and forgot to calibrate it, that cost a lot of plants their lives...Finally getting it thru my head about the over watering...roots need air, roots need air, roots need air

 

[dirtybud]

I've had all those problems. It sucks. Except for my roots being eaten. There are some hang up bug repellents. I've never had a problem with bugs after hanging a new one every 3 months.
Or do you mean bacteria buildup?
Use enzyme additive. It does work. My slime went away. My highs are 75 deg. F.