Seedling struggles

[LankyTreez]

New grower approaching things in a simplistic form and with non-optimal conditions. This is my third time trying to grow from seed (unsuccessfully) and I am trying to save what I have started for this years outdoor season. Popped 6 jealousy x kushmint beans and only 4 remain as of today. Germination is never a problem, and I can get the plants to a few inches tall with the first few sets of leaves. After that growth seems to stunt, sun light seems to burn the plants, and I can’t distinguish if I am overwatering or underwatering. For those willing to help and curious, the seeds are non femenized bag seed, the soil is native living soul from my garden, and I am using a CFL for light source in the starting stages. Outside of that I am not using any equipment (tent, dehum, fans, etc). I have spent the last two years reading manuals and watching grow content so feel confident in my general knowledge but there’s a disconnect in my application I suppose. The included photos are of seedlings that sprouted 2 weeks ago.

 

[Rooster067]

Hi there. I'm a relatively new grower myself. Those look like the seedlings I had many years ago when trying to grow with CFL bulbs. I know plenty of people have grow with CFL, but I never had any luck. I just recently got back into growing a few months ago, and now that I have decent LED lights, I haven't had a problem with seedings. I normally just drop the seeds in a glass of tap water, and they usually pop within 18-24 hours, and then I drop them in their final pot top start growing. I'll stick them in a tent with a dome over them to keep the humidity high until they are a couple inches tall. I don't keep them saturated, but I don't let them dry out either. And I keep the light levels around 200-300 PAR for the first couple weeks.
Here's a few pics of my latest grow. 3 Bubble Gum Sherb photos from Blimburn seeds. I started the first one in it's 3 gal fabric pot, and the second two were started in Dixie cups and transplanted to the 3 gal pots later. All three were popped floating in water, then put straight into the dirt, which was Fox Farms Ocean Forest.

 

[goingrey]

Well it looks like overwatering but the soil looks dry like a desert.

Did you sterilize the soil, I suppose not since you called it living.. is there fusarium in the soil of your area?

Maybe consider a bag of seedling starter mix from the store to get you started?

 

[El Timbo]

Maybe consider a bag of seedling starter mix from the store to get you started?

This is the first thing I would change if I were you.

 

[Creeperpark]

New grower approaching things in a simplistic form and with non-optimal conditions. This is my third time trying to grow from seed (unsuccessfully) and I am trying to save what I have started for this years outdoor season. Popped 6 jealousy x kushmint beans and only 4 remain as of today. Germination is never a problem, and I can get the plants to a few inches tall with the first few sets of leaves. After that growth seems to stunt, sun light seems to burn the plants, and I can’t distinguish if I am overwatering or underwatering. For those willing to help and curious, the seeds are non femenized bag seed, the soil is native living soul from my garden, and I am using a CFL for light source in the starting stages. Outside of that I am not using any equipment (tent, dehum, fans, etc). I have spent the last two years reading manuals and watching grow content so feel confident in my general knowledge but there’s a disconnect in my application I suppose. The included photos are of seedlings that sprouted 2 weeks ago.

Those plants look over-watered. Young seed sprouts need dry time to grow the roots. If you start in small cups the water managing will be so much easier. Starting in Dixie cups will allow you to weigh the cups wet and dry. I write both weights on the cups and before I water I weigh the cup. It's easy to misjudge the hand weight and over water. Make sure there is a breeze in the grow area to move water in the air.

 

[LankyTreez]

Hi there. I'm a relatively new grower myself. Those look like the seedlings I had many years ago when trying to grow with CFL bulbs. I know plenty of people have grow with CFL, but I never had any luck. I just recently got back into growing a few months ago, and now that I have decent LED lights, I haven't had a problem with seedings. I normally just drop the seeds in a glass of tap water, and they usually pop within 18-24 hours, and then I drop them in their final pot top start growing. I'll stick them in a tent with a dome over them to keep the humidity high until they are a couple inches tall. I don't keep them saturated, but I don't let them dry out either. And I keep the light levels around 200-300 PAR for the first couple weeks.
Here's a few pics of my latest grow. 3 Bubble Gum Sherb photos from Blimburn seeds. I started the first one in it's 3 gal fabric pot, and the second two were started in Dixie cups and transplanted to the 3 gal pots later. All three were popped floating in water, then put straight into the dirt, which was Fox Farms Ocean Forest.

Thank you for your input brotha! Your set up still seems pretty minimal which is my goal. Dont plan on growing in tent just wanting to get plants hearty enough to transplant outdoors. Glad to be able to learn from your experience

 

[LankyTreez]

Well it looks like overwatering but the soil looks dry like a desert.

Did you sterilize the soil, I suppose not since you called it living.. is there fusarium in the soil of your area?

Maybe consider a bag of seedling starter mix from the store to get you started?

Dont think there’s any fusarium. Use the same soul for all my veggie starts and havent had issues. Is there any way to test? Think a bag soil and different light might be the direction I go…

 

[LankyTreez]

Dont think there’s any fusarium. Use the same soul for all my veggie starts and havent had issues. Is there any way to test? Think a bag soil and different light might be the direction I go…

Those plants look over-watered. Young seed sprouts need dry time to grow the roots. If you start in small cups the water managing will be so much easier. Starting in Dixie cups will allow you to weigh the cups wet and dry. I write both weights on the cups and before I water I weigh the cup. It's easy to misjudge the hand weight and over water. Make sure there is a breeze in the grow area to move water in the air.

Was just going off the looks of the plant and soil but the weight is a much better way to create a baseline. The two seedlings that died off looked similarly wilted and I thought it may be over saturation, but when I dumped the pots the soil was dry all the way through which confused me.

 

[Creeperpark]

Was just going off the looks of the plant and soil but the weight is a much better way to create a baseline. The two seedlings that died off looked similarly wilted and I thought it may be over saturation, but when I dumped the pots the soil was dry all the way through which confused me.

When in doubt always tip the plant out of the cup and see how the substrate looks. When you dump it and it crumbles it is too dry, if you dump it and it is wet give it more time before watering again.