Plant Stunned - Very Slow Growth

[iuefhefhswef]

Hello everyone,
This is my very first grow, I have researched the techniques of growing, what materials to use at each stage of growth. However, a problem during the seedling stage arises. My plant stopped growing, its been more than 3 weeks and my plant is still stuck on a very small size in the seedling stage (picture attached).
I have looked up reasons that might be causing this, but found nothing significantly wrong with what I am providing to the plant. Here is my situation:

Seeds are not a strain, just ones i pulled off a bud I got one day (I have plenty of those, more than 50, so I can always start again.. however I feel bad whenever I fail with one.. feels like I'm killing the poor thing)

My soil is a regular potting soil (Photos attached), from what I understood, it is not very high on heavy nutrients that could harm the plant at early stages.

I am watering with regular tap water which I also drink from, unfortunately I lack the materials to adjust the PH level, but I believe the PH level of this water is around 7, which isn't a disaster

I have the plants under a 6400K 23W fluorescent bulb, I noticed some stretch in the seedling earlier so i raised it and the stretch has stopped, but so did the growth

Please note that I am very limited on resources, living in a 3rd world country, I can hardly find the minimum equipment needed for growth.

Any ideas of what I could be doing wrong? please advice on what should be done, any help is appreciated.

 

[Scientific]

The plants look healthy, if small. I'd suggest moving them closer to the light and putting up some reflecting material to capture more of the very limited number of lumens you have. (You're going to need another bulb soon.)

Just my .02. Good luck!

 

[iuefhefhswef]

The plants look healthy, if small. I'd suggest moving them closer to the light and putting up some reflecting material to capture more of the very limited number of lumens you have. (You're going to need another bulb soon.)

Just my .02. Good luck!

Thank you for your input

I added another bulb, and raised the plants up a bit .. now waiting to see if they grow. I'm also looking to get a box and cover its sides with kitchen foil, do you think that would be enough to provide proper reflection?

I hope the soil I'm using isn't too high in nutrients to cause a nutrients burn at this stage, I'd appreciate if someone familiar with the type of soil that should be used can help me out

 

[CannaKitty]

Very little light emits from the tip of the cfl... about 90% of the light on a cfl bulb emits from the sides. You need to hang cfls horizontally... your plants aren't getting any of that light!

It also says right on your bag "slow release fertilizer added" which is generally a big no no in the cannabis growing world. You want real organic soil because those nutrients are going to end up throwing your soil out of whack in the long run... and may very well be burning your seedlings.

I'd recommend rehanging your cfls in the correct fashion and transplanting (when safe) to a soil that does not have time release nutrients.

xxKitty

Edit: Kitchen foil is also a no go ... with the cfls you will get hot spots from the aluminum. What you see people lining with is in fact mylar... not metal.

 

[iuefhefhswef]

I'd recommend rehanging your cfls in the correct fashion and transplanting (when safe) to a soil that does not have time release nutrients.

Thank you for your input, yeah I figured the light was scattering and being wasted, so when I added an additional bulb I sat them up horizontally, and I can actually see that the older plant starting growing back again, although still at a slower rate than it should. I'm looking to make a box with mylar on the sides later on.

As for the soil, I do not currently have access to another organic soil, so what i'll be doing is mixing some of this nutrient rich one that I have with regular soil from outside.. this will hopefully produce a mixture with lower nutrient content that my seedlings can grow better in. I realize this can further stun the plants, but I am working with the limited options that I have, I'll keep you posted so that others can learn from my experience.

On a different topic, I am trying to blindly adjust the pH levels of my water (since i do not have a pH meter). I made an initial guess that tab water would have a pH of around 7, and since I do not have access to professional material, I am using citric acid to slightly lower the pH, anyone knows if this is actually viable? and what other alternatives I can use to lower pH (preferably something organic that is conveniently available in a house kitchen)

 

[Weaselcracker]

If your water is 7 that's fine and I would just leave it.

The biggest cause of slow growth in young plants is overwatering. Cannabis doesn't like having wet feet and it basically stands still when the soil stays wet, or can die if it's too wet. Roots grow best when the soil is quite dry.

Try the soil in the bag- take a handful with one hand and squeeze it. It should form a bit of a clump which falls apart quite easily when you let go. If it stays compacted it's too wet. If it doesn't compact at all it's too dry.
That's how moist your soil should be for these initial stages. Later on when the plant has a good root system filling the pot you can soak it down then let it drink it for a few days or week or whatever it takes to become dry again. This wet-dry cycle is the normal way people water it. But in the seedling stage just keep it dry/barely moist- especially if it's in a pot much larger than the plant is, as your is.

 

[CannaKitty]

Oh great! The lights will work so much better for you that way!

As far as the soil goes... If it is your only option, before you mix it, You can rid the soil of most of the time released fertilizer with a thorough flush of the soil. Run water through the soil with it in a large container with drain holes. Repeat this process many times to remove the fertilizer... flushing out the bad shit. if you do this before you use it you and let it dry, you can get rid of most of the stuff you don't want.

I wouldn't worry about adjusting tap water honestly. Unless you have a print out of your water content and quality from the water company (you can call and get this in most areas). Call the number on your water bill and they can give you an idea what you are working with. Soil can buffer water with a ph between 6 and 7 pretty well. You may be causing more harm than good trying to mess with it blindly. Soil is forgiving in that it can help your plants process water that might not be exactly 'perfect'.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

XxKitty