dotcotton Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Hi, Sadly, I have had to perform an autopsy on one of my seedlings today. Details of grow so far: Four seedlings Started germination process 12 days ago. Still in rockwool starter cubes, no sign of roots yet. Three droughts so far (on three occasions woke up to find plants battered and wilted in bone dry rockwool) Fan blowing on seedlings since day 5 Water and rockwool PH 5.5 throughout Tap water EC 0.7 Since day 9 water EC 0.9 (weak solution of Ionic Grow) Seedlings under 20W CFL Following the last drought three of the seedlings made a speedy recovery, however, one never made it through. The base of the stem kept thinning and eventually the seedling gave up. I carefully took the RW apart to inspect the root system, please have a look at the pic to give me an idea of what has happened. Questions: Is this damping off? If so, will I have to get rid of all the other seedlings and start again? Is it normal to have not seen roots emerge from the starter cubes yet? Are the seedlings stalling? What can I do to pick things up? Thanks, hope you all had a great Christmas and best wishes for the new year, Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evelyn Pickaxe Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) seedlings dont like droughts!. I wonder whether the fan from day 5 was a bit early and the seedlings didn't have the cell structures to cope with that amount of air flow and as a result the stem dried, cutting the seedling from its roots. ? e2a NLXHAZE mmmmmm Hope you got a few more beans Edited December 27, 2011 by evilpixiea420 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) Hi Pixie, Thanks. That is quite possible, the seedlings appeared to be handling the fan just fine but the drought made them keel over and pinch. Looking at the images, is there anyway to tell if the seedlings are suffering from damping off? I am keen to get some opinions on this as the NLXH also didn't fare well too in the drought. It got piched at the stem and leaf, the stem is looking thin and dry at the base, also part of the leaf has died. I would like to save her and the other two, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, why am I not seeing any roots yet? Dot Edited December 27, 2011 by dotcotton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roached Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) yes, certainly looks like damping off on the deceased. Cant remember the technical terms, but that dark/thin patch just above what would have been the soil line looks familiar.Ultimately it puts a blockage in the stem. Definitely persevere with the survivors, very unusual to not be seeing roots yet-but they're still alive. I'd carry on,take the fan off them. Be extra vigilant re drying out. Call the family in, the next 48hrs will be crucial! e2a-i think the droughts probably killed off the lionshare of the roots-hence none breaking through as of yet. The hardy lil tykes are hangin in though, so there's obviously life under ground Edited December 27, 2011 by roached 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Roached thanks so much, you've been a great help through this crisis. I will stick it out till the end, I hope they make it through. I'll update in the next couple of days. Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hi guys, A quick update. Two of the seedlings have made a great recovery and have shown some fat juicy roots sticking out of the RW. Following my last post, I got a little experimental. PH 5.5 through out temps 21-24C Fan blowing indirectly 20W cfl 18/6 Day 13 - watered in solution half H202 9%/half mineral water Day 14 - Seedlings started to look a little better Day 15 - Watered in mineral water with 1ml/l Superthrive Day 16 - All three seedlings bounced back and looked fantastic Day 17 - Still going strong, watered with plain mineral water Day 18 - The strongest seedling so far (J47) started to look a little pale. So I Created a weak solution: Ionic Grow + Superthrive 1ml/l in mineral water 735µS (EC 0.7 I think). A few hours later and two seedlings look stronger than ever but the yellowing J47 still has no roots and is looking bad. These pics were taken about four hours ago: Now she's looking even worse, the two biggest leaves have completely lost colour and are drooping down badly. What is going on? How can I save her? dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb1 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 they should be in bigger pots for root development Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks gb1, Transplanting the two that have shown root development to 3 inch cubes in the morning. The sick J47 still hasn't shown any roots and I have been advised against transplanting until I see some. Seedlings appear to have been stunted due to a few newbie errors. Any suggestions for the sick J47? It has been the strongest up until now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 J47 Seedling looking pretty bleached and unwell this morning. Also, the other J47 decided it was time for a growth spurt and grew straight into the cfl, some pretty nasty third degree burns to the leaves this morning. (Pics later) I don't want to kill my seedlings, I've grown very attached to them. I would really appreciate some help/advice from someone here, no one else knows about my grow so this is the only place I have to turn to. Thanks in advance Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Pics as promised The burnt J47 appears to be strong still, worried about the wilting J47 which still hasn't shown any roots, I don't understand why the sudden turn. Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sensiblue Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Pics as promised The burnt J47 appears to be strong still, worried about the wilting J47 which still hasn't shown any roots, I don't understand why the sudden turn. Dot Try a bit of Formulex and Rhizotonic mate, done wonders for my seedlings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Ty Sensi, I went to the grow shop intending to buy those very two things. Guy in the grow shop literally snatched the Formulex out of my hands and refused to sell it to me. Said it was a waste of money and told me that all I needed was the Grow formula that I already had. After much discussion, I ended up leaving with just a small bottle of superthrive (which really helped btw). edit - This was a few days ago, prior to the current problem. The sick J47 is slipping away, not sure she'll survive the night. Any suggestions for what I can do now? Edited January 3, 2012 by dotcotton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sensiblue Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Do you have any roots out of the cubes? or at least the tap root? If so, i would soak your 3 inch cubes in half strength Rhizo and half strength Formulex and transplant your babies into them. I'm not sure there's much more you can do really mate. I done mine to an ec of .6. They went absolutely crazy. I swear by that Rhizo, expensive but really good stuff. Edited January 3, 2012 by sensiblue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcotton Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Ok mate, that's all I've got to go on at the moment. Might as well give it a try. Will pop down to the GS tomorrow. The sickly J47 has shown no roots yet, I carefully parted the RW to have a peek at what was going on and it looked like the tap root has just dried right up, brown and woody. I think she's a goner I don't understand why, from what I've read, my environment is spot on and I haven't been over watering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sensiblue Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Yeah after reading your first post again, i'm amazed any of them are alive mate, leaving the cubes dry out once is really bad news but 3 times?! You've probably destroyed the root structure. But if the other 2 now have roots then try what i said mate, and keep cubes moist at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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