Why am i constantly failling?

[automan2]

I recently had a couple of months of failures, various breeders and strains...ran it down to my water.
Oh I've had a failure now and then but early spring, I went through a bunch of duds. Turns out, it was all water related.
Changed to distilled water and everything popped!
Apparently, my well water has always been hovering just within specs with random variance which cause failures now and then. From now on I'll adjust my water and get it close to the same as DI ....

 

[RivetGrrl]

I forgot to mention that as well, can you check your water? You can usually contact the town/city you are in and request information on that. Another grower could not get any results until she found out the water was crap, and she got an RO Buddy for fairly cheap.

 

[Whitetrash]

For what it's worth. Your going to encounter problem during the whole grow. Even the most experienced growers have problems so dont sweat it. I kept perfect temps. Humidity. Proper feeds. Proper light heights. My buds wer wonderfully dense when I chopped the 2 GSC and as they are drying there becoming airy. I'm pretty damn upset about it. But it is what it is. Try try again right!!

 

[Sativa_cat]

I forgot to mention that as well, can you check your water? You can usually contact the town/city you are in and request information on that. Another grower could not get any results until she found out the water was crap, and she got an RO Buddy for fairly cheap.

Hi there bought a PH meter and it shows that the water is slig

For what it's worth. Your going to encounter problem during the whole grow. Even the most experienced growers have problems so dont sweat it. I kept perfect temps. Humidity. Proper feeds. Proper light heights. My buds wer wonderfully dense when I chopped the 2 GSC and as they are drying there becoming airy. I'm pretty damn upset about it. But it is what it is. Try try again right!!

I apprettiate your

Hi There!

I see you struggling - so thought i would throw in my 2 cents for what they're worth (more than 2 cents IMO lol)

Id say the humidy isn't killing your grows ... nor the lights ...
It's most likely the soil, the seeds or the water you're using. Out of those 3, i'd look at the soil first.

You ideally want a blend thats not nutrient rich (a light soil) - If you post up some available options, someone will be able to pick a good one for you!

Mars lights .... I've seen people win competitions using them ... so while they wouldn't be my first choice - i can see they're affordable and will do the job.
Humidity - There's ideals ... High in veg ... low in flower .... But at 40% you can grow start to finish with success. I did at around 30% for many years ... tired a humidifier and it was a pain in the ass.

Water ... What kind of water? From the tap? Is it High PH?

Usually what kills a grow for a new grower is environment. Both the environment for the medium (too hot with nutes or too cold with temperature) and the environment for outseid the pot.
As someone rightly said 80f is about right for germination and 75-85 you can grow comfortably in (85 is reaching the upper limits where you'll see taco leafs appearning)

Soil and Water is your culprit in my humble opinion!

Good luck with the next one - i'd drop some more beans to germinate - that picture is just TOO funky to carry on with (in my humble opinion)



Good luck!

Hi! Thank you for a really informative reply. I have began to troubleshoot and have came up with a few issues. My temperature in the growing tent seems to be high right now 31 C ( 87,8 F) humidity 24%.

Regarding the soilmix: I mixed the soilmix with 20-25% perlite, pretty sure it was 20%. Soilmix is a pretty local brand.

I will try my best to translate the manufactuerers description " The soilmix has been fixed to a PH of 6 it has been fertilized with mineralfertilizers that contains all the neecesary plant nutrients, even micronutrients. The soil also contains something called rootforce(direct translation) wich is made up of humusacid( suspect humicacid). A type of organic material that gives strong and healthy roots.

Summary and nutrients: Light and dark peat, lime, mineralfertilizer and rootforce( direct translation) Added nutrients per m^3( 37ft^3) NPK 14-7-15 mkro 1,5 kg( 3,33pound) micronutrients 0,05 kg( 0,11 pounds)

Added amount in mg/l N(Nitrogen) 240, P( Phosphorus ) 70, K( Potassium) 250, Mg( Magnesium) 200, Ca ( Calcium) 350, S (Sulfur) 120, B (Boron) 0,5, Cu ( Copper) 1,7, Fe( iron) 70, Manganese (Mn) 20, Molybdenum (Mo) 0,7, Zn( Zinc) 4.0

As i mentioned before i am operating a diffrent inlinefan and will be change to a different one in the next days. The cfm rating for the new fan on max capacity will be 153cf/m. I assume this will help me controll the temperature in my tent a bit better.

The PH in the water seems a little high 7,8, but i havent watered the plants only sprayed the surface of the soil.

I will attach a picture of the seeds i planted recently ( second attempt). I am sorry for bothering with a long post but you seem like you know a lot and i have to ask.

 

[Sativa_cat]

I would look at what @blue wrote for insight into your germination issues. Your light will get you through for a while and likely doesn't have anything to do with the germination problems.

After you get a little further along it would be good to reevaluate lighting a space that large. I wouldn't flower more than 1 plant under that light personally, but it will work until your plants start taking up more than a couple square feet.

I don't want to derail this thread any further into lighting as I realize you were mainly looking for help on germination and I ended up preaching about lights... I just noticed you were using about the same light I was when I started and I wish someone had told me my space was going to need a lot more light, or that I needed to use it in a smaller space.

Royal queen seeds are great genetics in my opinion and ordering from them directly should be a solid way to go.

How many plants, and maximum size pots would you say that my lights can handle?

 

[Proph]

Based on your most recent post, your environment is in fact for germination if you're using the wet paper towel method. I read through the entire thread and I don't think you have a germination issue on your hands. But there are also a lot of steps in your germination process that haven't been mentioned yet. The first pic you posted definitely has nothing to do with you or anything you did. That's a straight up mutated plant. Looks nothing like cannabis at this point. I'd like to see how these three new seedlings do when they pop up in a day or two. Seedling need a higher rh when they are in the stage that your newly germed seeds are in. Take a couple16 oz plastic drinking water bottles... Cut them with scissor about 6-8 inches from the bottom. Place those bottom pieces over your seedlings until they reach the top of the cover. This will keep their humidity in line and help give them a good start. I'm hoping your new seeds are perfect little seedlings, because I can honestly say that you were at fault here! But for the sake of full disclosure, can you give us a full description of the first germination attempt?

 

[Buds Buddy]

Good Advice Pro !!! If you can't get the RH up in the tent get it up directly at the plant. That works great temporarily until the plants get too big for the cup; but gives you time to get things in order.
Sativa Cat, check your soil pH by the run off water. Check the pH when you water & then check the pH of the water that comes out the bottom of your pot. If it's too high or too low, keep running water through it til you get the correct pH you want. I like 6.2 - 6.4 for soil. Your soil has Nutes so don't add none for a few weeks at least. Just pH'd water for now & only small amounts. When you get 4 - 5 Nodes high you'll want to start adding some Nutes at 1/4 - 1/2 strength & increase from there. Also top at the 4th node or if it's an Auto Flower around day 21.

 

[blue]

Hi again Sativa-Cat

Looks like we're all here to help you hit the ground running! - Lots of good advice in here! ^_^

I scanned through the posts, and i'll just pick out some things that i know about (sorry for the short bit quotes)

I will get some PH strips(should be more accurate then the cheap PH meter i have now) and check the soil PH if that is possible, my current reading have been around PH 6,4. I did my best to point the tails down when planting and avoided to plant them to deep.

Those PH strips are almost useless - equal to the terrible yellow PH meters you can buy. There are some cheaper ones that work (well ... cheaper than Bluelabs) .. If you have them in your country, look at the "Essential" range of PH meters. They served me well when i used them.

My buds wer wonderfully dense when I chopped the 2 GSC and as they are drying there becoming airy. I'm pretty damn upset about it.

Not Sativa-CAt .. but this caught my eye ... I've suffered this way, and it can be heart breaking. obviously genetics come into play to some degree - but a good PK regime at the right time along with really good light penetration will sort that out! (Everyone knows i'm a slap-dash grower ... i'm just lucky to have had the one to one advise from some growing super-heros lol....just paying it forwatrd!)

My temperature in the growing tent seems to be high right now 31 C ( 87,8 F) humidity 24%.

It's a bit hot! .. you know that already!

The PH in the water seems a little high 7,8, but i havent watered the plants only sprayed the surface of the soil.

Here is the problem. The killer of seedlings ... the culprit of later nute lockout .. and the bane of new growers.
It's like my old city water (rubbish!!)

You'll need to get some nitric acid (PHdown) .. or if that's impossible for now ... some lemon juice (not as good, but will do). You still need a PH meter to accurately measure your PH. Get it down to 6.2 (after nutes when you're using them).

The PH pen will be the savoir of grows for you.

Alternatively, check out the local supermarkets for their water selection .... read all the labels (yes ... you'll look like a nutter!) ... if you can find one with a PH of 6.0-6.5, give it a whirl ... it's bound to be better than your tap.

Ideally, before dropping your seed into the soil, you'ld have watered it a bit a day or 2 before (like 1 litre of PH adjusted water). Seeds don't like being put in dry soil. (nor soaking wet .. jsut moist)
Pop a clear plastic cup over it where the seed was sown (spray the inside of the cup) for a humidty dome. When the seed pops up in 2 or three days, use the plastic cup to add a little water (just 1/4 of the cup around the base of the seedling) and pop the cup back on.

Increase the water every couple of days a little.
When the leaves start reaching the edge of the cup, take it away and get a fan lightly rustling the seedling.

Build up the water amount every couple of days. when it's properly up with some leaves (10 days ish) .. you can water larger amounts. I like to do a circle around the outside of the pot(near the walls) to encourage the roots to dearch .. then next watering, do a circle around the inside (around the stem).

Watering correctly comes with practice ... If you get to day 20 and the leaves have hit the edge of the pot .. you've rocked the start!

Good luck!!

 

[Whitetrash]

Hi again Sativa-Cat

Looks like we're all here to help you hit the ground running! - Lots of good advice in here! ^_^

I scanned through the posts, and i'll just pick out some things that i know about (sorry for the short bit quotes)


Those PH strips are almost useless - equal to the terrible yellow PH meters you can buy. There are some cheaper ones that work (well ... cheaper than Bluelabs) .. If you have them in your country, look at the "Essential" range of PH meters. They served me well when i used them.



Not Sativa-CAt .. but this caught my eye ... I've suffered this way, and it can be heart breaking. obviously genetics come into play to some degree - but a good PK regime at the right time along with really good light penetration will sort that out! (Everyone knows i'm a slap-dash grower ... i'm just lucky to have had the one to one advise from some growing super-heros lol....just paying it forwatrd!)



It's a bit hot! .. you know that already!



Here is the problem. The killer of seedlings ... the culprit of later nute lockout .. and the bane of new growers.
It's like my old city water (rubbish!!)

You'll need to get some nitric acid (PHdown) .. or if that's impossible for now ... some lemon juice (not as good, but will do). You still need a PH meter to accurately measure your PH. Get it down to 6.2 (after nutes when you're using them).

The PH pen will be the savoir of grows for you.

Alternatively, check out the local supermarkets for their water selection .... read all the labels (yes ... you'll look like a nutter!) ... if you can find one with a PH of 6.0-6.5, give it a whirl ... it's bound to be better than your tap.

Ideally, before dropping your seed into the soil, you'ld have watered it a bit a day or 2 before (like 1 litre of PH adjusted water). Seeds don't like being put in dry soil.
Pop a clear plastic cup over it where the seed was sown (spray the inside of the cup) for a humidty dome. When the seed pops up in 2 or three days, use the plastic cup to add a little water (just 1/4 of the cup around the base of the seedling) and pop the cup back on.

Increase the water every couple of days a little.
When the leaves start reaching the edge of the cup, take it away and get a fan lightly rustling the seedling.

Build up the water amount every couple of days. when it's properly up with some leaves (10 days ish) .. you can water larger amounts. I like to do a circle around the outside of the pot(near the walls) to encourage the roots to dearch .. then next watering, do a circle around the inside (around the stem).

Watering correctly comes with practice ... If you get to day 20 and the leaves have hit the edge of the pot .. you've rocked the start!

Good luck!!

I though everything was kosher as far as nutes and light. I have 1 more Girl Scout cookies from the same batch of seed that still has what looks like 3 weeks left. So I made an executive decision to lollipop it and try to focus all energy on the colas. We shall see how that works out for me

 

[Animatey]

How many plants, and maximum size pots would you say that my lights can handle?

Hey bud, hope some of your sprouts have broken ground! If not, just know that this is an unfortunate but common tale for gardeners just getting started. This can be really discouraging due to the cost of seeds, but eventually you will get past it!

You also have the challenge of a brand new environment. Learning how to work with your temperature and humidity and in this case your soil and water.

You may need to continue experimenting until you find a seed starting method that works for you. Maybe experiment with fewer seeds at a time until you get a method locked down.

I wouldn't worry too much about your light for now. It should get you by until your plants are taking up more than 2 square feet.

As a general rule you want about 50 actual watts per square foot for flower. So 120 watt light can cover a little more than 2 square feet.

I would read the replies of people who grow frequently in soil. The experienced gardeners with similar setups to your own will have insights that can save you time and get you on the right track.

Good luck!

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