what the f%ck happened to these seedlings?

[JJScorpio]

It looks to me like they got soaked and the rain washed them up. Might be a good idea to replant them into some drier so so they don't rot. When they are that young they won't grow roots well being that wet....

 

[Colina]

Lol, I know you are a busy man JJ but are you sure you have taken all of the facts into consideration? Have you read the thread in its entirety and carefully scrutinized the photograph?

The picture alone seems to disprove that theory. Unless you want to believe that some portion of the plant would not remain burried in that scenario. Then the bottom of the stalk still has dirt on it where it was previously burried but the top half and the rest of the plant is clean? It what, floated them up (all at the same exact rate mind you) then stopped raining at the instant they were up so as not to clean off the dirt on the lower stalk during this rain, or dirty the upper portion? I am sorry man, I just can't imagine that this is even a remote possibility.

 

[DoobieDuck]

Quack...

Quack...

i dont think birds pull up plants looking for bugs attached to the roots. thats reaching really hard buddy,.

Many types of birds pull up small plants as they feed on the plant not the bugs. I've seen quail, ducks, geese, chicken, and lots of song birds as well, to many to list, that feed in this fashion. I believe it could have been one of many feathered migrators that could have done this..DD

 

[Colina]

Do you mean they feed on the bugs and not the plants Doobie? These plants were not eaten. It would seem to me that during a heavy rain like we've seen here bugs n grubs etc would be making a beeline towards the surface in search of ample oxygen. To the smart critter who easily pulls up small plants from soggy soil in search of said food, as I am coming to believe we've seen here, this must be an opportunity for quite the feeding frenzy indeed.

 

[Weedninja]

Originally, I subscribed to the slurry theory. But once Paz stated that it happened w/o rain, it shot that in the ass, IMHO. Perhaps a bird pulled them up and was startled so it just left them... or maybe the bird was just a prick.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Have to agree with the floating theory.....quick rain soaked the soil, turning it to slush. Little ones floated up and fell over, then soil drained and thats how u found the poor seedlings.

You said yourself you sometimes plant too shallow....that just makes it even easier for this scenario to happen.

If anything pulled them up, you would see some type of damage to the foliage, stem or roots. I cant see any from the pics, and I'm sure you would have mentioned it if you noticed anything. If a human found your grow I doubt someone go through the trouble of nicely pulling out your seedlings and laying them right in the container. That is, unless they wanted to play mind games with you lol

good luck catching the culprit!

 

[theHIGHlander]

am still going with the waterlogged theory, or what about when the rain stopped the air bubbles trapped in the soil have just pushed it out? (that would leave soil on the bottom part of the stem).....i cant see that being mans work, what about your neighbour???.....

got my eyes on the thread as i would love to find out what/why this is happening..
hope you get it sorted bro

keep it green
highlander

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

hello everyone,

I have sat down in front of new seedlings at the same spot as the seedling in the original picture was at, sat there for a few hours to see if I could observe anything, well, did not see a thing.

It could not have been the water-logged theory, because as Colina already pointed out, it happened a few more times when the soil had perfect humidity and had not received any rain.

It could not be a human because to get into the backyard of the abandoned house you have to be like a cat, and no one can see into that backyard, plus, if it was a human, they should have taken down a bigger plant that is in flower there, it is a hermie almost finishing flower so I have it there with just some seedlings. also, as pointed out by others, if it was a human, they could have simply up-rooted all the seedlings. edit: they could not have gotten in from the main door either because the house belongs to a guy who is in jail, and well, from jail he cannot go into his backyard...his wife is also in jail, they have no family here either.

there is an important update to add to this mystery, which is that once I moved the seedlings that were affected initially, I moved newer seedlings in there, however, I had left a couple of the old ones there, which were now bigger, one of these bigger seedlings was found like in the original picture but whatever was pulling the seedling out was not able to pull it out all the way, and just left it there over the soil with half the roots still in the soil. I kick my ass for not taking a picture to show you all, but now every time I go into that backyard, I am going to take the camera just in case.

Thank you all for stopping by and giving your thoughts, it is well appreciated

much peace and good health to everyone