Whats wrong with my seedling?

[Scottsquatch]

Not sure what this leaf is doing or what it means. @Emilya any suggestions? I will show the plant in question and then what the rest look like.

 

[Emilya Green]

could the medium be too hot? What is it planted in?

 

[CS21]

Water schedule?? Drainage holes in those cups?? Medium... need more information!!

 

[Scottsquatch]

Emilya and CS21, I could Not find a seedling soil around here so unfortunately it IS a potting soil with a time release fertilizer in it. I mixed in a simple manure free compost to hopefully cut down potency a little. It is mixed at a ratio of 1:1. I also added perlite at about 1:6. My water is 6.8 to water I added 10ml of liquid seaweed and 5 ml of a microbe inoculation called Urb to one gallon of water. The cups DO have drainage holes and they shouldn't be overwatered as I only added 12 squirts to the soil when I planted the seeds and only 6 more squirts in the last week.

 

[CS21]

I will leave the soil answers to the expert!!
But just hearing that it may have something to do with it.
And how about underwatering?? Are the cups light?

 

[Scottsquatch]

Oh crap. I just went and looked at the bag and I grabbed the wrong one. I wanted the plain potting soil but I must have grabbed to garden soil by mistake! What's worse is that it is by MG and has fertilizer for 3 months. I've poisoned my girls with Mon Santo voodoo! Lord have mercy, I didnt want my girls in that crap. I guess it's probably too hot even with the compost?

 

[Scottsquatch]

CS21, they dont seem light and the soil does not feel dry to the touch , so I dont think that's it. If I kill these girls before they even get going I am gonna be a bit disappointed. I will try to find a good seed starting soil online right now and I'll order it to have on hand. If these girls die from that mon Santo ugliness, I will just pop more seeds I guess. But I wanted practice on free seed first! I wanted to get my feet wet before I killed expensive seeds. Ish, I feel sick to my stomach.

 

[Emilya Green]

the compost just made it hotter

 

[Emilya Green]

They will survive this... I have started in miracle grow before... but that is why the leaves are twisting. Now you know what nitrogen overload looks like.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Maybe I should have just used the FFOF soil I have? I got the idea from several members that it was too hot for seedlings, but Its probably better than this garbage.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Ok, so what's the best thing I can do for them now? Weird that veggies can handle such nutrient levels and just grow, but my poor little girls cant. You were right Emilya, weeds ARE harder to grow than veggies.

 

[Emilya Green]

just let them get bigger so they can handle those nutes. I have seen much worse... they will acclimate to this quickly. At last they survived to this point! Just plain water from now on, but keep in mind that each watering reactivates those nute balls in the MG, so really pay close attention to the wet/dry cycle and keep those waterings to a minimum.... always water properly and completely, but if you can wait an extra day or 12 hours, do so... let those roots develop.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Will do Emilya. Now that I think about it, I read a thread by you where your seedlings/young plants were doing poorly and MG soil seemed to help them out. Were they already bigger than these? Also, should I use a spoon to scoop them out and replant in soil with no compost or would I just cut roots at this point?

 

[Emilya Green]

Will do Emilya. Now that I think about it, I read a thread by you where your seedlings/young plants were doing poorly and MG soil seemed to help them out. Were they already bigger than these? Also, should I use a spoon to scoop them out and replant in soil with no compost or would I just cut roots at this point?

in that situation I had totally screwed up and my plant was not getting any nutrition, the opposite of yours. The SBR needed some nitrogen quick, and of course the MG had it. If your compost is sitting in a layer in the bottom that is more than likely what the lower roots have run into and what they are reacting so strongly against. I thought you said you had mixed it in with the soil 50/50. If you can scoop it out of there, even damaging a couple of those struggling roots in the compost, I would do it. These plants are tougher than you think... it will adapt. Just plop it down in some more MG and merge the soil regions with a complete watering. If you have mixed 50/50, then lets just wait and see if it starts growing more normally with the next node or two because the new growth so far is looking pretty normal.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Yes, its 50/50. I just thought maybe I could scoop it out and use soil without the compost. But since you say they are tough, we cant just wait. This is a great first learning experience for me anyway. Lol. I thought that the compost had to be broke down more to have available nutrients. I guess store bought is already broken down? I can grow veggies the envy of all my neighbors but I can mess up weeds before they even get going. It is kinda funny to me. I was warned that it takes some mistakes to learn how to grow. So I guess I'm right on track.

 

[Emilya Green]

I say it often... growing weeds is nothing like growing tomatoes. The term compost means it has been cooked... or broken down. That stuff is hot with nitrogen, ready to go.... again, great for rutabagas, but not weeds. Never fear... you should have seen what I did with compost one time. lol

 

[Scottsquatch]

The girls are still looking good, the one girl that hates the nitrogen is holding her own. I just want her to hurry up and grow those roots and adapt to the high nitrogen. I have learned my lesson well and I won't ever make this mistake again. Happy growing my peeps.