@lovenature here’s your Seedling troubleshooting thread. Figured Id start you up a new one. Will be moving relevant info over this way.
Welcome To ILGM! Great place full of great folks.
I have drowned my seedlings and stunted growth…1 week old fell over.Can I gently re pot them to dryer medium? new here not sure how or where to post this …
TY for your quick response. Can’t take pics I’m OLD ! LOL. they popped 1 week ago , and the first set of TRUE leaves grew to about 1/4 inch color is good, but has not grown a bit , I mean NONE in last 6 days . I found the soil was to wet when I tried to aeriate around them. Yesterday i bumped them when trying to loosen the soil up again, they fell over. The upper stem was helthy but underneath the soil the roots were Very wispy.I dug them both out and reburied them deeper. One looks same today …the other ,well leaves are curling down toward soil…this one may have suffered a fracture of tap root. I was VERY gentle when burying them deeper.
First mistake. Almost all new growers make it. New seedlings dont grow alot above the dirt. The real action is going on underneath. The roots are typically being established and she’s setting herself up to support the rest of her life. Fiddling in the dirt and messing with development normally only slows the process. As does overwatering.
Speaking of… overwatering is less about pouring too much water and more about water being in the soil too often. Weed in general prefers flood to drought levels cycling. Very wet, pretty dry, very wet again. They will thrive if you let them. Typically when I start new seeds, the soil is wet prior to me putting them (with taproot tails) in. And I dont rewet my medium for at least a week or two, sometimes longer.
See. No fiddling! Lol also the weak stem sounds like dampening off. Which is when the stem has been wet too often and isnt strong enough to stand alone. A toothpick and bit of wire and u can make her a support.
Airflow is super important growing pot as well. Find a weak fan and point it at a wall. The indirect airflow will help strengthen the stem, it will also help the soil dry more quickly.
@lovenature I put up this thread as to not take over the other. And it helps to keep important info in one location
Be nice, I really know nothing about how forums work!
TY for straightening out my post and new thread start. Today , day 2 after re-sinking them deeper in the pot they look much happier, thank you mother nature! The first true leaves have actually grown @ another 1/4 " …not much but somethin’ ! They seem to grow at night when the lights are off , is that normal? I wrote this part 2/16/2022.
I was locked out of posting due to new user rules/first day post limits.
Anyways,day 3 now after my fiddling with them (burying deeper) second set of leaves, not including the round ones,have shown themselves. I guess i’ve made it out of the woods for now…@BudzMS ;>
These things are soooo slow, It took 6 days or so to root in Paper towel method then put in soil 2 weeks to the day now since start. I guess I’m the impatient type. Thanks for your solid advice PurpNGold74
Before I forget Welcome to The Forum.
In the beginning there mostly growing roots night and day. You will see growth at night since the Seedling is getting it’s energy from the Cotyledons, which are just below the first two leaves that emerge. As the leaves continue to grow they take over the supply roll for energy production. The cotyledons will eventually be tapped out, dry up and fall off. By then hopefully there’s enough leaves. Then most of what you see take place will be during the day since they’ll be dozens of leaves producing energy. And the growth should be exponential.
Also it is important to make sure your roots develop properly from the beginning. If you are using a cup or other plastic container make sure it has plenty of at least a dozen or more 8th in small holes around the sides. More if it’s a larger container. This will allow air in to help “prune” or kill the tip of the root. This stops them from getting root bound before transplanting as the route terminates it’s growth in length if puts on girth and more lateral roots. allowing them to make the most of nutrients and moisture. It’ll also help prevent over-watering. that’s my two cents someone will likely find something wrong with what I’ve said and that’s okay good luck happy growing.
TY Ozark, I started in 3gl pot still not sure if starting in cups is good for auto’s but I’m starting to rethink that.! Guessing if the bottom 1/3 of pot is too wet or bone dry makes me over water!;<
