I am so ashamed, failing miserably :( Any help from the pros?

Grow Cycle
1

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any help…

A little background: I am a complete newbie (that probably tells you most of what you need to know lol) We purchased 6X5 seeds from ILGM they are: Northern Lights, Purple Haze, Super Silver, Chocolope, Gold Leaf and Strawberry Kush.

Seeds arrived in 8 days (Mucho grande thanks to ILGM)

Seeds placed in distilled water for 24 hours. All seeds sunk within 24 hours.

Seeds were placed in white paper towels another 48 hours. All showed tap root within 48 hours.

Seeds were then placed in 4-inch pots made up of FFOF cut with a little more perlite. Soil was watered for moisture; allowed to drip out so no excess water. Seeds with tap were placed approx 1/4 inch below soil and covered loosely.with more soil.

Pots were then tented with small plastic bags to retain humidity.

We are now 6 days in (started water soak on Monday last 7/17 it is now Sunday 7/23) Sooooo. here is where we are:

Nothern Lights : 2- inch growth with cotyledons YAY.
All others dead. :frowning:

So, not a great track record so far. Guys what am I doing wrong?? If one or two had died I would have thought “hum just a bad seed or two” but 5 OUT OF 6? No way. Its something I am doing wrong.

We have an indoor grow set up in a small room off of my husband’s workshop approx 9 sq ft. We have run a small AC duct into the room otherwise the temp in the room would soar (hot summer) We have a vent in the room which draws additional air from basement (which is temp controlled AC runs at 78 degrees for the house) Room has been cleaned and painted white. Cracks are sealed with aluminum tape.

Lights are MH 400 watts set at 75% intensity. Light is approx 24 inches from pots. 18hr on, 6 hrs off. Temp in room avgs 80 degrees with 60% humidity when lights are on, and 77 degrees with 50% humidity when lights are out…

Small floor fan set at medium speed, extractor fan on. I know the fans probably don’t make a difference at this point but just wanted to let you know the conditions of the room.

Today I was getting concerned since the only one stretching up is Northern Lights. We started to investigate further and found the other 5 had no change in the size of tap root and the small cotyledon (green) that was showing near the cracked seed had turned brown (along with the tap root)

Help guys. I can’t afford to lose too many more seeds. We have started another soak on the 5 seeds we lost and I need to figure this out before I plant again :crying_cat_face:

Thanks again if you see fit to hand hold this newbie. BTW I am a 60-year-old woman who uses for medical issues (mostly lol) and yes I am playing on your sympathies…think of your gramma trying to grow her tomato plants and desperately needs your advice cuz they are all dying!! OMG…What a sad mental image lol poor grams!

All advice will be received gratefully and all questions answered (other than asking me what I am wearing) quickly.

R.

5 Likes
2

the ffof is probably to hot for the seedlings, try a seedling soil mix in a solo cup, once a couple nodes are formed, then move to the ffof… maybe some more experienced people could help further, that is just my take on it…

2 Likes
3

Yep yep yep I agree with @Ron330 . I grow in ffof and keep my girls in starter mix until those two little oval leafs start to die off . Those two little guys are packed with the food the plant needs to get a good start and they are super easy to burn in the sprout stage . I have loved more than one plant to death

2 Likes
4

Thanks so much guys. Any particular seed starter mix? Or will any brand/type do?

1 Like
5

This is where I tag a pro @Majiktoker @Hogmaster I just grab seed starting soil from walmart they dont stay in it long it just needs to be mild to start them in good and if you haven’t yet download Roberts free grow bible from the bottom of the main page and the growers guides they are what helped me a lot

3 Likes
6

Hi @rodri59, I am in the same boat as you, being 65 and my first grow. Fortunately I had better luck. Here is what I did and while I know it’s not necessarily recommended by many experienced growers I used the little peat starter pellets in a domed starter kit. I started 2 ILGM White Widow Auto, 2 ILGM Gold Leaf, and 4 unknown type bag seed. I used a misting bottle to keep it moist, put it in a warm spot and misted several times a day. After 2 days all had sprouted and so I placed a 2 foot T5 fluorescent bulb above the dome and kept misting for a week. After a week, when they all had 2-3 sets of leaves I cut the meshy stuff off of the peat pellets and transplanted the disks to the little peat pots with Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil that had been previously wetted a couple of times to try and wash out some of the extra nutes. I took the dome off and just misted them several times a day with that light about an inch above them. After about 2 weeks of that I transplanted them, after cutting away most of the peat pot into their forever 5 gallon cloth pots. They are all doing well and now I have too many plants for my 4 by 4 tent. Good luck and happy growing. This site has been so invaluable for learning!

3 Likes
7

Since the seeds didn’t sprout I can tell you what I do. I’ve only had one seed not grow and that was a bag seed. I’m 100% with germinating ILGM seeds. Get some rapid rooter starter plugs, dunk them in water, squeeze out excess and put the seed in the pre-made hole pointy side down. Fill up a solo cup of starter soil and put the plug in. Cover with a bottle or plastic wrap if you need to keep the humidity up. No need to soak for 24 hours. They will sprout up in 2-5 days. :+1: Best of luck!

1 Like
8

I use FFOF also and I found that it was a little too hot, so I use Happy Frog for my seedlings then transplant into FFOF after about 10-14 days. I’m still learning also, I noticed that your Temp during light period was a little high??
Others here have much more knowledge than I do, but I keep my day temp (Light On) about 75f/55%RH and my night temp (Light Off) about 70-72f/50-55%RH
Hope this helps…keep asking questions and just go for it

Live-Grow-Learn
Dragon

Oops: Forgot most important thing: Regardless of what you see on here (no disrespect intended)
Always follow germination Instructions from Robert He will never steer you wrong

Live-Grow-Learn
Dragon

4 Likes
9

Awesome to see someone my own age :slight_smile: Thanks @FreakyDeekie . Just curious, did you do the water soak method? Or did you just drop them as they are in the starter peat pellets? I am considering this method…

TIA, Rodri

1 Like
10

Thanks @Dragon269, I was wondering about the temp. Its proving difficult to get the temp below 80 in the room :frowning:

11

Thanks @MattyBear…you make it sound so easy! lol. I am considering the starter pellets…R.

1 Like
12

Thanks for the help @Oldstoner!! Rodri.

1 Like
13

If you can somehow reduce your humidity 5-10% that will help with your temps, in the Hot part of Summer, I use a small dehumidifier in my tent…

Live-Grow-Learn
Dragon

2 Likes
14

I will be honest with you, against a lot of the advice I read on here, I only soaked the ILGM seeds in water for 24 hours, changed the water 3 times, and then planted them tail down in the little peat pellets, the bag seed, which I still cannot come close to figuring out what it is, I just popped it in the peat pellets and they all came up within a few hours of each other. I have had heat issues all along since putting in my tent, which is in the basement. Usually stays 84-86 throughout the day with the fans running and the windows and door open with Rh around 42 % now, with using a container of water with a towel tailed into it. I haven’t put into flower yet because I experimented the other day with closing up the tent with the lights on and went up to 92. Still trying to figure out what to do to get the temps under control but I may have to just tough it out and hope for the best. Plants are doing well and the 2 autos started preflower last week all on their own, of course. When I say I never grew before that is a kind of fib because one time I did start a couple of plants in a closet with a hot, hot, hot halogen light. Never got any bud and they ended up being so stinky that the spouse made me get rid of them, that was about 15 years ago.

3 Likes
15

@Dragon269 Good idea. I purchased a tub of dehumidifier (desecant type stuff) I was going to save it for the flowering period, but maybe I will throw it in there now…Thanks!

1 Like
16

Thanks @FreakyDeekie, I may try this. I have them soaking now. might stick them in peat pellets tomorrow. R

1 Like
17

Just another word of caution…I used peat pots for my first couple of grows…I had problems with keeping pH at 6.5.
I read somewhere that the peat is acidic, so I went behind Home Depot and raided their dumpster…I got several dozen 1 pint containers, plenty of drain holes and that’s all I use now…
Not really advise, just my experience…
For pro advice ask @Majiktoker @garrigan62, @latewood or @Hogmaster…all have tons of experience and more than happy to help fellow growers…
Hope this helps…

Live-Grow-Learn
Dragon

1 Like
18

@Dragon269 thanks for the tip.! So can I ask, do you soak your seeds and then paper towel them? Or just right into HF?

19

I germinate mine in a shot glass of water (Luke warm) than once a taproots has came out of the seed shell they end up going in peat pellets they haven’t let me down unless seeds have been bad

4 Likes
20

I soak my seeds in a small glass jar for 24-48hrs (depending on how long it takes for taproot to show)
I cover the jar with a light piece of pillowcase (to keep out dust etc and at same time allowing oxygen to enter)
As soon as seed husk splits and I can see a taproot tail I put them right into my Happy Frog potting mix and cover them with a humidity dome…I cut Gatorade in half and use the buttom half for my dome.
No nutes until after transplant into FFOF…
It’s kind of a trail and error thing (OJT) get the basics down…pH, PPM, temp and RH
Then just experiment with what works for you, cause what works for one may not work for another…
Best Advice: Keep a grow journal…it really helps to spot problems and find solutions…

Live-Grow-Learn
Dragon

2 Likes