Seedling problems :(

So I bought some seeds online from Nirvana, and I've gone through 8 so far and had some really bad results. I'm so pissed off at myself for not getting any good youngsters so far. A few seeds didn't sprout, and a few turning into little seedlings but then died... I think first from heat exhaustion, and the others from overwatering. I bought a heating pad for my clones which I'm using now and I'm keeping the seedlings in party cups with saran wrap (with small holes in the top). I have 3 CFLs in the cabinet (23w 6500k), and cross ventilation with pc fans (pic included). I don't know what i'm doing wrong, but not happy with the results. Guess I'm just a noob after all! bummer

I just want my last two seeds to be failproof... any suggestions?

I'll up some pics later this evening of the bad sprouts...

Better pics of the plants would be good but I'd say overwatering is probably your issue cos it was with me and many other noobs with 1st tries.

yeah i'm gonna up some shots later.... the weird thing is my first main grow was one seed and I had no problems. I think I might be overcomplicating the process or just being a dumbass. Maybe both... haha

What kind of soil are you using? It might be too acidic. I use fox farm and it works wonders.

Well, how much are you watering exactly? are you dipping your finger into the soil 2/3 inches to see if it's dry? or just watering when the top looks dry? are you using any nutes or nutrient rich soil? problems, problems, problems but the worst is over-mothering my first batch died from it..

The Grow Kid said:

What kind of soil are you using? It might be too acidic. I use fox farm and it works wonders.

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fox farm ocean forest... been great for my main grow.

LorDeMO said:

Well, how much are you watering exactly? are you dipping your finger into the soil 2/3 inches to see if it's dry? or just watering when the top looks dry? are you using any nutes or nutrient rich soil? problems, problems, problems but the worst is over-mothering my first batch died from it..

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I usually wait until the top starts to dry out... then I spray the top of the soil to keep it moist. I might have saturated the soil too much though... I read you shouldn't let it totally dry out, but its hard to find a happy medium, I guess. I have some starter nutes that are really watered down for the spray...

Honestly just let the soil dry and out and learn to read your plant. When your plant needs water it'll droop slightly and give you the impression it's sad - honestly. Ya just gotta try diff things until you find what's best for you and your babies

LorDeMO said:

Honestly just let the soil dry and out and learn to read your plant. When your plant needs water it'll droop slightly and give you the impression it's sad - honestly. Ya just gotta try diff things until you find what's best for you and your babies

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Yeah I think you're right man... I do this with my big plant, but I guess I'm over-mothering my seedlings, and maybe overcompensating with water. I think I might just do 1 seed at a time now, so I don't go through so many seeds.... running out!

wet the soil evenly and thoroughly...(till slightly dripping out of bottom) then plant seeds(at proper depth, depending on how much the taproot has grown from pre-germination...typically 1/4 to 1/2 to an inch works well that have been pre germinated or just plant the seeds 1/2 inches deep. Keep soil moist by a dome or saran wrap for humidity (which youre doing good btw) Aso When you keep the humidity in the cup or soil it will only barely just evaporate and not get very dry at all. Note: when germinating the seed in soil you can keep the first 2 inches of the soil moist by again keepin it humid and only if looking very dry then use a sprayer just in the area it is planted in so dont need to soak the rest of the soil. when already germinated like in papertowel you do not need to water unless soil is looking very dry on top 3-4 inches.(remember the tap root grows down much lower than the first 2-3 inches of the top of the soil, so the seed has PLENTY of water to keep it healthy) then when the soil is pretty dry(about 5 or more days after it sprouted(as in above the soil and standing straight up), then give it a good watering, your plant will tell you what watering schedule it wants. P.S. when the seeds grow into seedlings and saran wrap just will end up suffocating them cut a 20 oz water bottle in half and poke holes all throughout it so when the seedling sprouts you can just take the 2 mini humidomes and place on top of them (fits really well in large cups like that+ when you water you can just pour on top of the domes and keep the soil around the stem dry (which is what you want, so as to prevent damping off. You can also keep the humidity controlled by simply take them off and spray water on the inside of them when theyre dry and place back on top of the seedling to keep air moisture at optimal levels. If its already 70% humid in your box then dont have to do this, but this does work almost foolproof unless you have bad seed.

oh and another P.S. your NL plant looks great looks like it was topped in one of the pics perfectly the ones you got that didnt do so well also could have been a bad batch of seeds. Tip is to start out with the smallest ones first and only 2 at a time (its not like they take really long to germinate anyways right? see how they do and if okay then great, if not then you at least saved your biggest and best looking seeds for last

thx canofbliss for the thorough directions.... I'll try what you suggested. I had around 3-4 seedlings so far, so I think the seed are ok, I'm just f'ing them up. I think the heating pad is producing enough humidity in the dixie cups (with the saran wrap covering)... I'm pretty sure i just over-watered. maybe the pics later will help clear up what I did wrong.

You might try this with seeds. saok in water 12hr plant seed in cup about 3/4 full of soil. plant the seed with just enough soil to cover. use a spray bottle and slowley spary untill all the soil in the cup is moist. Do not water again. when you start use a cup with the same soil don't water it. keep it close to your others. when the plants feel the same as the mt cup water again. first watering in a cup should be 5 days to a week after sprout.

oh forgot you said you were using a heating pad, once they sprout get them off of it, unless its like 55 or 60 degrees in your house. too much heat and not enough room for it to ventilate from being trapped inside a cup w saran wrap even with holes will be like nuking the seeds. make sure the heating mat is not making the soil any hotter than 75 degrees, (original NL strain both comprised of thailand and afghan)#1 are these those ?

cannofbliss said:

oh forgot you said you were using a heating pad, once they sprout get them off of it, unless its like 55 or 60 degrees in your house. too much heat and not enough room for it to ventilate from being trapped inside a cup w saran wrap even with holes will be like nuking the seeds. make sure the heating mat is not making the soil any hotter than 75 degrees, (original NL strain both comprised of thailand and afghan)#1 are these those ?

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ohhhhhhhhhh this might be my problem. I left them on the pad and the soil was getting real warm... probably nuked em...

These are new seeds from Nirvana (Jock Horror strain). My current grow was from NL bagseed... not sure exactly what number strain the NL is though...

you don't need a pad at all just a flour tube over the top.

Sorry to hear about your woes getting seeds going, I went 3 for 3 meaning all 3 are in cups growing just fine on the last bunch of seeds from TGA

I have a how to if you want to check it out and maybe get a couple ideas or even try it out

It is very easy to follow

https://www.rollitup.org/subcools-old-school-organics/327737-growing-tgas-chernobyl-vortex.html

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck on you next batch

T

not saying heating pads are bad they are really beneficial for clones/cuttings, but yeah leaving the heating pad on all day + letting the soil get too hot will def mess your seeds up. Try by letting the soil stay around 70-75 degrees when germinating them since these are jocks, then turn off at night and for at least 16-18 hours and only leave the pad on for 6-8 hours a day(this mimicks the sun's hottest parts of the day when it makes the ground heat up the most) remember the sun isnt baking the ground 24 hours a day.

TCurtiss said:

I have a how to if you want to check it out and maybe get a cou
Let me know if you have any questions and good luck on you next batch
T

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Thanks for the link... however I'm having a easy time germinating, its the seedling stage that I'm struggling with.

cannofbliss... that sounds like a good plan, I'm gonna try it out. I just started germinating one more seed, since I'm down to only 2 now. I'll see if this new method helps... when would you suggest uncovering the cups (taking the saran wrap off)?