Seedling first leaves always stunted & yellow

[Noman]

Hi guys I'm really curious about this one. The first leaves don't have a dark green shade to them, are slowly turning yellow & the leaves don't seem to be growing now? is now my 4th seed that has done the same!
Is this down to overwatering?
I hate watering at this stage as I am scared I'm going to drown the seedling or even not give it enough water!

Also, how are you supposed to water super soil for seedlings?If I water around the seedling the rest of soil will become hydrophobic & if I water the whole pot then that is too much water for her. Please sone explain what the hell I should be doing I am genuinely losing the will to grow

Gorilla Punch by FastBuds

I use 8L fabric pots, RH is +- 50% & RT is 24-28C with added Co2.
Lighting is Lumatek ATS200w PRO @ 75% distance is 50cm

 

[Bob's Auto's]

Hey buddy

First off, to AFN
Seems to me that your humidity and temperature are the culprit.
Also, I don't know how much nutrients there is in the soil, but seedlings like it lean. What you could do next time, is sow the seed in some lightmix/seedlingmix and wait until they have grown sufficiently and they repot in the larger pots with the living soil.
Seedlings like it humid, so raise the humidity to 65-70% and try to keep the temperature more stable, try to shoot for 26°C/79°F.

I would let this one do it's thing, seedlings are mostly occupied with their roots in the beginning anyways so

Keep us updated on the progress buddy

 

[Noman]

Hey buddy

First off, to AFN
Seems to me that your humidity and temperature are the culprit.
Also, I don't know how much nutrients there is in the soil, but seedlings like it lean. What you could do next time, is sow the seed in some lightmix/seedlingmix and wait until they have grown sufficiently and they repot in the larger pots with the living soil.
Seedlings like it humid, so raise the humidity to 65-70% and try to keep the temperature more stable, try to shoot for 26°C/79°F.

I would let this one do it's thing, seedlings are mostly occupied with their roots in the beginning anyways so

Keep us updated on the progress buddy

Thanks @Bob's Auto's your knowledge is incomparable! Haha
I’ll do that next time, I think I’m going to see how these get on and if there is no sufficient growth then I’ll start all over again an plant them in LightMix then transplant into the soil with oragtrex an bactrex!

In regards to the super soil, do you water the whole medium or around the seedling? Biotabs state to soak the medium with 1L however I thought that would be too much for the seedling? Or am I wrong?

 

[Bob's Auto's]

With live soil, you always try to keep it moist, not wet though. Let me try to explain...If the first two centimeters of soil are dry, but below that the soil is nice and dark and feels cold, this is just fine. Only after watering the toplayer should feel wet and cold.
Like I said, get a small pot. Fill that up with some lightmix and sow your seed. let it grow until the leaves start to emerge outside the diameter/width of the pot and don't feed them as there's still more then enough feed in the lightmix, then it's time to transplant your seedling into the live soil. And it's only then, that you activate the soil with the water/Bactrex mix. If you have a large pot, you can always make a two liter mix. Just make sure the mix reaches all corners of the medium as you want as much surface area available for the bennies

 

[Noman]

With live soil, you always try to keep it moist, not wet though. Let me try to explain...If the first two centimeters of soil are dry, but below that the soil is nice and dark and feels cold, this is just fine. Only after watering the toplayer should feel wet and cold.
Like I said, get a small pot. Fill that up with some lightmix and sow your seed. let it grow until the leaves start to emerge outside the diameter/width of the pot and don't feed them as there's still more then enough feed in the lightmix, then it's time to transplant your seedling into the live soil. And it's only then, that you activate the soil with the water/Bactrex mix. If you have a large pot, you can always make a two liter mix. Just make sure the mix reaches all corners of the medium as you want as much surface area available for the bennies

I got ya thanks mate! I really struggle with watering to be honest, how much water would you give this seedling? She’s in LightMix with a bit of coco & perlite, in a 8L fabric pot

 

[Drownomatic]

75% sounds too high on your light for seedlings. Your DLI shouldn't be over 20 at this stage.

 

[Bob's Auto's]

75% sounds too high on your light for seedlings. Your DLI shouldn't be over 20 at this stage.

Forgot to tell about that one. Your correct. Oh and also stop using the CO², unless it's with some sort of yeast generator, those don't output enough to be dangerous. If you're using bottled CO², then stop using it until you've got the rest of the setup under control.

 

[snerval]

& I grow with the same Lumatek model mate, at this stage you can set it at 40%.
Good luck @ welcome to AFN !

 

[Noman]

nice one guys I appreciate it. @snerval what distance do you hang your Lumatek from the canopy? I hang mine at 50cm now at 50% for seedlings however I’ve heard some growers have the light at 100% the whole way through, as it’s only 200W!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Philyefc the color of the seedlings is most likely due to too much fertilizer in the soil. It will grow past this. but next time use some seed starting soil about the size and shape of a solo cup half buried in the soil. Just push the cup down in the soil pull it out and fill with the seed starting soil. Use Mykos or Great White when you transplant. Then as you water nutrients from the soil will slowly migrate into the seed starting soil and the roots will grow out into the soil as it looks for more water and nutrients.

What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. Slowly wet ALL of the soil until run-off begins. There is an art to watering. Make sure there is an air gap under your pot, you do not want runoff to be reabsorbed and if no air then anaerobic microbes can grow. This is a cause of root rot.