Seedlings are not green

[OlderStoner]

I got some seeds from one of the great sponsors of this site..and it looks like I have success so far. I planted a total of seven seeds in some rich organic potting soil and after about 84 hours three of the seedlings have popped up. The two White Widow-X and one of the feminized white widows are up. The other three white widows and the one they called cotton candy are not up yet. I'm looking forward to nurturing these plants along but the one thing that I see right away is that the seedling caps are not green like the plants I've grown in the past. I examined them closely and can see that the seed shells have fallen away but the starter leaves look more golden, not the typical green color that I'm used to seeing.

The soil I started with was just some plain organic potting soil I got at a local nursery. I've moved the sprouted pots into a window sill where they will get lots of sunshine today. When and if the others come up I will move them into the sun as well.

Should I be concerned about the color of the seedlings? This is a strain that I've never grown before. I have smoked white widow on several occasions in Amsterdam and was impressed with the intense high I got from it so I wanted to give this a whirl.

 

[OlderStoner]

Came home at the noon hour to find the Cotton Candy seedling has broken through the top soil. That makes four out of seven up and looking for sunshine. The other three are still a no show but hopefully they will begin to show over the next few days. The golden color I saw in the seedling tops must have been the lighting or it faded quickly once the plant began to grow. The leaf tops are very green and looking healthy. I still marvel at the small size at this stage. About a decade ago I grew one in my backyard very close to a tree. That plant grew to over 13' tall or almost 5 meters. These are staying strictly indoors this time to keep out the bugs and the nosy neighbors.

 

[OlderStoner]

Looks like I have a 100% germination rate. Out of the seven seeds I planted, six of them are up and soaking in the sunshine. The last one looked like a no show until this morning. As I moved the container some of the loose soil shifted and I could vaguely make out the seedling just beneath the soil. It should show itself within the next 24 hours.

Bought a test meter this morning and the ph level of the soil is just over 6, a little higher in some others. That appears to be the perfect range so I'm happy with my selection of potting soil. Finding supplies is proving difficult. No matter which home center I went to the sales people in their attempt to assist me would always ask what I was growing...duh! I just told them my wife was growing African Violets, which proved to be the wrong answer...because they will then try to steer you towards completely different supplies. I think the next time someone asks, I will tell them tomatoes. And who knows, if things keep going the way they seem to be headed, the day will soon come when you can just tell people, a few of them anyway, what you're really up to without fear of LE involvement.

 

[Graytail]

It's fulfilling to actually see seeds sprout, no?

I have thousands of old bagseeds like yours from your earlier attempts. I can get them to crack in water, but that's it - that's all they can manage. No root emerges. I've been toying with the idea of some sort of hormone boost - gotta look into it.

Congrats and reps!

 

[OlderStoner]

The seedlings are growing but at what I think is a snail's pace. But what concerns me is the stems have all turned blood red. Funny that in the few days they've been up in small containers and under lots of sun and fluoro lights the soil dries out quickly. So I've been keeping it moist and have applied a very small amount of blood meal which I sprinkled on top of the soil. The stems were turning red before I applied this and like I said it was only a pinch between my fingers total that I applied over all seven containers. Does this red color occur normally in White Widow? Is it indicating a nutrient deficiency? The ph is still around 7 in each one of the pots.

Oh yes, almost forgot to mention and just read that this red stem symptom may be due to incorrect ph. Gotta double check this again. I applied water this morning with chemical Miracle Gro plant food...24-8-16. Mixed only about a 1/8 teaspoon in a 20 oz container and watered the pots again. The pots are going dry fairly quickly but I'm keeping them moist. Will test the ph of the run off water tonight.