Seedling help?

[jokerlola]

I'm still trying to master the seedling stage. I just popped another seed to fill my legal quota for my outdoor grow. The the seedling sprouted on June 7th (4 days ago). I had pre-saturated the soil (Peat and perlite) in the Solo cup before planting the germinated seed. I have not given the seedling any additional water since it popped up 4 days ago. The cup still has weight to it (155 grams). I keep forgetting to weigh the cup with dry soil but a empty solo cup weighs 11 grams. The surface of the soil is looks and feels dry but I'm leary to spray or add water to the surface because of potential damp off.

I read that I should be spraying the soil daily but when I was doing that last year when first trying seeds, I kept losing them to damp off.

Should I spray the soil surface or because there is definitely moisture in the soil, leave it be until the weight gets lighter?

 

[Carcass]

I water them a little bit daily, but I use a squirt bottle, and don't get the stem wet.
Although- it's a fungus that causes damping off, so, if she's going to damp off, she may do it whether the stem gets wet or not, but I stay on the safe side, and keep the stem as dry as possible...

edit* You should weigh a dry pot for comparison- you don't want to water the seedling at all if her soil is already pretty wet...

 

[Sueet]

Unless you see the seedling drooping as if it needs water, just let it dry until it feels like almost nothing to pick up.

 

[jokerlola]

Unless you see the seedling drooping as if it needs water, just let it dry until it feels like almost nothing to pick up.

It doesn't seem to be drooping. When the cup does get light or the seedling droops, should I water from the bottom or the top?

 

[Sueet]

I don't know that it actually matters, if it does maybe I do it wrong. I just water from the top since I want the whole media saturated and that isn't easy to do from the bottom. Especially if there is peat in your mix, it can be pretty hydrophobic when it gets very dry.

 

[jokerlola]

I don't know that it actually matters, if it does maybe I do it wrong. I just water from the top since I want the whole media saturated and that isn't easy to do from the bottom. Especially if there is peat in your mix, it can be pretty hydrophobic when it gets very dry.

I have been able to water from the bottom with the double cup method. Filling up a solid Solo cup with about half water and putting the seedling cup inside of it. It wicks the water up from the bottom. But I don't know if it's better to water from the top.

 

[skirk]

These were my dry and wet weights when I used 16oz. solo cups. My rule of thumb was to add water when I got to within 15g of dry weight and keep 10g below wet weight. Using the condiment squeeze bottle in the second pic, I water very slowly in a circular pattern radiating out from the stem. I've never tried misting. My mix is equal parts FFOF, FFHF and perlite.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'm still trying to master the seedling stage. I just popped another seed to fill my legal quota for my outdoor grow. The the seedling sprouted on June 7th (4 days ago). I had pre-saturated the soil (Peat and perlite) in the Solo cup before planting the germinated seed. I have not given the seedling any additional water since it popped up 4 days ago. The cup still has weight to it (155 grams). I keep forgetting to weigh the cup with dry soil but a empty solo cup weighs 11 grams. The surface of the soil is looks and feels dry but

A cannabis seedling will quickly grow a root that's a couple of inches long, if that helps. Merely being dry on top is largely immaterial after the first couple of days. How do you think wild sprouts (of anything) survive that first sunny/hot day in Spring when the sunlight dries out the top of the ground?

Next grow, start several extra cannabis seeds (anything, the seed or two you found in a random lid you bought at some point during the last couple of years and never got around to tossing, or whatever). At the end of day two, carefully dump the cup and observe the root(s). Do the same thing after two more days and, if "experiment fodder" seeds are plentiful enough, a few more times after that. The knowledge gained will aid you in determining how often (and, to some extent, how) to water your seedlings.

 

[jokerlola]

So my seedling appears to have fallen over but it continues to progress. It was sticking straight up. Then about 3 days ago, I noticed it was leaning at an angle like you see here. I thought it was just leaning and stretching for the light but this morning when I was weighing it, it was flopping back and forth and upon closer inspection, it hasn’t flopped all the way over because the first true leaves hit the side of the cup. Since I noticed it leaning or fallen 3 days ago, it has continued to progress. The first true leaves keep getting bigger and the second set of true leaves just emerged this morning. I have not watered it yet. Cup weight is at 134 grams. I just weighed a Solo cup with same amount of dry soil and it was 95 grams.

Should I try propping this up or is it just destined to die soon?

 

[Sueet]

I would personally just add a bit more soil on top to hold it up. It does not appear to be ill or dying to me.

Eta: each time you look at it, run your fingers over it, bend it over a bit, like the wind outside would do, that helps them become strong enough to hold their heads up. (or put it somewhere it gets actual wind or fan)

 

[jokerlola]

I would personally just add a bit more soil on top to hold it up. It does not appear to be ill or dying to me.

Eta: each time you look at it, run your fingers over it, bend it over a bit, like the wind outside would do, that helps them become strong enough to hold their heads up. (or put it somewhere it gets actual wind or fan)

Ok, will do. Thanks!

 

[greenjeans]

Mine get real leggy like that as well - drives me crazy!!! What I do is - I have small flat pointed sticks that I use to judge soil moisture and I also use them as props - I shove one down each side of the cup and use the appropriate size elastic band to give support. Also for the first week I will drop about 6 drops of water right at the root depending on conditions and then a bit all around the outside. I'm trying not to drench the root but to have some moisture in the periphery if the roots are big enough to go looking....check out Emilyas watering method.
My water sticks get shoved down the side and left for about 15 minutes - if they are pretty much dry to the bottom I give them a good drink and then not again until the stick is dry to the bottom.

 

[greenjeans]

And yes - I would add some more soil - you won't get much breeze down there and that could cause damping off.

 

[jokerlola]

Mine get real leggy like that as well - drives me crazy!!! What I do is - I have small flat pointed sticks that I use to judge soil moisture and I also use them as props - I shove one down each side of the cup and use the appropriate size elastic band to give support. Also for the first week I will drop about 6 drops of water right at the root depending on conditions and then a bit all around the outside. I'm trying not to drench the root but to have some moisture in the periphery if the roots are big enough to go looking....check out Emilyas watering method.
My water sticks get shoved down the side and left for about 15 minutes - if they are pretty much dry to the bottom I give them a good drink and then not again until the stick is dry to the bottom.

I do try to follow Emilya's watering method and have been using it for clones and plants since she posted it. But I just don't have the confidence with seedlings yet. I always seem to screw seedlings up.

I left the space at the top for stretching so If I need to add extra soil. I have now propped it up with extra soil.

It looks like you are growing your seedlings outside. Are you? My seedling is for an outdoor grow but we had 100 degrees yesterday in Colorado and it will be in the 90's this week so I would think that's too hot for seedlings.


Are your seedlings seedlings be

 

[greenjeans]

Hey joke - Yeah, my seedlings get moved from my shop to the greenhouse to outside depending on conditions. If it is too hot in the sun I move them to a shady location.

PS - I kinda chuckle at myself for mentioning adding more soil....doesn't look like I have much more than you!!!
Guess what I am going to do in about 15 minutes!!!

 

[SmokingWings]

I read that I should be spraying the soil daily but when I was doing that last year when first trying seeds, I kept losing them to damp off.

Damping off is a disease caused by fungi that exist in the soil. No matter what is done to sterilize the soil the disease will be floating in the air and eventually settle on the damp surface. Then it can start to grow and before long can try to live on and in the plant stem.

I was taught that the number one way to reduce the chance of Damping Off Disease is to allow the surface to dry off whenever possible. Keep some sort of gently air flow over the plant which will help keep the surface from becoming wet or saturated. That alone is a major reason to fill the containers up to very close to the rim; close enough to keep water from flowing over the rim.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hi @jokerlola , here's something I wrote recently about the young seedling phase... click here. I would add also that I bury the stem when I up pot to 1 gal, leaving 1" of stem above the soil. I hope this helps, and happy growing!