whats going on with my seedlings?? burnt??

I have 20 easy ryder seedlings under my 600W hps. They are 5 days old, the light is 18" away. Temps are a constant 79 and I have a fan blowing on them for circulation. They are in 2 gallon grow bags with FFOF soil. I have wet towels in the closet to raise humidity.

I think there's somethin wrong with my seedlings.. About half of them are light green and the leaves are drooping, but then half are all spikey and pointed upwards. Idk if I'm underwatering or overwatering or what! :[

Here is a pic of a drooping one:





Side shot of weeping:


Now here is a pic of the spikey hard looking ones, did I fry them or what?





Side view:

That's a lot of light for those babies. I personally wait till I have a second set of leaves before I put them under my hid lights. How close is the light?

The light is about 18" away, but I mean they aren't looking BAD, like they are really green and I can see growth every time I check on them.. So I guess they can't be in too bad of shape? This is my first grow so mabye I just don't know what to expect.

Do you think it has anything to do with watering? Its only been 5 days but so far I let the soil about 2" deep around the seedling get almost completely dry then I water with bottled distilled water

The soil definitely needs to stay moist and the humidity needs to be high.

I let the top of the soil and about 2" deep get completely dry, then I water. Does that sound ok for 5 day old seedlings?

I have the same question, I spray mine with a spray bottle and the top soil gets moist but right under it it's dry. I put the pot in a bucket full of water and let it soak up from the bottom and then misted the top after. Is that bad, I read a lot about overwatering and that usually u water every 2 or 3 days when they r seedlings but mine dry out daily and I usually need to add water to keep the soil moist. It's just some bag seed but I'd like to know if I'm doing something wrong because I have some seeds on the way

Use Light Warrior instead of Ocean Forrest for seedlings, or use a 2:1 ratio OF:LW with perlite of course for aeration.... I believe you have a nute burn prob. and a light problem....VHO or HO lights are excellent for keeping the node spacing short, and may be better than MH at this stage...

The light is about 18" away, but I mean they aren't looking BAD, like they are really green and I can see growth every time I check on them.. So I guess they can't be in too bad of shape? This is my first grow so mabye I just don't know what to expect.

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I've never personally started seedlings under an HPS but I've heard it's not the best idea. I use t5's and have had great success. 600W might be too intense. If you must then try keeping the light higher or keeping the seedlings under the side lighting and not directly under the light itself.

I let the top of the soil and about 2" deep get completely dry, then I water. Does that sound ok for 5 day old seedlings?

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For seedlings I water as soon as the top dries. Don't over saturate just keep the dirt moist.

gNurgles said:

I've never personally started seedlings under an HPS but I've heard it's not the best idea. I use t5's and have had great success. 600W might be too intense. If you must then try keeping the light higher or keeping the seedlings under the side lighting and not directly under the light itself.



For seedlings I water as soon as the top dries. Don't over saturate just keep the dirt moist.

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Good answer

Thanks man. I'm glad I can help out even though I have no where near the experience as a lot of peeps on here.