yellowing young seedlings

[dtoker]

hi guys, here are my 3 seedlings, 2 of which have begun to go yellow and the tips are kind of brown? i havent fed any nutes yet just a daily mist of tapwater left out for 48 hrs as ive no ph test kit. they are covered over with cling film to keep it moist in there. they are in 2 1/2 parts compost 1 1/2 cup perlite and just under 1/2 a cup of bone meal. any help would be greatly apprieciated

 

[libby]

quick answer, what soil, looks damaging to your seedlings

 

[dtoker]

its just some regular compost without any nutes (as far as i know) with a bit of bone meal?

 

[libby]

its just some regular compost without any nutes (as far as i know) with a bit of bone meal?

look on your soil package, NPK, should be there somewhere.

powdered bonemeal, that shouldn't be active for months, waste of time in that cup.

Take, (keep) the film off the top, drain holes?



edit,, were the seeds hatched in there ?

 

[dtoker]

ive just had a look, theres nothing on the soil packaging like that mate, it just says general purpose peat free compost? so i should loose the film completely then? yeah ive got plenty of drain holes in the bottom of the cups bud. whats that about the bonemeal?

 

[libby]

ive just had a look, theres nothing on the soil packaging like that mate, it just says general purpose peat free compost? so i should loose the film completely then? yeah ive got plenty of drain holes in the bottom of the cups bud. whats that about the bonemeal?

my edit above


bonemeal is bone, takes a while to breakdown/ feed your plant, unless it's been prepared months earlier, don't think it will do harm though, unless some one else says different

dump the film.

 

[MynameStitch]

What brand of mixture is it? Is it organic? Depending on the amount of organics in there it can be nutrient related, those plants do not need fed, something in the soil is causing them to be like this...... How often are you watering? depending on the amount you water, you can release more nutrients from the mixture and burn them, but if you are overwatering your plants are lacking o2 and therefore you get nitrogen to become locked out and then you think your plants are hungry.

The soil looks very wet, how often are you watering and the amount? if you are overwatering your causing your plants to lockout nitrogen absorption making it look like they are hungry.....

I would most defiantly get a pH kit, a pen if you have the money and some calbration solution.

If you don't have money get some pH test strips.... pool strips/spa strips and make sure they have a range on them, like 4p H to 9 pH

 

[dtoker]

libby - cheers for the advice dude, ive ditched the film. how much would u advise watering them? they wernt hatched in there no mate.


MynameStitch - i really dont know mate, its just some cheap soil from the local DIY store. hopefully it hasnt got too much harmfull ingredient in there! ive been watering daily by misting them with a sprayer. the surface is rather wet. ive just removed the film i had covering them so hopefully they will dry out a bit and stop taking up so much of the stuff in the soil. im going to look into getting a test pen 2muro mate, hopefully it wont break the bank lol. can i test the soil or so u suggest just testing the water im giving them?
thanks for the help buddy

 

[MynameStitch]

Ditched the film? what do you mean by that?

Well they should only be watered a little bit and have NO run off, they should only be watered enough to keep the tap root wet and the area slightly moist, if you keep the whole soil wet it keeps the tap root too moist and will not be dry enough by the time you water again and you build up wetness and cause this problem.

I would water with around 2 to 3 oz of water every 3 to 4 days.

You only want to keep the root moist and the area around it, not the surrounding around around the edges of the cups.

 

[dtoker]

cheers mate that sounds like good advice. i had some saran wrap or cling film whatever you like to call it lol over the pots keeping moisture in, i guess that was the wrong thing to do!

 

[libby]

Ditched the film? what do you mean by that? hahaha,

told him to get rid of the saran?( what!) clingfilm in gb, platic cover

we take time to learn foriegn launguage, so should you.

 

[MynameStitch]

Dude, I know my foreign language, don't got to be so damn rude libby. I know a lot of terms and knowledge, I just did not understand what he meant by flim and now I know.

 

[dtoker]

cheers for the help stitch your a legend. Do u think my babies are going to recover, im doubtful about the one with the curling brown tips?

 

[HeadyPete]

You shouldn't grow in straight compost, need some peat or coco in there, maybe 20% compost. I think that compost is too hot for seedlings and I would buy a good seed starting mix with no nutes in it, add 30% perlite, no liquid nutes, and transplant. You can start feeding lightly after a week or so. The can and will recover as long as you fix it quick enough.

 

[MynameStitch]

Yes, petey is very correct, that is like trying to grow seedlings in bone meal or blood meal, you have to have it diluted in some growing medium.
The curling brown tips are burnt, the worst ones may not make it due to them being burned so badly........

Cheap soil= problems too, cheap soil there can be all kinds of problems..... soil is the heart of your plants, if you cheapen it up your plants will show it.

 

[dtoker]

cheers mate, i just cant seem to find any decent soil with that isnt compost and has little or no nutes any hints from anyone in the UK?

- hopefully they will pull through soon enough if i can fix my soil then. they dont seem to have grown any in the last few days

 

[MynameStitch]

You use a seed starter mixture for your plants, any seed starter mixture should do, or you can use MG seed starter, with that as long as you use tap water you should not have to adjust the pH, set it and forget it kind of thing, but after you switch over to a different soil, you need to check pH a lot.

They might not grow anymore, the soil may have burned them and stressed them out where they won't grow anymore.... if this happens you have to start over, I have seen people let there plants grow out 2 months and they stayed the same size.

The only thing you can do is remove them from the soil and put them in new soil.
If you flush them they will be water logged badly and then you have a new problem.
You can take a spoon or knfie and dig in a circle and pick up a plant ensuring no soil drops and put it in a bowl of water or rinse it in the sink to remove as much soil as possible and put it in the new soil. I only tell peeps this is if they have no other choice, because those plants won't grow anymore in that mixture, it's either get them into a new mixture of they will die if they have not already been stunted.

 

[libby]

cheers mate, i just cant seem to find any decent soil with that isnt compost and has little or no nutes any hints from anyone in the UK?

- hopefully they will pull through soon enough if i can fix my soil then. they dont seem to have grown any in the last few days

hey toker, any garden centre should have John Innes No 1, there won't be any nutes in that whatsoever, or try B&Q.

Stich, was'nt being rude, just joking, you misunderstood me, please accept my apologies.

 

[MynameStitch]

No worries m8! It was a huge misunderstanding and I put it behind me man, I was confused and did not know if you were joking or not, I have a great sense of humor normally I can tell when someone is joking or not, but last night I was very much impaired I have been ill lately, so no worries at all man

 

[dtoker]

cheers guys, im going to take a trip to haskins tonight and try and find this john innes stuff, failing that ill try b&q. hopefully a transplant does the trick! will that john innes soil need the ph adjusting or is it with-in range allready?

glad you guys have sorted it, i would hate my thread to be the cause of any fall outs lol