That pretty much sums up my first 5 attempts to grow. 3 popped within a day of each other, #4 came about 3 days later, #5 remains MIA. Fox farm seedling soil in small peat pots after being germinated in moist cotton rounds, tails were super short,care was taken.Into a gorilla clone tent under a Kind x 40 veg lamp,on a seedling matt set at 73-75 degrees, no humidity dome initially. lamp was about 8 " above soil,maintain 70-80 degrees and 40%-78% humidity with no wild condensation building temperature/humidity swings. Seedling #1 lookin good to about 3/4" tall with the first set of real leaves filling in as you would hope and eventually they began to strike a rather casual almost lazy presence and some yellowing began At the tips. #2 lost its first real leaves and seem to be barely able with the original expendable leaves on that plant looking better than any of the rest of my seedlings. Waterings were sparing with deionized H2O ph corrected to 6.2. Well water,no chlorine, native Ph 7.1, TDS =110+, My lake Ph-6.8 ,TDS-38. So my water is solid. I suspect I may have been generous with the well balanced beverage but moisture meters assured me of the contrary and often indicated dry. I’m not 100% sold on peat pots and I am the last person who should be espousing any sort of perceived knowledge on the topic as I have zero,zippo,nada, zilch experience in growing anything intentionally. However,in this particular matter I believe the simple powers of observation I possess lead me to believe that the peat pots wick away the moisture from the root zone and while remaining quite wet to the touch and rather heavy when hoisting to check for moisture content,i believe it was leaving the limited root zone to struggle.!Very disappointed to say the least,but alas we press on after hearing thoughts and questions from those that know.
4 DOA
1 MIA
not good.
Knee jerk reaction with that limited info…over watering.
ANY mention of water other than “started with moist soil” when sprouts are less than a week old, I automatically think drowning.
This applies to soil grows only. I know less than nothing about hydro. 
Usually, when seedlings come up then fall again, its possibly user error (not laying blame, just kinda happens). Particularly overwatering/underwatering more often then not… as ur water sounds just fine to use, could have been the amounts.
If I read the OP correctly, u used FF soil in those brown peat pods. That in itself isnt a bad way to start seeds. The biggest difference I could see is watering after putting in seeds. I typically water my soil pretty well before germination and dont touch it again until at least a week. If I do its a few spritzes once.
Haha great minds right @HMGRWN 
I tend to agree with you,but just to clarify, germination took place in moistened cotton rounds until seeds responded by crackin’ open a bit and the root was prairie doggin’ it. Then they were very carefully planted in Fox Farms “Light Warrior.” Seed starting mix within peat pots. I fail to see how the tried and true soil was the issue and preemptively hang my head in shame as I am certain I was givin’ swimming lessons. In realizing the error of my ways I ask now for the advice of those that know better. That being said I ask for advice of the successful.
Please keep in mind I’m growing in soil,it is my intention to grow 2 in fox farms soil and 2 in a native black dirt stock pile i have amended to provide the proper ph and necessary microbes etc. All will be in 10 gallon fabric pots .I have bergmans nutes,fox farms and lotus for the native soil grows and supplemental nutrients when the time comes with the fox farm grow. And eventually ,one final seedling #5 is going out doors where most of its needs will be met by mothernature.Of course I’ll have to post a sniper at some point to keep the deer/rabbits/woodchucks/turtles/insects from enjoying the efforts,but we shall see.
What I’m really interested in is some guidance. I have fox farms seed starter/seedling heating matt/clone tent/kind x40 veg light. and the rest i’ll wait for questions.
Ty in advance to those kind enough and knowledgeable enough to assist effectively.
We can review veg plans once we get through this elusive germination thing.
so you water previous to placing your seeds in the soil? do you do so pre or post germination?
germinate on a matt under a light/humidity dome? what air temp/soil temp/humidity% what ppfd level,etc.? to all interested in advising the blind,have at it.
The soil should be moist before putting your seed, or seedling into it. Then you should let it fully dry out before watering again. It’s super easy to overwater when they are young like that, and is probably what happened here.
I soaked my pots the day before planting my unpopped seeds, and then didn’t water again for at least 7, 8 days, and that was a 5gal fabric pot. So, a 10 gal will hold moisture for quite a while. Keep that in mind
Hope that helps
Everything you guys suggest is beneficial to the cause and my appreciation can never be expressed fully. Thankyou
But alas,I failed to mentionthat I am using White Widow autos so my question now would be to start in what container or pot as I have read they don’t particularly like transplantation.
Again a great debt of gratitude to all wishing to help educate.I have read many publications from cover to cover and while I have a practical knowledge of growing,I don’t have the experience necessary to properly evaluate conditions both favorable and detrimental to the grow. Thats where you generous folks come in and thanks again.
So given that should I be sewing seeds in cotton rounds moistened with a Ph corrected H2O
and once the seeds are showing a tail should I go into peat pots or red solo cups and what size fabric pots would be sufficient. I have 3 gallon,5 gallon,7 gallon and finally 10 gallon fabric pots.
What do you guys think of nursery bags? Does the root system really grow right through it readily enough to mitigate the difficulty Autos have with transplantation?
Everything you suggest is helpful.
If you photo seeds, my suggestion would be to start with them, as they are easier to work with.
I’m moving into a 5’x5’ grow room which used to be an unused bathroom.out comes the vanity and toilet and up goes the reflective film(any suggestions are appreciated. A california lightworks solarsystem 1100 UVB and the solar system controller will be playing sunlight for the autos. we’ll be ventilating with an infinity AC 6" with gorilla carbon filter tied into either a dryer vent utilizing a backdraft preventer or into the return for the house hvac with the same .
You’ll find lots of different ideas when it comes to transplanting. Some folks will say never to do it, others will tell you it’s the best possible way.
My opinion is that you lose a lot of time starting with a big pot, as the roots take a while to fully permeate the pot. I started 3 autos in 5 gal pots, and they suffered pretty slow growth while the roots stretched themselves out in that large area. I had a 4th plant that I kept transplanting into larger containers, and there’s no question that it grew faster and healthier than the others. So, again, this is just my opinion and what has worked for me.
Your grow setup sounds great, and I’m looking forward to seeing the plants you produce
Lol,Ty for the optimism. I also look forward to seeing the plants i produce.
I have some of the grow room components already but most of it is “In the mail” and here I sit with 4 flacids and a no show.
Once I get the successful germination thing down I’ll show you how to kill them by …
Lol,Ty for the optimism. I also look forward to seeing the plants i produce.
I have some of the grow room components already but most of it is “In the mail” and here I sit with 4 flacids and a no show.
Once I get the successful germination thing down I’ll show you how to kill them by …
On a more productive note,considering your observations on the correlation between container sizes and rate of healthy veg development despite being subject to transplantation stresses suggest that the nutrient saturation of the limited volume container aids in keeping those expensive time consuming nutrients and moisture contents in a more accessible form,more consistently in or near the root zone .
Just thinking out loud here …flinging to see what sticks at 3 am…
I stopped using peat pots for that exact reason. I simply had trouble managing moisture content. It seems once they are too wet it is hard to recover. I have gone to seedling trays filled with coco. I have not drowned a seedling since making the change.
Top is dry but still moist below. Taken before giving it 15-20ml from a syringe
At this size (8 days) I still cover with a dome. I stop once another set of leaves grows out a bit.
I don’t get it what about the dead fish. Seems like a metaphor. The thing is we are growing plants. A lot of people buried dead fish under there plant back in the day and even today. I thought it was going to have something to do with that.
No worries just kinda a let down for me.
@jorkvilleyoe
I went from solo cups to 5 gal fabric pots with no issues (ffof & botanicare nutes). Like others have said, be careful with overwatering. They don’t need much when they are small.
merely a veiled statement with a snarky undertone,something along the lines of " if it goes as well tomorrow while fishing as it did today with growing I can look forward to…"
New question,after mixing up seedling booster my ph level seems to be right in there but my EC meter says 11 and PPM shows 22. The bergmans feeding schedule/table says PPM should be 500.
Is that a minimum? a maximum? a target?
And how does one adjust this?
I am starting with deionized water which has super low TDS. Is that beneficial? detrimental?
Thank you in advance.
And yes I have been searching for answers on my own but apparently my head is just too flat.