Unknown seedling problems

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
For dropping pH I find lemon juice to be perfect. Natural product, apart from a tiny amount of potassium sulphate, and easy to slowly add to your water to bring the pH to exactly what you want. And it's cheap as hell too.

I don't worry about pH "up" because our tap water is kinda in the middle between "soft" and "hard" so there's that nice bit of calcium in it but I always have baking soda in the house anyway if necessary.

Why spend money on chemicals when there's perfectly good stuff you use for cooking that does the same?
I agree.
Except here lemons are about a dollar each. Sometimes two or three.
Believe it or not it's cheaper where I am to buy citric acid, than it is to buy lemons.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
I agree.
Except here lemons are about a dollar each. Sometimes two or three.
Believe it or not it's cheaper where I am to buy citric acid, than it is to buy lemons.
Oh, I don't buy lemons, just the little bottles of lemon juice for adding to tea or for adding flavour to food. Basically it is 99.9% lemon juice, so there's your citric acid, with a little preservative, costs me around €1.50 per litre here, gets used for everything from adding to tea to flavouring food to descaling.
 

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
Oh, I don't buy lemons, just the little bottles of lemon juice for adding to tea or for adding flavour to food. Basically it is 99.9% lemon juice, so there's your citric acid, with a little preservative, costs me around €1.50 per litre here, gets used for everything from adding to tea to flavouring food to descaling.
If you like.
Or if you want a purer, more concentrated form, without a use by date.. You can use citric acid. It's the same acid that's in citrus anyway.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
If you like.
Or if you want a purer, more concentrated form, without a use by date.. You can use citric acid. It's the same acid that's in citrus anyway.
As I say, I always have the stuff in the house anyway so why buy something else that does the same thing.
 

Kota2300

Active Member
Amazon, Fleabay, and so on will be your friend for the tester, and, I'm sorry to say this, but you're drowning them, it looks like they're in mud going by your last set of pics.
I had just added soil to cover the stem and watered just before the pics
 

Kota2300

Active Member
I done fucked up now boys. I tried gently transplanting because of the overwatering and I broke quite a bit of the roots. I did the best I could to replant it and gave it just a tad bit of water, not near the amount I use to give so hopefully it'll be okay.
 

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
I done fucked up now boys. I tried gently transplanting because of the overwatering and I broke quite a bit of the roots. I did the best I could to replant it and gave it just a tad bit of water, not near the amount I use to give so hopefully it'll be okay.
Just let them be.
Should have done the same, instead of transplanting.

If you quit loving them so much, they'll reward you.
They have known exactly how to grow for millions of years. Let them be. Let them grow.
 

Kota2300

Active Member
For dropping pH I find lemon juice to be perfect. Natural product, apart from a tiny amount of potassium sulphate, and easy to slowly add to your water to bring the pH to exactly what you want. And it's cheap as hell too.

I don't worry about pH "up" because our tap water is kinda in the middle between "soft" and "hard" so there's that nice bit of calcium in it but I always have baking soda in the house anyway if necessary.

Why spend money on chemicals when there's perfectly good stuff you use for cooking that does the same?
Update: haven't watered since Thursday or Friday can't remember, but growth is still EXTREMELY slow. I look at other people's plants/journals that are the same age as mine and they're a perfect green, lots of full perfect fan leves, I don't get it. I have an actual grow tent and a digital ph meter coming Tuesday, does anyone have any ideas?? I've done tons of research and all I can find are a million and one different answers, the biggest being overwatering. But like I said, haven't watered in a while and the soils getting down to a proper moisture level.
20180429_203317.jpg
(The weird vertical lines in the pic are from my light)
 

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
View attachment 4129146

Update: haven't watered since Thursday or Friday can't remember, but growth is still EXTREMELY slow. Have an actual grow tent and a digital ph meter coming Tuesday, does anyone have any ideas?? I've done tons of research and all I can find are a million and one different answers, the biggest being overwatering. But like I said, haven't watered in a while and the soils getting down to a proper moisture level.

(The weird vertical lines in the pic are from my light)
PH, PH, PH, PH.
It's a must :peace:
 

Kota2300

Active Member
PH, PH, PH, PH.
It's a must :peace:
Tuesdayyy lol. You're certain that's what it is? And once I correct I can expect to see better/rapid growth?
Edit: one more question that I'm having a hard time finding the answer to, is the pH of water runoff the same thing as the soil pH? Or would I need to purchase yet another thing to check the pH of the soil?
 

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
Tuesdayyy lol. You're certain that's what it is? And once I correct I can expect to see better/rapid growth?
Edit: one more question that I'm having a hard time finding the answer to, is the pH of water runoff the same thing as the soil pH? Or would I need to purchase yet another thing to check the pH of the soil?
Your runoff isn't an accurate measurement for soil. You can get $10 test kits, and stakes at a hardware.
Yes I do think it's your ph. Yes I do think they'll improve.
They're young though, and stunted. So it'll take a couple weeks, for them to hit their stride.
Keep the light at a fair distance. Until they start to come round.
No nutrients either.
They could afford a drink too.

Good luck dude.
Happy grow.
:peace:
 

Tim1987

Well-Known Member
Still keep the digital meter too.
You'll still need one for your water.
But honestly. Your pots/cups are so small. Runoff probably would be accurate enough.
Once you transplant though. You'll need to test your ph another way.
 

Kota2300

Active Member
Still keep the digital meter too.
You'll still need one for your water.
But honestly. Your pots/cups are so small. Runoff probably would be accurate enough.
Once you transplant though. You'll need to test your ph another way.
Can't thank you enough for all your help! Everyone else too! I'll keep everyone updated as time goes on :D:D
 

Kota2300

Active Member
Still keep the digital meter too.
You'll still need one for your water.
But honestly. Your pots/cups are so small. Runoff probably would be accurate enough.
Once you transplant though. You'll need to test your ph another way.
Welp this just made things even more frustrating and confusing. The pH of the water I've been giving them is between 5.8 and 6.0, so now I'm seriously at a loss as to why they're growing SO slow and why they're yellowish. Some of the leaves are getting brown spots recently.
Edit: added pics of the other main 3, they're also growing extremely slow and have a yellowish green color. I already know someone's going to say "looks too wet" and mention the curled leaves, I watered each of them with just over an oz of water when you recommend that I should. The leaves haven't uncurled once since they sprouted and actually grew. They won't uncurl at all
 

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propertyoftheUS

Well-Known Member
How close is your light? If you said it's drawing 300w actual it needs to be about 5 or 6' above them. They don't need all that light at this point. But they look overwatered and pH issues
 

Kota2300

Active Member
How close is your light? If you said it's drawing 300w actual it needs to be about 5 or 6' above them. They don't need all that light at this point. But they look overwatered and pH issues
It's at 2' rn, I'll raise it to about 5-6' and see how that treats them. As I said the pH is between 5.8-6.0 so I'm not sure what else could be wrong. Thanks for the height suggestion!
 

Kota2300

Active Member
How close is your light? If you said it's drawing 300w actual it needs to be about 5 or 6' above them. They don't need all that light at this point. But they look overwatered and pH issues
Also I edited my recent reply and added new pics and a bit more info to help
 
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