This is my 3rd legal grow and I’m encountering an issue I’ve never had before. The previous grows were all under a ton (20+) cfl bulbs rigged with extension cords. This time I sprung for the BESTVA DC Series 3000W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Grow Lamp. I know it isn’t a full 3000w but for $300 it seemed to fit my 3X4 space well.
So twice I’ve now failed at sprouting. Here’s my process… seeds purchased from ilgm and 5 of them were placed in water then paper towel to germinate. When they had tails I gently went right into my potting soil. I have the above light at ~20 inches above the seedlings for 8 days now. As I said this is try # two recently. First try was all the same. 5 seeds recently purchased from ILGM and germinated same way. Two of those plants sprouted but both seedlings ended up dying within days… on the 2nd try, I ended up lowering the light from about 36 inches to 20 inches thinking it wasn’t penetrating… I dunno.
So now I’m on day 8 with nothing sprouting. I keep the soil moist twice a day with ~10 spritz’ from a water bottle. The temps are 78-82F with humidity at ~30%. The above light is on a 20-4 schedule hanging about 20 inches above the dirt.
So… am I missing something? Is LED two powerful for a seedling? I can’t be overwatering as I only spritz twice a day about 8-10 sprays each until the water is visiblly pooling at the top.
I’m totally flummoxed and I’ve only got 5 seeds left… what do you think? Specifically I’m curious about the light and how they perform with seedlings. That’s really the only difference between my previous successful grows and this failure!
Ironically, on my third grow, I had tons of issues getting seeds to become seedlings… that light is probably way too powerful for seedlings. Probably better to dig out a couple of your 20+ CFLs and use those for them while they are little ones. The bigger issue is the 30% RH. Seedlings really need RH in the 70s. Do you keep them covered?
As for the ones that didn’t emerge from the soil… a lot of factors can go into that. When I had this problem it was because I was planting them too deeply in my rapid rooters, and they weren’t making it out.
Sometimes I feel like at the beginning of every grow I relearn how to do these things, and then forget them by the time the grow is over and I’m starting a new one, so have to relearn it all over again.
Ok. Is the 3000w light ok once they get larger? Or did I waste money on that one?
I don’t have them covered. I will take down the large light tonight and put some cfls on it. Unfortunately, 8 days in, I probably ruined them already. To increase humidity, should I just put a bowl of water in the tent?
One other might be burning the new sprouts. Water drops on the new sprout will amplify and burn it.
Only water the medium and be very careful not to get the plant foliage wet
They haven’t even sprouted yet…they germinated in the paper towels and I planted them 8 days ago but nothing since… i bet it is too powerful. Is that light ok once they grow out a bit or did I over buy?
What kind if container do you have the seeds in? I used 16 ounce red plastic cups to start mine and put plastic zip sandwich bags on top. This method worked well keeping the humidity up for me.
I think it might be the lights being to intense… the first go Around one of the seedlings started to breach the soil but the quickly turned upside down as it if was moving Away from the light. I’ll reset some new seeds with a few cfls. Currently the seeds are in like 4 oz cardboard cup things I got from HD for cheap.
Main question for the group… is a 3000w led light (the exact one is posted above) too bright overall? Or just bc it is a seeding? I assume that I can start w cfl and get it going for a week or so then gradually move under the 3000w LED?
That light looks suitable for flowering a 4x4 to me, based on what information they provide. It should be the right size light for your 3x4 space - in flower.
You can veg your young plants under it if you can keep it far enough away. I would probably start at 36" away from the plants and see how it goes.