First timer. What am i doing wrong? (pics)

I currently have two seedlings growing in potting soil. As far as i know, there were no added nutes in the soil to begin with. I began seeing problems on one of my plants(14 days old now) about 2 days ago. The tips began yellowing and eventually the older leaves started to curl up at the edges. I was watering with a spray bottle everyday since my cheapo moisture meter was reading (3-dry)...just a notch under "moist". Last night i decided to transplant them into bigger pots with Foxfarms Ocean hoping i could do less frequent and thorough waterings. I'm almost certain that the tap water here is pretty alkaline...could this be the problem? The only water treatment i've been doing is adding chlorine remover to the tap water. Other than that, they've been getting 18/6 of t5 cfls (24w each), at about an inch away. If anyone could help me out, i would really appreciate it.

Here are some pics of the problem:







My other baby. About a week old.

they look ok to me

Thnx for the prompt reply. So i shouldn't be worrying about the spotting and curling?

I just tested the soil pH. If the meter is correct, it's reading around 7.1. I'm going to try lowering the pH of my water with aquarium drops, will that be okay?

Also, i heard foxfarms soil was pretty rich already. Would it be okay if i waited until the 1 month mark before i started adding nutes, or will that be too late?

aim for a 6.5 pH. I would wait 3 weeks with rich soil for nutes.
Btw, they are probably drooping because you watered them recently OR are slightly overwatering, but they dont really look that bad man, keep it up!

All good advise,, with foxfarm, I grow all the way to flower before I nute,, but thats just me,, everybody is diferent,,,,, If it aint broke dont fix it is what I go by...............................................................................................

If there is any problem at all, I would just check the temperature at the top of the plant. What you described and what's in the pics looks like heat stress, and believe me, I know what it looks like since my female is just starting to recover. If the temp is over 80 degrees F, move the fan up a bit. Seedlings are much more sensitive to temps than when they are older. Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone. I haven't put a fan to them yet since the temps here in southern ca have been pretty cool lately. They're in a closet now and when the lights are on, the temps are most likely in the 70's..lights off probably in the mid 60's. I do want to start soon though to thicken up the stems a bit. Do you think temperatures of high 60's/low 70's during lights on with the fan blowing will be okay?

I noticed the drooping as well and it's most likely due to me overwatering after i transplanted into the foxfarm. I added about an inch and a half of pebbles in the bottom of the pots so hopefully that will help some.

chickennugget said:

Thanks everyone. I haven't put a fan to them yet since the temps here in southern ca have been pretty cool lately. They're in a closet now and when the lights are on, the temps are most likely in the 70's..lights off probably in the mid 60's. I do want to start soon though to thicken up the stems a bit. Do you think temperatures of high 60's/low 70's during lights on with the fan blowing will be okay?

I noticed the drooping as well and it's most likely due to me overwatering after i transplanted into the foxfarm. I added about an inch and a half of pebbles in the bottom of the pots so hopefully that will help some.

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I'd get a thermometer, It's a nice thing to have for sure..

are you feeding.
plants go brown round the edges when they are over fed.
or if you used old soil.
i dont start to feed till week 4 vegg.

looks like abit of nute burn to me too....mayb just water for a wk or so then start nutes again

I haven't added any nutes yet and this started happening before i transplanted into foxfarm. Originally, it was planted in brand new regular potting soil. I have no idea what's going on...just hoping it doesn't get any worse.

chickennugget said:

Thnx for the prompt reply. So i shouldn't be worrying about the spotting and curling?

I just tested the soil pH. If the meter is correct, it's reading around 7.1. I'm going to try lowering the pH of my water with aquarium drops, will that be okay?

Also, i heard foxfarms soil was pretty rich already. Would it be okay if i waited until the 1 month mark before i started adding nutes, or will that be too late?

Click to expand...

I think you are right on with this being a PH problem. I stopped using tap water at my new place fter I noticed something that looked similar. The tap water from my old place always worked fine. I think it is something to do with the PH preventing nutrient uptake and the plant feeding on itself.

shallrelicme said:

I think you are right on with this being a PH problem. I stopped using tap water at my new place fter I noticed something that looked similar. The tap water from my old place always worked fine. I think it is something to do with the PH preventing nutrient uptake and the plant feeding on itself.

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The last time i tested water around these parts(just moved back), i remember they were at the high end towards alkaline. I'm in the process of trying to find a decent digital pH meter and i'm hoping that's the problem since it's pretty easily correctable.

bongspit said:

it's hard to tell in the pics but how often do you water? the soil looks wet...

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Before the transplant, they were in really small pots and i had to water everyday. Now that they're in bigger pots, it's been almost two days no watering and the older one is perking up a bit, but the spots don't seem to be getting any better.

water only 4-5 days,, no matter how hard it is not to....................

putting the fan on em now is a good idea, make sure your not over watering, and make sure your humidity is around 50%. im sure theyl be ok

Nice pics bro.. that is one awesome camera you must have 'nugget' what is the make and model of that little lucy?

apasunee said:

water only 4-5 days,, no matter how hard it is not to....................

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I'm trying to hold out. It's going to be three days no water tomorrow. Soil seems dry, but the leaves haven't really perked up yet.

jay cas said:

putting the fan on em now is a good idea, make sure your not over watering, and make sure your humidity is around 50%. im sure theyl be ok

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Does it matter when the fan blows? (during light or dark period?)

katfishjohn said:

Nice pics bro.. that is one awesome camera you must have 'nugget' what is the make and model of that little lucy?

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Thanks. The pics were just taken with a point & shoot, but in digital macro mode. It's a canon s700is. I have nicer cameras(DSLRs), but i was kinda panicking about the plant so i just grabbed whatever camera was closest.

In my experience the first leaves always turn yellow and fall off....don't worry, the rest look great.

its alright to keep the fan on low setting for 24 hours. use a oscellating fan and keep 5ft away if possible