It looks like they are damping off. Quit watering so much and use a humidity dome instead. Seedlings want high humidity but low amount of water actually in the soil.
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Too much waterā¦ And membrane not tearing outā¦ Try to give less water and spray a fine mist only in the two small leaf, to soften a little bit the membrane ā¦ Without overwatering the substrateā¦
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Make sure that your water isnāt too cold. Itās really easy to shock them.
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Saw this late, some good ideas above, maybe I can help up your success rate for next time. I crack a lot of seeds, and over the years have tried all the typical methods. Eventually decided I wanted to go pro, so re-learned almost everything from educated agronomy professionals.
With proper medium and environment, seed starts shouldnāt need to be watered at all. Rock wool, peat plugs, and jiffy pellets are all good for consistent moisture, and they come free of any potential pathogens. Straight coco pith works well too, better in small cups or plug trays than a full pot, but make sure to squeeze half the water out after hydrating. Amendments in your sprouting media are not recommended because direct contact with sensitive baby roots can kill them, and thereās also more potential for dry spots.
Next be sure to orient the seed correctly so the radicle/hypocotyl can exit up and then curve down into the media (geotropism). Improper orientation robs the young start of energy and can tangle the radicle causing constriction as it grows. Once the sprout starts drinking, itās time to plant into your regular media (wetting out soil should be done prior to planting, but thatās a whole nuther neglected subject).
Best practice is just be patient and donāt mess with them. Keep the humidity up, but not 100% like you would for cuttings, but enough to keep the tops of your starting plugs from drying. Just carefully re-moisten with a sprayer until ready to pot them, no fertilizer necessary as they initially feed from the cotyledons and the first set of leaves (both will turn yellow and shrivel when depleted). I wouldnāt use distilled or RO water either, just low ppm with ph around 6.
Once your seedlings are potted and growing, itās best to wait on any topping or training until theyāre past the 3rd week or at least 5-6 nodes. Trying to push it faster can result in more males and herm genes, as sex isnāt totally determined at birth and somewhat malleable for the first couple weeks. Also itās best to avoid higher temps during this phase.
If anyone wants more details or better explanation let me know. And check out some non-mmj resources like Greenhouse Grower, etc. Good luck with with all your seed popping adventures!
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Start them in Ocean forest if you like soil and just add Mycos to the RO water.
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OF is too hot out the bag for seeds or seedlings. Light warrior for the win.
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I like happy frog too, supposedly has the mychorizae in it already as well.
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Both (edit now all 3) of those bags are potting mix not soil.
Why RO? Anyone with a chemistry or biology background want to chime in on why not? Same reason for distilled. Lightly salted/mineral water much better for germ rates.
Bubbled water for plants to remove chlorine.
Tap fornaero cloning, as the chlorine helps sanitize for 1 day
Because the majority of municipalities are not using Chlorine any more. They now use Chloramine which does not evaporate. Light warrior is a great choice also. I wouldnāt use happy frog as itās on the acidic side and best for thing like blueberries.
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Yeah I was gonna add we have so much chloramine that itās not gonna evap. Shits awful better run the local water through RO or its trash here
Call ur local water company visit their website. They do test every year shows whatās in ur water
I was told my area switches from chloramine to chlorine for summer and winter, not sure which is which. I will say the water had more of a chlorine pool sanitizer smell once winter hit.
Really, I didnāt know that.
Iāve never had issues, but Iāll keep that in mind. Thanks for that!
Yup, when the municipalities switched alot og guys had problems with their teas. The Chloramine was kill the bennies and not allowing the bloom.
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Looks like damping off to me from too much moisture. Also im sure youāre not spraying them while lights are on, but that can kill seedling quick. I only saw one bad seedling in your pics tho, and I canāt really tell whatās up with that one cuz the pictures a bit blurry.
The seedlings do look a bit yellow, but not bad. Anytime Iāve had problems with seedlings, my soil had too much fertilizer in it for them, or the ph was low. Pop a cpl out of the ground carefully with a shovel, and transplant them into pro mix. If they do better in the pro mix itās a soil issue. If itās a soil issue thereās either too much water, too much fertilizer in the soil or the ph is off, usually low. I know you said youāve been using ph down. Sounds like low ph.
I wouldnt use a dome, weaning them off is a pain.
Never lost a seedling:
- Germ in damp paper towel in plastic bag.
- Transplant into solo cup of OMRI listed Seed Starting Mix. Put a microbial product in the seed hole. Ensure drainage holes, do not put a second cup under it. Use a standoff and a saucer.
- Water fully after transplant.
- Mist surface until seedling breaks out.
- Water by weight (30% to 80%).
- After 3 days top dress with a dry amendment. I like Roots Organic line.
- Once the seedling has its second true node and a full leaves for the first, up-pot to a 1 gal fabric.
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Never? Never had slug eat them? Never ever ever?
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API TAP WATER CONDITIONER Aquarium Water Conditioner 16-Ounce Bottle Amazon.com
Would something like this work for removing chloramines and be ok for plants?
Nope. Seriously. Been lucky with pests
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