What went wrong here? First grow died

Ok so I am growing some Big Bud i germinated in a heated mini greenhouse in about 3 days they sprouted and grew about 4 inches tall. I decided I would go ahead and put them in some soil. I used the peat pellets to start them. I went straight from the pellet to a 2 gallon pot. Maybe I went too big too fast. Until the transplant I was not giving it any light just some natural light that came through the window. I put my 400 MH light on for the first time at 6am this morning 4 inches away from the pots. When i got home they just grew limp and shriveled up and died. So A few things I can think of here. The plants were very dry which I was surprised when I threw in the soil I put in about 3/4 of a liter of water. It seemed to make it very moist but maybe that was not enough for a 2 gallon pot? I checked it several times over an hour and it seemed moist so when I left for the day I threw the lights on.

First thing though I am using Organic soil here is the mix.... Fir Bark Fines, Forest Humus, Peat Moss, Perlite, composted chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, oyster shell and dolomite lime.

When I transplanted them I put about 2 inches of soil into the pot then placed the pellet then I put more soil and covered up majority of the stem and only had about 3/4 inch at the top with the stem and a few small leaves.
Should I not have let it grow that tall before transplanting it? Also the water I used was tap water with a PH of 6.9 to 7.0

So I have started over I put 3 more seeds in to be germinated so hopefully I can figure out what my first mistake was before transplanting them this time. As always thank you for your help.

Okay, here we go!!! First, never use peat pellets. ph should be like no higher than 6.8 and check the run off as well. and the reason as well why they died, 400 watt mh is weay to hot to have only four inches from your plants, especially that early. and before you transplant, wait till they are at least three or so internodes. keep your light on 18/6, at least a foot away, and a fan to help keep the heat off, as well s strengthen the stalk. any more info you need, hit me up im. I got loads to get you off ur feet my friend.!!! happy growing ( i hope this time)!!!!

yeh i would just watch the distance between the light and ur babies. seedlings burn very easy. u can put em under a fluro for a softer start if u like b4 switching to the MH.

as for never using a peat pellet... each to there own i guess. i know alot of ppl using the peat pellets very successfully. just gotta pre adjust ph as ur doing the initial soak. and fling some of the excess water out once thats done.

great thing about the peats it less touching when u go to repot

4 inches away is cfl range not high intensity

ahh good spotting tredueces i must have missed where he put the actual distance in.

yeh way too close mate.

i would say at least 2ft away as i said b4 those babies are exactly that. babies delicate at that stage.

so on ur next batch start nice and high and slowly reduce height or use fluros to begin if ur still worried :d

indipow82 said:

ph should be like no higher than 6.8 and check the run off as well. and the reason as well why they died, 400 watt mh is weay to hot to have only four inches from your plants, especially that early. and before you transplant, wait till they are at least three or so internodes. keep your light on 18/6, at least a foot away, and a fan to help keep the heat off, as well s strengthen the stalk. any more info you need, hit me up im. I got loads to get you off ur feet my friend.!!! happy growing ( i hope this time)!!!!

Click to expand...

Like everyone said you fried them...but IME...pH of 6.8 would be too high.

IMO...pH 6.0....no higher than 6.4, and that will give me crispy edges.

6.0 and pH EVERY fluid you put on her...If you would not want to live under the light...it is likely too intense.

Thanks that all makes sense. I was unclear about the distance for the light because I assumed if it was further away they would stretch and go limp trying to get closer to the light. I am positive that I got it all right now I was also unsure at first as to whether or not to put the fan in already didnt know if the girls could handle it or not yet because they were so brittle.

Thanks again,

yup, my bad, ph no higher than 5.8 for me, anything more is bad. good lookin there Hayduke.

Plants do not like wake and bakes. You literally cooked them to death.

indipow82 said:

yup, my bad, ph no higher than 5.8 for me, anything more is bad. good lookin there Hayduke.

Click to expand...

Are you hydro? I have been afraid of going to low...I will use 5.9, but usually adjust above 5.8...very interested in your feedback on this...sorry about stepping on your thread Medcard dude

use blue t5's for seedlings or a aqua florecent light from hdpot. Germinate , spout, and plant in a plastic dixie cup. You know the ones that are red and are at every keg party. Poke holes for drainage and add your soil. put inside a dome with a heating mat under these babies in their cups for a week using a rooting hormone in a ph water mix. Use 2/3 purified water and 1/3 tap water thats been standing. This will keep your ppm to around 300 with just using the rooting hormone since you are using soil that already has nutes in it already. Which is just fine for seedlings just dont add more nutes to it.
Dont even think about using a MH until after the second week. Like the third week. and at least 12" away. and thats only if you got a nice cooling system. You need to grow the babies up to 3 nodes at least before using aa MH. babies crave the florecents. Remember...a good veg cycle determines your outcome.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I never had any seedlings die on me so this work if you know what i mean.

Live and learn brotha... everyone here has made mistakes. I think the best way to get started is to simulate someone else's grow journal. That way you can see what mistakes they made and make sure you do not do the same.