What can be done?

[The Hemp Goddess]

I did great with the last seeds I got from Herbies. I picked up a pack of Satori and germed 5 of them. All came up and all are going strong. The freebies also came up just fine--2 afghani reg seeds. I have never been disappointed with anything from Mandala. Maybe the breeder gave Herbies old stock and it is the breeder rather than Herbies that is the problem? Did you get seeds from different breeders or were they all from the same breeder?

 

[Comfortablynumb]

The three I bought were from different breeders (Short Stuff,Fast Buds and Barneys)and three of the free seeds were from Paradise seeds,the Nebula is one of the free seeds I got.What did you think of the Afghani or have you smoked it yet? I got ten of those same seeds.

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Hushpuppy...what was your opinion on smoking the Blueberry Punch? It sounds delicious.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I really love the Blueberry Punch, even though I haven't grown it in a while. What I had was a tremendous grower that just would not stop producing buds. I even had buds growing in the petioles of some of the fan leaves. The smoke was really good but a bit too "fuelly" tasting for my likes. It has a really nice blend of couch-lock and meditative high. I have a friend who has hyper anxiety disorder and it worked great for relaxing his disorder. Its not a clear headed, morning high though, its more of a stress reliever.

The only problem with it is the Indica tendency to grow dense "ball-bat" shafts of buds that are susceptible to rot in humid conditions. These things are so dense and heavy that it must be supported or they will break the branches down. This pic was totally typical of what I got at harvest.

View attachment attachment.jpg

 

[Comfortablynumb]

I checked on my Nebula seedling the other day and it finally broke the surface of the soil.It was looking a little spindly so I used some thread to prop it up.I checked last night and it's fallen over so I'm afraid it's a goner too.So far all the seeds from Herbie's that I've tried planting are doing terrible.The pineapple express still has yet to get any taller than an inch.After I use up these seeds I got from Herbie's I'll go back to buying from CKS or MJseeds,I never had any problems with them growing.The only problem I had was one strain called Hawaiian Gold.It grows great but it barely had any THC since I never got stoned or high at all.

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Hushpuppy...where did you get the seeds from for the Blueberry Punch? I'd like to try growing it.

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Never mind,I see the link now.It's amazing what happens when I open my eyes.

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Just a bit of an update,I tried planting two Blackberry seeds directly in the soil without germinating them first.One popped the surface of the soil in a week but it only grew to about a half inch tall before it died,the other seed never did anything at all.So now out of 5 seeds I've tried growing,not one has survived.I'm a little gun shy about trying anymore of the seeds I got from Herbie's.

 

[Hushpuppy]

That sucks, but sometimes it just happens. It could be bad genetics, or just bad timing on methods. I lost $200 worth of seeds one time because I had damping off issues that I didn't realize I was having until I took a very close look at what I was doing. I found that my medium (perused coco coir) had a small amount of fungus in it that I believe contributed to the deaths of my seedlings. I've had others that failed and I'm certain it was bad genetics. I would let the seed bank know though that these seeds failed, so that if it is a genetic issue, they can go back to the breeder with it. Maybe they will shoot you some freebies.

 

[Gooch]

Have you looked into getting clones? Seems like you have a problem with patience and keeping your hands off ;-)
Also You may want to look into hydro its far simpler, and straight forward. But guess you need to get seeds started before you worry about anything else. I always recommend people germinate to a tap root in a wet paper towel but putting it directly into the medium is the way it works in nature.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Gooch, every time you handle a little seed, you risk damaging it and passing pathogens to it. In addition, the little embryo only has so much stored food and energy. If you let the tap root grow too large, it can be hard for the seedling to pop through the dirt and shed the hull. The only time you really need to soak or germ with paper towel is if you have old seeds that may have lost moisture over time.

Comfortablynumb, if you lost them all, I would be suspect of the starting mix you are using or some other problem like that, maybe damping off like hush mentioned. What exactly are you planting them in? What are your temps? Are you keeping them damp, but not wet?

 

[Gooch]

I agree with you about handling them, but I seem to get some kind of satisfaction out of knowing i am putting a seed in that is sprouted, rather then waiting to see if its going to sprout, and when i do it in a paper towel they pop within 24 hours I only let it just start popping, then plant it, on my current grow the one that stretched that i fimmed had a long taproot after 24 hours i was shocked but all went well and she is doing great. I am in the high 90% of germinating and having a plant, and the one i messed up was me putting it to deep into the medium

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

If you had not pre-sprouted it and had a long tap root before it was planted, it probably would have had the energy to pop through the soil, even if it had been planted a bit too deep. And even though you pre-sprout it, once you put it in soil, it takes the same amount of time to pop through the soil as if you had planted it directly into the soil. So, you are not even really saving any time...you are just putting the tiny baby through stress and exposing it to damage and disease that it doesn't need to be exposed to...

 

[Gooch]

yes but you forget about the satisfaction gained. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy even though it is the same time. I was not using soil i put it too deep into sure to grow and it got tangled trying to grow up and out, then i crushed it trying to help

 

[Hushpuppy]

I prefer to pop mine in a paper towel as well. It is a tricky thing to do that does expose the seedling to the dangers of pathogens and damage from handling, but I like to know that they are popping before I set them in my medium. I use coco and as soon as I see them crack open and the tail stick out the tiniest bit, I set them in a little depression about 1/4" deep and cover them with a little medium, just enough to keep them moist. Then in a matter of a few days, they are breaking the surface. But they have to be handled super carefully.

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Yesterday I was checking the trichomes on my northern lights and I saw a tiny spider,I guess it was a spider mite.I started looking at the leaves just by eye and I could see it's web all over.I went to the hydroponics store here in the city and bought a can of Botanics plant spray that the guy recommended.I looked a little closer at my other 2 plants and they had webs on them as well so I sprayed all 3 plants.Now back in June when I had my seedlings in the closet I noticed the one northern lights was looking pretty ragged,I just assumed it was because of the heat.After I moved them down in my basement grow room thinking it might improve the health of the one plant.It never did get as tall as my first grow but I just thought it had just got stunted from the heat.Could those spider mites have been the cause of my seedlings all dying off?

 

[Comfortablynumb]

I was asking the same question in another forum about why my seedlings were always dying off.One answer I got was to try planting in Jiffy Pots first then transplanting them to the soil.I had just got some White Widow and Blueberry seeds so I tried them in the Jiffy Pots and they are growing great now.After they're done I'll try those seeds again I got from Herbies,hopefully they'll grow then.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Im surprised that no one answered your last questions. Your post must have got lost in the shuffle. that happens sometimes. Its hard to say whether or not the spider mites caused the problem unless you had looked at the affected areas of the leaves under strong magnification to see the critters. But its certainly not unheard of.

I think the key to getting seedlings over the hump is to have them in a medium that holds just the right amount of moisture. This can be the most challenging part, even for veteran growers, as you don't want too much or too little moisture. I like the rooting plugs that are synthetically made as they seem to hold just the right amount of water.

Another key is to have steady temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. and to have some air movement is good so that there isn't an abundance of moisture buildup around the base of the seedlings as that is where they are vulnerable to attack by pathogens. I hope this helps you. Green mojo

 

[Gooch]

What you also have to remember is the plant has to spring into action and fight against the attack whether its mold or spider mites and when that happens you will see the plant begin to show signs, I got popped by SM luckily i only lost 1 plant, and then learned how to fight back

 

[Comfortablynumb]

Speaking of spider mites,I read in Robert Bergman's newsletter last week that to control the buggers mix 1 tablespoon of cinnamon with a quart of water and spray the plants.A lot better than using a pesticide.Has anyone ever tried cinnamon before?