2nd time growing and I have 3 seedlings (NYC Deisel, La Confidential, Maui Wowie) looking a little leggy and white spots and hairs. They almost look like trichomes but on my first grow I didn’t notice any of that until much farther into maturity. They have only popped out of the ground 5 to 8 days ago. I added more light this time to try to avoid early stretching and I don’t want to burn them. 3 x 15 Watt LED’s at about 8" away - Manufacturer says each light is equivalent to 82 Watts so in 'theory" I’m going with 246 Watts. No nutes yet, watering about 20 to 30 sprays of water once or twice a day, Fox Farm Ocean Forest potting soil. Not overly concerned with the stretch although I would prefer them not to. I’m more concerned about the white dots. Bugs or mold? Or am I triggering early trichome production? I’m hoping the black dot is just dirt from recently coming out of the soil. Thanks in advance!
Looks normal to me. Just don’t water until dry, and keep your light intensity set correctly.
Thanks. I’m going to move on from the spray bottle and give a dixie cup or 2 of water when needed, guessing every couple days but we’ll see. Do you think the light intensity is good where it’s at? I see a lot of pictures with people who have really short seedlings, shorter than mine with a bunch of leaves growing. I’m hesitant to bring them closer or turn them up. Thanks for the advice.
Looks like it’s right to me. They need very little water at this point. If you’re unsure, weigh the cup when dry, water and weigh again, then you’ll know for sure when it’s dry, and ready for a little water. Once the leaves get as wide as the cup, it’s ready for transplant.
The hairs are a type of trichome and the black dots could be anything… kinda looks like some kind of bug poop (or it could just be dirt). Check underneath the leaves with a loupe or macro lense camera.
Dont spray water. Take a solo cup put it over the sprout then water around the outside of the cup maybe a couple of tablespoons. Then remove the cup. This promotes root growth towards the edges of the pot witch is what you want. Dont water directly on the main stem. Give it a day or two before watering again.
Done just as a test
Damp soil the day seed broke ground.
21 days later without any water. Not a drop added for 21 days.
This was the first day the plant wilted. Its definitely stunted, but it shows you don’t have to worry about watering seedlings frequently.
That is absolutely fantastic knowledge to give to a beginner! I figured a week without water and I would be toast! My first grow I was watering about 1/2 a gallon 3 times a week (5 gallon bag) for a few weeks and I got fungus gnats. She was a pretty low yield but her clones did pretty good after I made some adjustments. I like the weighing idea, it’s a bit less subjective than the ‘finger test’ (though not always as practical.). Knowing that it can go that long without water definitely helps when trying to balance watering too much and not watering enough. Thanks for the practical advice!
Those first few days after breaking ground there is the risk of damping off and avoiding watering is the best way to avoid it. The tap root grows incredibly fast and in 2 or 3 days from breaking ground at most its rooted to the bottom of a solo cup and able to sustain itself for several days.
I probably would water after 4 or 5 days so the top couple inches of soil doesn’t dry out too far. You want a good network of roots to develop.
I have never overwatered a seedling 
. Ok guilty, just killed two, again. Its because i love them so much i want to play with em!!! I wanna water em, feed em, crank my lights up, as soon as they pop i wanna pluck tge hemet off, i cant help it they’re like little puppies 
I too killed many of my seedlings at first. Now after I prepare the soil or coco for the seed I pretty much ignore it for the first week. Dampen the media and squeeze out what I can then put in solo cups or bags and place the seed which has been soaked overnight about 3/8 to 1/2 inch down. Cover and give about a teaspoon of water to settle the soil on top of the seed. Put a clear cover over it and do not water anymore. No water no water no water.
Once it breaks ground keep it covered for a day or two. Then ditch the dome and still do not water. The roots on that seedling grow incredibly fast and will have reached the bottom of a solo cup within 2 or 3 days. I tested a seed planted this way and it went 21 days before it even wilted.
Here it is at 14 days, no water at all. No dome. Fan gently moving air in the tent.
I don’t recommend this as a way to start your plant, ,But just to show that you should not think it will die if you don’t give it water. After it gets established the risk of damping off is reduced.