What am I doing wrong?

I don't get it. Once upon a time, when I was like 15, I used to try growing and I'd actually reach flowering by using old soil, fertilizer from the getgo, and no pH testing. Now, I'm trying to do everything right and can't seem to get past a couple weeks!

My soil is fresh, I've played around with pH (different plants), and I can't seem to get past two nodes! I was originally just using distilled water, but the plants were perishing, so I added a small amount of vinegar to bring the pH down to about 6.5. They start out perfect, but after a week or so, growth is non-apparent and leaves start to yellow.

For instance, this plant looks healthy enough, though it was more symmetrical at one point


and now the once green stem is beginning to redden.



Another sprout that's a whole week older had the perfect stature for a while, shaped like a capital T, but now it's struggling and starting to yellow.



And where is the growth?! These seeds are straight from Colorado (Buddha Prpl Kush), but I seem to be failing.

My temperature is in the 80's, I've got water evaporating for humidity, and they're under 250watts of fluorescent lighting. My soil is in the 6-7 pH range, and like I said, I tried using pH 7 water (didn't work) and now I've lowered it slightly, but to no avail. Is my thumb really this black? My other failures are visible in the photos, but I've since opted out of those tiny root restricting grow pots. I water only when the tip of my finger can't find moisture. In what regard am I sucking, RIU?

1) do the bottom of those cups have holes so the water can drain
2) i would wait till the cup is alot drier then your fingertip
3) What is your RH ?
4) What type of soil are you using? Dirt from your back yard or a store bought soil?
5) Do you have air circulation or are they just sitting under 250w lights?

Is that soil or Dirt from the Backyard?

I see rocks and shit in it no perlite. Anyway, your little girl will be fine. Just don't love it to death.

Also, I wouldn't use distilled water unless your tap is shooting chlorine and brown weird shit. Just give them PH'd tap and don't over water. IMO

There is a 9 inch fan on low power moving the air into the grow area and keeping the temp. regulated.

The soil is store bought Whitney Farms Organic.

RH?

There is plenty of drainage in the cups. I water until the slightest amount seeps from the bottom.

Oh yea, there are some rocks on top because in the other pots I had sand from my yard for drainage, and I ended up using the sand mixed with the other pot's soil to bury the stretched stem a little bit. My tap water is from a well, but it's not sterile and tastes like iron.

Take a deep breath and simplify the routine. Give them a couple of days. Make sure the fan isn't blowing directly on them.. (I've done that and killed a seed overnight).

Plants like iron, haha

RH=Realative Humidity, for seedlings and veg plants you want your RH to be 60-65% ie like the rainforest. 40-50% for flower

The air doesn't move the plants at all, but it's tough to keep humidity up, because winter is a dry season, and furnaces don't help, but I've got a couple cups of water evaporating and every time I water, the leaves get some and so does the paint tray below them to allow for more evaporating surface area. I don't have a good way to measure RH in the grow area, but in the rest of the house it's 40%.

So too much iron shan't be a problem, then?

ive never ever had a seedling die,and i have made alot of mistakes,water it and let it go for few days,dont get light to close,and dont use any nutes till the plant is atleast foot tall,once it gets rooted good it is hard to actually kill one,unless u cook it to death or frezz it to death,lol,also id try useing something differnt if that is a wax coated cup your growing in,i always start them in 16oz colored plastic cups,and like i said,ive never ever had a seedling die on me,the first one looks fine,not sure about second one,they will sometimes start out very slow then pick up speed,by brother just started a grow 2 weeks ago,and his were very slow for first 10 days,then they started to grow like crazy

(theres no telling what kind of shit them paper cups is made of)

You mentioned you used old soil the first time you grew at 15, but this time you're using fresh quality soil which ironically might be your problem here.

You see, the old soil is old because it is pretty much just dirt since all of the nutrients in it were all sucked up (unless you amended the soil before using it but I'm guessing not?). So as a result, your seedlings/clones from your first grow didn't get burned from having too many nutrients. But now, you're sticking seedlings straight into fresh new soil and this soil is meant for plants that are 12 inches or more. Think of a seedling like a baby. You aren't gonna try to get the kid to eat a bunch of vegetables/fruit whole for it's nutrients right? You buy baby food instead because the real thing is too much for them at that point in their lives. The same applies for plants. I would recommend putting seeds inside rockwool or plugs, then wait for the plants to get to root and get tall enough to transplant into a small 1 gal pot. Fill the bottom half with fresh soil and the top half with something like old soil or coco, something that doesn't have any nutrients to burn the plant until the roots grow all the way to the bottom (which won't be until it's ready for the nutes). I'm sure that your fresh soil is what is hurting the seedlings though.

In fact, your seedlings don't look too unhealthy as I've seen much worse. Flush the seedlings carefully, using 3 times as much water for the size of the container. For example, 3 gallons of water to flush a 1 gallon pot. You'll need to take care to flush the soil gently or you'll mess the seedlings up as I doubt the roots are large enough to have settled much yet. After you've flushed the seedlings and waited a few days they should be good as new.

Try and cover them with a clear container to keep humidity up

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoors-Garden-Center-Outdoor-Decor-Thermometers-Weather-Stations/N-5yc1vZc6no


Best $10 I ever spent. I find it very difficult to get above 35% RH with my small plants and they are fine. Once your plants grow a bit I imagine humidity will rise.

I placed my seeds in a 3 gal to start to avoid any transplant shock and although they are not award winners they are just fine.

BTW: I recently killed 7 seedlings by overwatering !!!