h.t.g.-having trouble growing

[Chronic Breath]

hi i am a first time grower here and would love if anybody could help me out and give me a couple of pointers it would be greatly appreciated.so i just recently had ten seedlings on the go.one by one, day by day, i killed each and every one.(not on purpose, but i learned a greeeeat deal from it.)
so right now i have one seed in the dirt trying to sprout.it is well past the germination stage but dosnt seem to be doing anything.right at the top of the weak stem it has curved and basically burried its head in the dirt.he is getting no light where he needs it.i am keeping him warm and moist but im not sure what else to do.


any help or pointers or anything would be a great help.thanks..

 

[Noobian]

What kind of lights are you using? How often are you watering? Did you start out with plain water or nutes?

 

[newbieharvester]

Try this post wich I wrote to cover the basics, then you will know what you should ask about, and how to start.... G´luck

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=181190

 

[Chronic Breath]

currently he is under one flourescent.i am watering him about every two days, not letting him get too dry.i am doing just plain water right now because i killed two of my previous babies by nuting the shit outta them.

 

[chuckyoufarley]

if its a seedling

i am watering him about every two days,

you are watering WAYYYYYYY to much . mine germed on the 16th hit the dirt the 17th and they wont get water for another 3-4 days atleast

 

[ibjamming]

if its a seedling you are watering WAYYYYYYY to much . mine germed on the 16th hit the dirt the 17th and they wont get water for another 3-4 days at least

Did you read that? Wait AT LEAST 3-4 days...preferably a week or possibly longer...depending on the size container.

I germinate and grow mine in 16oz beer cups...I soak the soil, let it drain naturally, plant the seed, and do nothing but a light spritz to keep the surface from getting too dry until the seedling is a week old. That's 10 days without a "watering". Without roots in there drawing off water from the soil...it won't go anywhere...not any time soon...so, you don't need to water until there are roots. That takes about a week.

If you're in a gallon container...no watering for at least two weeks. Just a spritz for the surface. there's plenty of water in a good soil to last a seedling a long time.

You want a guaranteed way to get through the seedling stage? Go to Walmart and get a bag of "Expert Gardner" potting mix, mix that with some wet peat moss, and then add perlite. Mix them 1/3 each and throw in 1 tbsp dolomite lime per gallon. Fill a 16oz beer cup with some 1/4" holes at the bottom, water until draining, let it drain naturally, and plant your seed about 1/2 inch deep. In 3-6 days, you'll have a healthy seedling. Give her a 100W CFL (the 100W equivilent) in one of those round metal reflective hoods, keeping the light bulb 1-2" from the plant (4 plants will fit under 1 light). DON'T water until the seedling is a week old...a week from popping up, not planted. Just a spritz, one or two, two times a day to keep the top of the soil from getting too dry. Make sure the water has a good pH...I use rainwater. Bad pH will cause all kinds of problems for young seedlings...too much water will too.

Try to keep it simple the first time. Don't spend a lot of money on seeds until you've got it down.

Read newbieharvester's thread...it's a good start.

Oh, I think you have a plant that got confused...it started coming up and then turned "south" back into the dirt. It's probably going to die or is already...you can try burying it a little to keep it moist, or carefully digging it up and repositioning...I never bother with them...But then, I'm not down to my last seed. Or...you have absolutely no experience with growing plants and as the seedling breaks the surface, with the cotyledons still facing down, you think you have a problem.

Good luck!

 

[CFL_Grow]

Overloving them is your prob.. Once my seed hits the dirt and it pops it head, i dont do anything for a few days. Then a little water and forget it for another week... They start slow and then explode.

 

[moonie]

Dont call it "him", bad juju

 

[qbert]

Under CFL's in little 4" square pots filled with Fox Farm's Light Warrior my seedlings don't need water for several days. As soon as they show a second pair of jagged-edge leaves I move them under some PL-L's or low watt MH with a small fan on them and then they will dry up within 2.5-3 days, but its more because of the evaporation from heat and wind over the soil than the plants using it. Just to add a little more info to the mix here.

 

[dtfsux]

i find seeds need a little help sometimes. I have seen them pop and the shell doesn't fall off or there is a film preventing the leaves from opening. Is that what is going on with yours?

BTW they should not be getting any nutes until they are 2-3 inches IMO and then very mild. But you are in dirt so they can probably get everything they need for even longer.

IMO seedlings are always the longest drawn out thing because it is the one thing you can not put on overdrive

 

[Zeltar]

I hate the seedling stage, you just wanna keep doing things to it to make it explode

 

[Chronic Breath]

thanks guys all the input is greatly appreciated.i'll try what i can and let everybody know how it goes.the bad juju comment made my day!hahahahaha!

 

[reckon]

you can use a small twist tie, or paperclip bent into a support so the plant wont fall over in the first 2 to 5 weeks.

you can see how the twist ties are bent into a LOOSE loop around the stem, then a 90 degree bend, and stick the tag end in the soil.

you can do this as soon as you have the cotyledons open (the very first round leaves), and keeping the light closer, will keep the plant from elongating somewhat.

the plants LOVE having a wet/dry cycle, so as was mentioned above, use the "pot weight" method, to determine when to re-water, but typically you let it dry out so it ALMOST wilts, then add water.

and the above comment is right as well,....... unless you are breeding/crossing, you aren't interested in the boys, just the girls, so they typically get called "ladies", "the girls", "her", etc,...

you have a good attitude for this, because you never really freaked, so keep at it, read a LOT, try and apply what you learn.

 

[Chronic Breath]

i saved her!
thanks to everyone for their input.
she has straightened out and has grown an inch.
overwatering was a huge problem.
moved the lights closer too.