New guy problems

Hey guys, this is my first jab at this as an experiment and I'm already running into snags. A few of my plants have developed some visible problems and I'm wondering if anyone can help me diagnose the issues.

This first plant is my first little dude that sprouted which started this whole adventure so I want to try to get this one back to health. Early on the stem got long and then got thin in one spot eventually breaking off. I was able to get the top to regrow roots and its been growing leaves but not getting any taller at all. The leaves seem to be yellowing a bit.

The second 2 are from a different set of seeds and they grew a bit taller without the thin stem issue but they are having some issues at the leaves. Any ideas? I ran out of time and was not able to purchase any special soil so I have them in MG organic potting mix without time release nutes.

What kind of soil is that? And have you just given them straight water?

What you want is to see the plant growing new leafs while not really growing up.. The last pic the plant is stretching in search of light, just because it's tall definitely doesn't mean it's a good thing. It's not a huge deal, but will come to be a pain in the ass when you try to keep the tops equal distances from the light. You've got a light right? What's your setup like? Temp and humidity?

Next time stay away from that Miracle Grow soil. They BOAST on how their products are not designed for marijuana growing.

I totally overlooked where you said you were in MG. I agree with @blake9999 to an extent. You should NEVER put a seedling in MG, but the organic stuff is pretty decent for it's price and accessibility. I've used it before, but had spiced it up with amendments. And I transplanted into it.

When starting seeds you want a decent seed starting mix, or peat moss or coco. Something that has a small amount of nutrients. The first 2 might have a little nutrient burn, but the last one looks like it stretched up into a light and got cooked. I'd still like to know what kind of light your using and more about the environment to say anything for sure.

Up until 2 days ago I was using 2 small "soft light" CFLs which I coulndt tell what wattage/lumens they were. I bought 2 6500k 23w bulbs and have them suspended about 10-12" above the plants now in a 4sq foot grow cabinet. Temps are in the high 70s and I need to get a humidity meter but the moisture in the soil seems good according to my meter. The PH of my filtered water is in the high 6s. I have nutes on the way (FloraGro)

You may drop those lights down to about 3 to 4 inches from them plants so they don't stretch so much. Take a look at the CFL section under Indoor growing to get some pointers for growing under CFL.

eek what did you do to that little one......

1: problem and i have to agree with everyone, try to stay away from MG soils, way to hot, natural soil is usuallly the best especially for seedlings.

2: the 2 6500k bulbs are great, but like Blake mentioned they are to far, if you wanna use both of them, get a 12" alum bell, and extension and a splitter, that way you can use both bulbs, you would prolly spend less than $15 for all of the that. Then bring the bulbs 3 to 5in from the seedling....and go from there

keep it green and GL

I was limited on soil choices locally, its winter here and no one had anything besides the MG

stickyfly said:

I was limited on soil choices locally, its winter here and no one had anything besides the MG

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That's understandable, just keep in mind you might wanna later steer away from mg. If you have some extra pot hanging pots with some dead plants in them, might wanna consider mixing the two....that's if you have some...

stickyfly said:

I was limited on soil choices locally, its winter here and no one had anything besides the MG

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I just picked up a bag of pro mix from walmart. Didn't know they carried it, but hell yea. I've been told to try pro mix a million times, and my clones needed a home so here we go..

Are you sure the plant in the bottom picture didn't grow into the light..? Sure looks like it did.

Does the Pro have feeding nutrients? The guy with the long stem definitely was reaching for light in my original ghetto setup, I will send you guys a pic of my new box soon when I get home. Im more concerned about the shriveled and drying leaves. I really hope that little one survives.

stickyfly said:

Does the Pro have feeding nutrients? The guy with the long stem definitely was reaching for light in my original ghetto setup, I will send you guys a pic of my new box soon when I get home. Im more concerned about the shriveled and drying leaves. I really hope that little one survives.

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Pro? Typo? MG has timed release nutrients. What you're seeing is nutrient burn.

Plants use the process of osmosis to draw in water. Imagine you have to vessels of water connected to one another in a way that only water can pass through, and not the things dissolved in the water (nutrient salt). If one vessel is saltier than the other the water molecules will move through the barrier to try to balance the salinity of the 2 solutions.

Now applying the concept to plants, the water in the roots should be saltier than the water around the roots. When that's the case water moves through the walls of the root into the plant, and up to the leafs where it is evaporating and being used for photosynthesis. If the water around the roots is saltier than the water in them, the water will try to move in the opposite direction, causing the tips of the leafs to get crispy. If it is drastic then the nutrient burn will work its way across the entire leaf, and the entire plant, and kill it (in extreme cases).

That being said, this is some pretty decent nutrient burn, but if you take care of it they'll be fine.
How often and how much have you been watering? You can either flush the hell out of the cups, easy considering they are just solo cups, with x3 the volume of water (so 3 solo cups of water, pH adjusted).

Or you can get some peat moss or some other low nutrient medium, and VERY CAREFULLY remove the soil from the cups like you are going to transplant, and remove most of the soil from around the roots, then put it back in your cup with the low nutrient/soilless medium. (bury the stretchy stems while your at it)
If you end up deciding to grow in a soilless medium like coco or pro mix you won't need to worry about removing so much of the MG, and you could just go ahead and pot up while your at it.

The former of the 2 options will cause a lot of stress. You will be intentionally overwatering them to flush the excess salt out of the cup. The latter of the 2 options will also cause a lot of stress/shock, but if you care for them properly (don't over or under water them) they should start growing again in a few days to a week.

I was referring to the Pro Mix mentioned in the reply before mine. the mix I purchased is the organic type with no feeding. Thank you for all of the info, I have a lot to learn! I misspoke earlier, its this stuff that I bought.

That's what they're in in the pictures?

It depends what kind of pro mix you get. I'm not sure which specifically don't have slow release fertilizers. The pro mix I got from walmart has slow release fertilizers, but they are in a low dose. Still wouldn't go starting seeds in it though.

Yes the Espoma Organic Potting Mix is what my plants are in at the moment.

How much and how often have you been watering them?

Watering several times a day when the top of the soil appeared dry. yesterday I put my moisture meter deeper into the dirt and noticed that it was a bit dry so I gave them a good watering. I can already see growth on the two lower plants in the pics from my OP since the pictures this morning. I'm not giving them much each time, maybe a tablespoon or 2 per plant.

blake9999 said:

Next time stay away from that Miracle Grow soil. They BOAST on how their products are not designed for marijuana growing.

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That's because it's full of heavy metals.

stickyfly said:

Watering several times a day when the top of the soil appeared dry. yesterday I put my moisture meter deeper into the dirt and noticed that it was a bit dry so I gave them a good watering. I can already see growth on the two lower plants in the pics from my OP since the pictures this morning. I'm not giving them much each time, maybe a tablespoon or 2 per plant.

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Let them dry a little more between watering. Without oxygen the roots can't take in water, showing symptoms similar to nutrient burn. You should let the top inch of soil get bone dry. There's still plenty of moisture still down in the root zone. I hate those meters, the one I had was worthless. You don't really need them. when they start to dry out the cups will feel noticeably lighter. Right when you water them the roots are suffocating, when you let them dry out oxygen returns to the root zone and they begin drinking again.

Here is a pic of my setup. I am limited on space so I am going to have to keep my plants small. I have a full spectrum LED light coming but it may be too strong (I started another topic about that the other day) its 300W and this space is just under 4 sq ft. I am waiting on an exhaust fan so I have a fan blowing air in with the doors slightly open.