Need help on some seedling please :) Barneys blue cheese and tangerine dream - Outdoor grow in the Algarve Portugal

Hey guys,

Started a grow in southern europe about 5-6 weeks ago.

Seedlings have been doing ok, but have taken a turn for the worse..

Started to get very yellow leaves and brown spots, really not looking to healthy.

Hoping some OG's here will take a look at these for me and tell me where im going wrong

V much appreciate all the wise words in advance!

Cheers..

G2S

If those are 2 months old, you have some serious problems.
Give us some details.........medium, nutes, environment, etc.
Welcome to RIU.

MickFoster said:

If those are 2 months old, you have some serious problems.
Give us some details.........medium, nutes, environment, etc.
Welcome to RIU.

Click to expand...

Here's my guess. There's a sprinkle of perlite in there so I'd say it has very poor drainage. If they're outside that soil is getting wet, and then he probably even Waters it.

Most problems that come in the seedling stage seem to be over watering. That's my guess.

Yes, probably all around nutrient deficiency, N, Ca,Mg, because of the roots have been too dry/wet to absorb nutrients properly.
Above is a good guess, but often so small cups are prone to dry too fast. Atleast been for me.

My guess would that they've been a tad dry.
This you should be able to see when you feel the weight of the cups, light is dry and bit heavy is wet.
As you seem to have compost in the cups they should pull the moisture up with capillary action
if you water them from the bottom of the tray, as I would suggest.
This gives them a bit better moisture buffer, but shouldn't keep the top too wet.
Just don't fill it like a swimming pool, but just a 1cm or so in the bottom and let the bottom dry inbetween.

Greetings from northern europe.

cage said:

Yes, probably all around nutrient deficiency, N, Ca,Mg, because of the roots have been too dry/wet to absorb nutrients properly.
Above is a good guess, but often so small cups are prone to dry too fast. Atleast been for me.

My guess would that they've been a tad dry.
This you should be able to see when you feel the weight of the cups, light is dry and bit heavy is wet.
As you seem to have compost in the cups they should pull the moisture up with capillary action
if you water them from the bottom of the tray, as I would suggest.
This gives them a bit better moisture buffer, but shouldn't keep the top too wet.
Just don't fill it like a swimming pool, but just a 1cm or so in the bottom and let the bottom dry inbetween.

Greetings from northern europe.

Click to expand...

That soil looks really wet with very little perlite. I don't know how it could dry up besides living in a super dry climate. I'm almost certain water is getting retained in the cups very easily.

I have a feeling this is going to be a one post thread.........happens all the time.

MickFoster said:

If those are 2 months old, you have some serious problems.
Give us some details.........medium, nutes, environment, etc.
Welcome to RIU.

Click to expand...

Havent given them any nutrients yet, would you reocmmend doing so?

I've put them in multipurpose soil, just the general gig form the local garden shop.

Environment has been getting up to 30c some days recently but averaging 25 and down to 14 at night.

UnknownRemedy said:

Here's my guess. There's a sprinkle of perlite in there so I'd say it has very poor drainage. If they're outside that soil is getting wet, and then he probably even Waters it.

Most problems that come in the seedling stage seem to be over watering. That's my guess.

Click to expand...

ok thanks, have been keeping them pretty dry tbh! that shot was just afterwatering but generally been letting them get dry so the root structures can develop

cage said:

Yes, probably all around nutrient deficiency, N, Ca,Mg, because of the roots have been too dry/wet to absorb nutrients properly.
Above is a good guess, but often so small cups are prone to dry too fast. Atleast been for me.

My guess would that they've been a tad dry.
This you should be able to see when you feel the weight of the cups, light is dry and bit heavy is wet.
As you seem to have compost in the cups they should pull the moisture up with capillary action
if you water them from the bottom of the tray, as I would suggest.
This gives them a bit better moisture buffer, but shouldn't keep the top too wet.
Just don't fill it like a swimming pool, but just a 1cm or so in the bottom and let the bottom dry inbetween.

Greetings from northern europe.

Click to expand...

ok thanks very much.

i may have been letting them get too dry yep!

whatnutes would you recommend at this stage? im in portugal but can either order some specialised for cannabis or we have manygarden centres nearby!

UnknownRemedy said:

That soil looks really wet with very little perlite. I don't know how it could dry up besides living in a super dry climate. I'm almost certain water is getting retained in the cups very easily.

Click to expand...

thanks friend

Ok so after everyones input im pretty sure the dryness was the issue, but also seems that i should bhe giving them additional nutrients, that im not doing.

My plan is to repot them into larger pots, again fill with multipurpose (have attached a picture, apologies its in portuguese! but it does say it contains active perlite) and then buy them some food, does that sound sensible team? Any advice on what food to get appreciated - thanks for the help and warm welcome and sorry for newb qs.

G2S

gremmy2shoes said:

ok thanks very much.

i may have been letting them get too dry yep!

whatnutes would you recommend at this stage? im in portugal but can either order some specialised for cannabis or we have manygarden centres nearby!

Click to expand...

The compost should have plenty nutes for this stage.
Now you just need to develop some root system and remember roots like moist and oxygen rich environment.
So as said, I recommend you water from the bottom and
could consider adding some perlite/leca/sand anything really to prevent water evaporation from the top of the cup.

Too dry roots and the root tips will get pruned. This is a desired effect in the bottom of the pot.

They even don't need too much light at this point yet, so partial sunny spot should do for now.
After they perk up and develop a pair of good leaves you could transplant them to bigger pots.

cage said:

The compost should have plenty nutes for this stage.
Now you just need to develop some root system and remember roots like moist and oxygen rich environment.
So as said, I recommend you water from the bottom and
could consider adding some perlite/leca/sand anything really to prevent water evaporation from the top of the cup.

Too dry roots and the root tips will get pruned. This is a desired effect in the bottom of the pot.

They even don't need too much light at this point yet, so partial sunny spot should do for now.
After they perk up and develop a pair of good leaves you could transplant them to bigger pots.

Click to expand...

Thanks a mill, yeah its getting very hot and sunny so perhaps shade?

Also i completely cocked up the description - my better half just told me theyre 5-6 weeks old.

At what point would they like full sun, if at all? im in the algarve in portugal and it gets very hot and dry (uptp 40c in full summer).

Also i forgot to say the strain apologies will try edit the previous messages -half are barneys blue cheese, the other barneys tangerine dream.

Roger re adding sand we have lots on our land - is this on the top layer i assume?

Thanks again for coming to the rescue

cage said:

The compost should have plenty nutes for this stage.
Now you just need to develop some root system and remember roots like moist and oxygen rich environment.
So as said, I recommend you water from the bottom and
could consider adding some perlite/leca/sand anything really to prevent water evaporation from the top of the cup.

Too dry roots and the root tips will get pruned. This is a desired effect in the bottom of the pot.

They even don't need too much light at this point yet, so partial sunny spot should do for now.
After they perk up and develop a pair of good leaves you could transplant them to bigger pots.

Click to expand...

Also just in regards to the bottom watering, appreciated and thanks for the solid advice - we tend to drink filtered water around here as the tap water is slightly chlorinated - still safe to drink, but prob not the best to drink for prolonged periods. Ive been watering them with filtered water, if bottom watering shall i still use filtered? will be quite a hassle but will do if you think the chlorine in the tap water is going to harm them..

gremmy2shoes said:

Thanks a mill, yeah its getting very hot and sunny so perhaps shade?

Also i completely cocked up the description - my better half just told me theyre 5-6 weeks old.

At what point would they like full sun, if at all? im in the algarve in portugal and it gets very hot and dry (uptp 40c in full summer).

Also i forgot to say the strain apologies will try edit the previous messages -half are barneys blue cheese, the other barneys tangerine dream.

Roger re adding sand we have lots on our land - is this on the top layer i assume?

Thanks again for coming to the rescue

Click to expand...

After you get another pair of leaves and re-potted.
Then few days to settle and then they are ready for full sun.

Yes, sand for top layer to reduce moisture loss from the top (also good againts fungus gnats),
should help a bit with the small cups before you get transplanted.

As for the chlorination, I would need numbers to make any recommendation.
But in general if under 5ppm, it's not a problem to a plant or humans.
Chlorine dissipates though, so let it stand and the chlorine levels drop if it's a problem.

With tapwater there is more to consider though, like how hard or soft it is?
Hardwater has usually plenty of calcium+magnesium which the plant can use.
So likely the tapwater could very well be used for irrigation.
I'd guess water is pretty hard there so then it would consist plenty of Ca+Mg and you wouldn't need to add so much of them.
As for other components you should see if your water company has this info on web page or you could contact them.

Have a good one

Thanks a mill cage,

After a quick google it seems the water here is hard.

I'm going to contatc the water provider and see if they can tell me the Ph of the water and also the chlorine levels, until then will keep using the brita filter.

Will do the sand today, have put them in shade and gave them 30mins half submerged in water yesterday to soak the roots and bottom water.

Thanks again man, will keep this thread updated with photos, hopefully the little guys bounce back!

cage said:

After you get another pair of leaves and re-potted.
Then few days to settle and then they are ready for full sun.

Yes, sand for top layer to reduce moisture loss from the top (also good againts fungus gnats),
should help a bit with the small cups before you get transplanted.

As for the chlorination, I would need numbers to make any recommendation.
But in general if under 5ppm, it's not a problem to a plant or humans.
Chlorine dissipates though, so let it stand and the chlorine levels drop if it's a problem.

With tapwater there is more to consider though, like how hard or soft it is?
Hardwater has usually plenty of calcium+magnesium which the plant can use.
So likely the tapwater could very well be used for irrigation.
I'd guess water is pretty hard there so then it would consist plenty of Ca+Mg and you wouldn't need to add so much of them.
As for other components you should see if your water company has this info on web page or you could contact them.

Have a good one

Click to expand...

Do you think i shouold get a Ph meter too and start testing the water? If so, how would i adjust it so its the right Ph? (i believe this is between 6 and 7 correct me if wrong). Would vinegar and baking soda be suitable?

Any guidance appreciated, big newb to all this..

gremmy2shoes said:

Do you think i shouold get a Ph meter too and start testing the water? If so, how would i adjust it so its the right Ph? (i believe this is between 6 and 7 correct me if wrong). Would vinegar and baking soda be suitable?

Any guidance appreciated, big newb to all this..

Click to expand...

I would use phosphoric acid for down and potassium bicarbonate for up.

gremmy2shoes said:

Do you think i shouold get a Ph meter too and start testing the water? If so, how would i adjust it so its the right Ph? (i believe this is between 6 and 7 correct me if wrong). Would vinegar and baking soda be suitable?

Any guidance appreciated, big newb to all this..

Click to expand...

Get PH drops. They're cheap, easy to read (unless you're colorblind) and saves tons of money in the long run.

gremmy2shoes said:

Do you think i shouold get a Ph meter too and start testing the water? If so, how would i adjust it so its the right Ph? (i believe this is between 6 and 7 correct me if wrong). Would vinegar and baking soda be suitable?

Any guidance appreciated, big newb to all this..

Click to expand...

You should get some sort of pH measuring kit, drops and meters are both fine.
Especially for soils grows I'd reckon the accuracy of drop testers is fine. There is different scale drop tests so you get better accuracy.
I started with drops and then bought Bluelab meter which I've had probably 10years now. Little slow to stabilize, but oh well..

curious2garden there pointed few good pH adjusting products, I'd add silica products also as good pH up/buffer.
They are also pretty cheap/long lasting stuff so if you end up needing to adjust your pH, you should consider getting them.
As for vinegar and baking soda, they do work, though not the strongest effect and alot of baking soda is sodium which you don't want too much.
So you could use them in short term, but I'd suggest proper pH up and down products.

But it's no biggie to water with pure tap water with pH of 8. The compost should have enough buffering capacity to have the pH remain still.
After you start adding nutes to water the pH drops, so check the pH after you've added the nutes.
Usually the pH drops in decent range, but you should check it for starters