New Grower HELP GUYS - Annoying problem - surface breaking

[lykaboss]

Ok guys, i really need some help here, I am doing something wrong and i don't understand it because my ONXY did not have this issue and i havn't changed anything. I germ my seeds them put them right into the jiffy potting soil just below the surface. It is like they go dormant on me and stop growing. I mist them with a water bottle just to keep the soil moist. I do water the soil of course before i put the seed in the soil, then i will mist when the surface looks dried out.

<--- my starting soil i don't mix it with anything else, Should this be fine? it worked with my onxy just fine


The seed right at the surface


The tap root of a seed i pulled from the soil, still looks healthy

So what i have done is this, That seed with the tap root i re moist the soil and put it back in. I re-moist the others aswell and put plastic wrap over them. Maybe this will kick start them again? The current temp in the tent is 75 degrees. I turned off the fresh air intake for a bit to try and raise the temp in the tent to try and get them to kick start again also i droped the LED light to about 1 foot from the top of the pot to help increase the temp around them. This problem is really doing my head in :no: The temp of the jiffy potting soil seems to be about room temp to the touch

Please any suggestion much appreciated. Amazing i have this issue but non others with my first auto grow. My nutes are great growth on the others are spot on. But yet i have a problem with seeds just stopping growth :no:

 

[Muddy]

A couple of questions. How deep did you put the seeds and how long did you wait?

 

[mojave green]

Might just be slow or weak seeds...what kind are they

 

[lykaboss]

i put the seeds about 1/2 inch below the surface. I germ them using the paper towel method (normally takes about 24 hours) and when the tap root bust through and just starting to show the tail i put it right into the soil

When i germ i put 1 paper towel on a small plate wet it put the seeds on another paper towel on the top and stick it in a sandwhich bag. Then store in a cupboard.

---------- Post added 11-26-2011 at 09:44 AM ----------

Might just be slow or weak seeds...what kind are they

No its not that because i bascially killed a whole lot of MI5's only 1 MI5 made it, this is a HBD x fast bud #2

Which really sucks because i wanted them MI5's bad and i am low on funds and can't buy more at the moment

 

[Muddy]

That's all good. Even though you were misting the surface, was the soil still damp 1/2" down? Often misting will only get the top 1/16 - 1/8" damp and it can dry out lower. I also think your temps might be a little low. Even though I plant my seedlings in 5" deep pots, I still put a heat mat under them and set my light, a MH, at a level where it supplies some heat but not close enough to dry the soil out. LEDs don't put off much heat so it's not going to help much in that respect. I've also had some strains take up to 4-5 days to break the surface.

i put the seeds about 1/2 inch below the surface. I germ them using the paper towel method (normally takes about 24 hours) and when the tap root bust through and just starting to show the tail i put it right into the soil

When i germ i put 1 paper towel on a small plate wet it put the seeds on another paper towel on the top and stick it in a sandwhich bag. Then store in a cupboard.t

 

[Monkeypox]

Funny I have had the same issues . Only with autos though . I presoak , then use paper towel method and put the baggie on my seedling mat . Seems my photos have no problems germing and pop right out of the soil once I put them in . Autos have been giving me trouble .

I say all because I to would like some input about this

 

[lykaboss]

in your opinion muddy the steps that i took this morning, re-moisten and putting the plastic wrap over the top to help raise the humidity and cutting off the fresh air intake to help raise the temps are good steps to take? I may need to look into a heat mat to warm up the soil more

 

[Muddy]

Those steps should help for sure. Just be careful with the plastic wrap. I've tried using a humidome before and ended up trapping too much moisture and the seeds rotted.

I can't remember the optimum temp for seed germination but I know it was a lot higher than 75. I'm thinking it was closer to 85 - 90.

 

[Monkeypox]

I can't remember the optimum temp for seed germination but I know it was a lot higher than 75. I'm thinking it was closer to 85 - 90.

My photos will pop in as little as 70 deg . My mat is suppose to run around 10 deg hotter than ambient temp , which is 75 deg in my house . So around 85 deg for the seeds in baggies on the mat .

Never thought about there being TO much moisture . I also run cling wrap or baggies over my cups to make sure they don't dry out . Might have to try something different .

---------- Post added 11-26-2011 at 10:24 AM ----------

Lol , btw not trying to hijack your thread , just seem to have the same issues and am curious what the consensus is as to why there are these problems.

 

[Muddy]

Sativa photos need higher temps to germ and if you think about it, it makes sense. They come from warmer climates so need the warmer temps. Not 100% sure but I would expect the same with autos.

At one point I wasn't setting my seeds deep enough. The tap root would force the seed above the surface before the seed had opened enough. Once the seed was exposed to the air it would dry out and never open the rest of the way. Now I put them about 1/2" down and they are doing much better.