Killing My Seedlings

Hi All.
I am having an Issue with my seedlings.

I germ them directly into 1/2 of 1" rockwool cubes with a 9 out of 10 success rate. (finally got that down to a science)

I then transfer the cubes to 3 inch web pots with hydroton.

I then place them in my veg ebb and flow tray knowing that the tap root wont be able to hit the nutrient flood level for a while.
I had been burying them lower so they would get flooded sooner but they all would die quickly so I started sitting them up high and watering them by hand with 1 ounce of ph'd water every day.

They are under 2 65watt cfls about 2 inches away.

temps are around 80 farenheit.

after about the second day or so I will come home and find them looking shrivelled up and dead.
BTW this is only with my good seeds (4 different varieties) - Bag seeds seems to live through it all.

I know more questions will be asked but what am I doing wrong? Please help, this is getting expensive and the only plant I have to clone is a bigbud momma and I really want to smoke something BETTER.

Please, I went home from lunch today and a new batch of 6 MPK5's, one was gone...
Should I be feeding them something already?

HELP

try using soil. its easter to start.

not sure about hydro i use soil to as i am a beginner, but i don't use nutes for the first few weeks then start at 1/4 strength, then bump it up a 1/4 a week til using full strength. as for the rockwool it has to stay moist all the time if it dries out to much your plants can die in a few hours. thats the only thing i can think of from your post. pics would help.

well in hyrdo , yes you should probably have them in a solution of 1/4 nutes.

if this is a continual thing, try germinating in a paper towel and then putting the seed in the rockwool, tap root dow.

just keep the medium moist when its still just a tap root and it will seek out the solution on its own. Depending on your medium, it might be a good idea to check the progress of the root every other day and guide it if possible. Be very careful if you are rerouting a root, you dont want to snap it.

I put my germinated seeds right into my hydro system (aero) and the water sprays the taproot 24x7.

i too have an aerogarden, and thats all i do. pop the seeds in the foam medium and it stays wet by the spray from the system.

ive had a couple issues where i had to help the tap root by cutting the medium all the way thru. but other than that, germination is no prob in the aero

for accuracy and clarification: i am using an aeroponic system - not the aerogarden.

email468 said:

for accuracy and clarification: i am using an aeroponic system - not the aerogarden.

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roflmao, you snob,

aerogarden, pfft what, i don't use trash like that, roflmao!!!

nongreenthumb said:

roflmao, you snob,

aerogarden, pfft what, i don't use trash like that, roflmao!!!

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oh man! i am so busted.

hey man you can knock it if you want

but this is a forum for helping people, not negativity.

and if i cash in a couple ounces on something i keep in my pantry during the winter and cost less than 200 bucks- ill take that any day of the week

I meant no offense and while I may be a snob - it is also true I didn't want to be misleading.

Thing is though that people who bought the aerogarden have been done over more than those that bought the stealth hydro.

nongreenthumb said:

Thing is though that people who bought the aerogarden have been done over more than those that bought the stealth hydro.

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It's good for true beginners to learn the basics. It's also very difficult to screw up. But I agree, it's not good for growing cannabis.

It looks better growing herbs on a kitchen counter anyway.

~Ethno

Hmmmmmmmm.
Thanks for all the advice guys, I lifted my lights a bit and 4 out of 6 are still alive and healthy so far on the 4th day. I water them by hand every morning with PH'd water.

try to water every other day. and soil is the cheapest way and easyest way to learn how to grow. first learn the basics and then if growing suits you, then go for it and buy all the shit you want, but half of them just look/sound good, i wouldnt have any of these stalth boxes/areo ect... they just look good in the mags. i wouldnt have one given. and what if you buy all that kind of shit and find it too small, then you have to buy it all over again.
i started growing in soil 9 months ago, and still dont feel i know everything there is to know. youve got to know your own growing envo. and learn from your mistakes.

I think you're just getting a tad ahead of things. The seedlings can stay in that rockwool cube for a while. If you're using the trays designed to hold those small cubes (I do and I also germ in rockwool and have almost 100% success) they have that tiny space at the bottom for root growth. Just let them get a nice bit of roots in the small cube and then move them into the net pots. If the taproot isn't long enough to touch the water then yes, they'll die. You can always pour water over the hydroton and rockwool while the plant continues to grow its roots far enough down to reach the waterline.

nongreenthumb said:

Thing is though that people who bought the aerogarden have been done over more than those that bought the stealth hydro.

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ROTFLMAO @ you guys!! Are you serious??? I thought SH had killed more plants than the DEA. yeah I made that up; my bad.

dankdalia said:

the aerogarden isn't good? i'm so lost. rawful mayo.
i've heard that it's a great system with the right modifications because of the highly oxygenated chamber. but that the nutrients they give you blowwwww.

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Yes, that's true. It's not bad, it's just not optimal. It can support a few plants pretty well, but you'll want to supplement the hood lights with additional lighting, maybe add some air stones, and as you pointed out, ditch the nutrients that came with it.

It's a very good way to learn the basics of hydroponic growing. I've grown some beautiful plants in it successfully, and it's nearly impossible to screw up. Still, most people after a few runs generally build their own system based on what they've learned and use the Aerogarden as a cloning machine or the like.

By the way... If that's you in your avatar, you are GORGEOUS! Just thought I'd let you know in case you weren't aware! Haha.

~Ethno

for all things aerogarden, i suggest reading up on it in this forum. good vs. bad is a matter of personal opionion. as a user of it - its tried and true for me, it produces. a good winter time harvest, when you cant grow outdoors, and a great clone nursery used alongside a large hydro system.

and going w/ ethno- its great for beginers and is a great learning tool to develop a full blown garden.

the nutes they give you arent optimal, because they are for specific herbs , and cannabis is not one of them.

but this thread is for helping onehanded and his seedlings, not a debate on growing systems, so im going to get off my soapbox, let peace resume, and hope that onehanded gets things flourishing.