Growing Problems past the seedling stage

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Don't use peat pots they suck balls
I always use a good starting soil in the Beer pong plastic cups
Solo brand with drainage holes cut in bottom of them
The peat pot thing that I thought was the way to go was a failure. I think they are too dense and stay soggy. Beer pong cup seems to be the most recommended method. Can I pull out the little dead plant and reuse the cup. Nothing was in the soil except the little bud-ling. Holes are cut too. Thank you.
 
You can use the old cup just wash it. Whatever the medium you use, wash it thoroughly with water, soak it overnight and flush well, remove any salts from it and make sure it drains really well
 
So I have tried Jiffy pods then transfer to a coco coir pot-Fail. This last try was puting the germinated (1/2" tap root) seed straight in to clean Fox Farms planting mix in a red solo cup. Using spring water; not tap water. I ahve been using the moisture meter and feeling the weight of the cup to determine watering. I'm using a lot less water this time in an effort to not drown them. Thank you.
Coco is not the best beginner material. Soils are many, I usually go for the Ocean Forest. Reasonable cost, easy to find, or Amazon.

Coco drains very fast, so early stages are easy to have trouble. Have a look at the Cocoforcannabis site, TONS of info on lights, what to look for and how they test them.

Also, they have a very good section on using coco for growing. If coco is your thing, also look at the threads on hempy buckets and other similar methods for coco.

Bubba
 
What kind of grow lights are you using and how high above the seedlings are they?
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They are LED...as high as could get them. Maybe 14-15 inches. Thank you
 
Coco drains and dries to fast for my liking. To each his own. I use FF Ocean Forest.
Same here. Reasonable cost, easy to find and it works well! Plus I save during the veg period, no .nutes needed. I do give Bud Candy, Carboload, Tarantula, Voodoo juice and Pirana. Love those Advanced Nutrient products.

Carbohydrates to feed the beneficials in the other products. Now this dirt is ready to move some nutes to the roots.

Bubba
 
I just took these. They are about 3 1/2
As close as possible depending on heat.
I run a couple different lights. My seedling tent I run a 1000 watt spider farmer(100 watt), around 30” today start then down to about 24”
Mine are LED so I don't feel heat off of them. I actually I have two grow lights because I thought that the first one was killing off my little ones. I have both in my mini grow tent but only use one at a time Thank You.
 
I have questions. How big are the containers? How often do give them water?

If your plants are 3-4" tall and just getting their first true leaves, your lights are way too far away.

Seedlings don't need much water. I've drowned a few myself.
Starting 4 seeds again today..,,,three look really good and one is iffy. Thank you.
 
Best of luck this round!

You can try this if you want. It works for me when I'm starting plants. Others may disagree/have better methods.

To prevent over watering of young plants, I stick to watering 20% - 30% volume of the container size.

Ex; A beer pong cup holds about 2 cups of water. When I water my plants in those, I give them about 1/2 cup when the planter cup is very light.

You've probably been told/have read about watering to x% runoff. I believe that's where alot of us new growers run into problems in the early stages of plant growth.

Unless you are in the process of adding nutrients - which you don't need to in ff (or any quality soil) that early - there are no excess salts to "flush" out of the soil yet. All you are essentially doing is leaching the provided nutrients (already in the soil) out of the soil.

In fact... If you start in cups, then move to larger pots for veg, then move to final pots, you don't need nutrients until flowering (imo). So 20% - 30% water per volume of container.

I prefer to put the water in a dish and let it soak up from the bottom, but the principle is the same for top watering.

You're soil's provided nutrients will actually deplete at a faster pace watering to runoff which will make you need to start ammending it sooner. Kinda defeats the purpose of buying good soil in the first place lol.
 
Best of luck this round!

You can try this if you want. It works for me when I'm starting plants. Others may disagree/have better methods.

To prevent over watering of young plants, I stick to watering 20% - 30% volume of the container size.

Ex; A beer pong cup holds about 2 cups of water. When I water my plants in those, I give them about 1/2 cup when the planter cup is very light.

You've probably been told/have read about watering to x% runoff. I believe that's where alot of us new growers run into problems in the early stages of plant growth.

Unless you are in the process of adding nutrients - which you don't need to in ff (or any quality soil) that early - there are no excess salts to "flush" out of the soil yet. All you are essentially doing is leaching the provided nutrients (already in the soil) out of the soil.

In fact... If you start in cups, then move to larger pots for veg, then move to final pots, you don't need nutrients until flowering (imo). So 20% - 30% water per volume of container.

I prefer to put the water in a dish and let it soak up from the bottom, but the principle is the same for top watering.

You're soil's provided nutrients will actually deplete at a faster pace watering to runoff which will make you need to start ammending it sooner. Kinda defeats the purpose of buying good soil in the first place lol.
Thank you....I Excellent!!!
 
one point you mentioned that wasn't talked about is the weakness of the seedling when it gets over an inch tall...as the seedling grows in the cup, it will stretch...when that happens be sure to keep the light close and add soil to the cup to support the stalk...I put my seeds in cups 1/2 full of peat mix...as they grow I add more to stabilize the plant until it's able to do it on it's own...
 
one point you mentioned that wasn't talked about is the weakness of the seedling when it gets over an inch tall...as the seedling grows in the cup, it will stretch...when that happens be sure to keep the light close and add soil to the cup to support the stalk...I put my seeds in cups 1/2 full of peat mix...as they grow I add more to stabilize the plant until it's able to do it on it's own...
So you implied that my little seedlings stretched long stem is not uncommon. Thats good news. Will try again. started, 4 today-three look great and one not so good. Every one has been so helpfull and I appreciate the tips and tricks...Thank you!
 
one point you mentioned that wasn't talked about is the weakness of the seedling when it gets over an inch tall...as the seedling grows in the cup, it will stretch...when that happens be sure to keep the light close and add soil to the cup to support the stalk...I put my seeds in cups 1/2 full of peat mix...as they grow I add more to stabilize the plant until it's able to do it on it's own...
Some one said the same so I will lessen the level of soil to start with and add as it grows.
 
My thoughts are the same here, coco bad for newbies, ffof works well just give it a good soaking before you plant seeds, I use a light just for vegetation and a different light for flower
 
one point you mentioned that wasn't talked about is the weakness of the seedling when it gets over an inch tall...as the seedling grows in the cup, it will stretch...when that happens be sure to keep the light close and add soil to the cup to support the stalk...I put my seeds in cups 1/2 full of peat mix...as they grow I add more to stabilize the plant until it's able to do it on it's own...
OK, got 4 new babies to love and care for. Just broke ground today. Cup is only 1/2 full and I have soil to add as they grow. Lights are down to 6" or so above the cups. The 4 old ones have not changed a bit. Not bigger, not dead, they just "are". I probably should give up on them. Thanks for all the advice.
 
OK, got 4 new babies to love and care for. Just broke ground today. Cup is only 1/2 full and I have soil to add as they grow. Lights are down to 6" or so above the cups. The 4 old ones have not changed a bit. Not bigger, not dead, they just "are". I probably should give up on them. Thanks for all the advice.
I have a question. How tall should the stalk be from the soil to the leaves to be healthy? When do I start adding soil up the stalk?
 
one point you mentioned that wasn't talked about is the weakness of the seedling when it gets over an inch tall...as the seedling grows in the cup, it will stretch...when that happens be sure to keep the light close and add soil to the cup to support the stalk...I put my seeds in cups 1/2 full of peat mix...as they grow I add more to stabilize the plant until it's able to do it on it's own...
I have a question. How tall should the stalk be from the soil to the leaves to be healthy? When do I start adding soil up the stalk? Lights are low, cups are only 1/2 full ready for fill in soil. No watering needed. I'm goin with it.
 
I have a question. How tall should the stalk be from the soil to the leaves to be healthy? When do I start adding soil up the stalk? Lights are low, cups are only 1/2 full ready for fill in soil. No watering needed. I'm goin with it.
I usually only bury part of the stems at transplant time. But if your seedlings start to get tall and flimsy a little soil to help
Support them won’t hurt!
Sounds like you are off to a better start this time!
Keep us posted.
 

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