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seeds Under or overwatered seedlings?

http://shrani.si/f/1V/6Z/4dxStMo2/2014-04-24-155314.jpg does this look under or overwatered? When I put my finger in the soil it feels slightly moist but I stopped watering my Hungarian hot wax 5 days ago and yet the plant is still getting worse! How long until the soil dries out? And now I started to worry if it looks like that because it needs more water?
 
And whats up with my other healthy seedlings http://shrani.si/f/3E/w6/2K3m6nAD/2014-04-24-155542.jpg They look healthy, I water them every 2-3 days now but some of them have tiny yellow dots on the tip of the coty's.
 
 1st one looks over watered. Second one look like it has sunburn or fert burn . 
 
Hard to tell though. Fuzzy pics . What type of soil and sun ( or light ) are they getting? 
 
Soil is 96% peat, 4% perlit mixed with expanded vermit (5:1 ratio, mixed vermit in myself). Soil itself is 5 - 6,5 PH and NPK is 14+16+18 marketed for seeds and herbs: https://www.compo-hobby.de/de/de/products/COMPO-SANA-Anzucht-und-Kraeutererde.html Is it good enough?
 
They are on a window sill facing east and get 6 hours of direct morning sunlight. Maybe I didn't adapt them to direct sun enough? I had them in shade (window blinds) and cloudy weather on a window sill for 4-5 days prior to moving them on full sun. Started them in a heated desk drawer.
 
Seedlings that young really don't need any ferts .  And the amount you have in there is REALLY high.  I'd say you are burning them with the fertilizer.  The burnt tips on the cotyledons is classic indicator of fert burn.
 
compmodder26 said:
Seedlings that young really don't need any ferts .  And the amount you have in there is REALLY high.  I'd say you are burning them with the fertilizer.  The burnt tips on the cotyledons is classic indicator of fert burn.
 
But those ingredients were all inside the soil. I simply read you what was written on the label.. And the packaging of the soil says it is for growing seeds and herbs... Should I buy better soil next time? What should I look for? It is hard to find soil without all those added stuff here...
 
On their product website they state: "For all young and herb plants. Secure germination and vigorous growth through the root activator AGROSIL, with PERLITE and high quality silica sand for a particularly fine texture and good water absorption in the substrate."
 
Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like you were the one who put the fertilizer in there.  Was not my intention at all.  I understand that is what was in the soil to start.  I would say you need a better seed starting soil.  There are a lot of brands out there that say they are for this or that, but in the end are just plain wrong.  You would be better off buying a seed starting soil with 0 added nutrients.  If all you have available has nutrients added, try to find one with as little as possible.
 
compmodder26 said:
Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like you were the one who put the fertilizer in there.  Was not my intention at all.  I understand that is what was in the soil to start.  I would say you need a better seed starting soil.  There are a lot of brands out there that say they are for this or that, but in the end are just plain wrong.  You would be better off buying a seed starting soil with 0 added nutrients.  If all you have available has nutrients added, try to find one with as little as possible.
 
Yea its hard to find 0 nutrient soil in our garden stores... Why is the manufacturer stating how this soil is amazing for germination and root growth though....? My seedlings seem to be doing fine though, one of them is even growing first real leaves. I assume I should leave them as they are for now, what is done is done? Buy better soil next year? Or buy better soil when transplanting them?
 
future_man said:
 
Yea its hard to find 0 nutrient soil in our garden stores... Why is the manufacturer stating how this soil is amazing for germination and root growth though....? My seedlings seem to be doing fine though, one of them is even growing first real leaves. I assume I should leave them as they are for now, what is done is done? Buy better soil next year? Or buy better soil when transplanting them?
 
Some plants handle nutrients better than other.  In the case of peppers, a little will go a long way.  They are not particularly nutrient hungry, especially at such a young age.  If the majority of your plants seem fine, then by all means leave them where they are.
 
compmodder26 said:
 
Some plants handle nutrients better than other.  In the case of peppers, a little will go a long way.  They are not particularly nutrient hungry, especially at such a young age.  If the majority of your plants seem fine, then by all means leave them where they are.
 
Will they get more tough when they grow up, or should I change the soil for them when transplanting? But thanks for the heads up I will buy different soil next year when germinating. I hope my plants will get well and they wont have any side effect from this?
 
compmodder26 said:
Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like you were the one who put the fertilizer in there.  Was not my intention at all.  I understand that is what was in the soil to start.  I would say you need a better seed starting soil.  There are a lot of brands out there that say they are for this or that, but in the end are just plain wrong.  You would be better off buying a seed starting soil with 0 added nutrients.  If all you have available has nutrients added, try to find one with as little as possible.
future_man
 
Check out some of the Sunshine Mixes.  Also, lots of growers like Pro Mix.
 
http://www.sungro.com/professional-products?brandID=1
compmodder26 said:
 
Some plants handle nutrients better than other.  In the case of peppers, a little will go a long way.  They are not particularly nutrient hungry, especially at such a young age.  If the majority of your plants seem fine, then by all means leave them where they are.
 
compmodder26,
How do you determine when to start fertilizing seedlings?
 
Roguejim said:
compmodder26,
How do you determine when to start fertilizing seedlings?
 
I usually wait until they have 2-3 sets of true leaves.  If you start them in 72 cell inserts, you wouldn't need to fertilize them until you pot them up.  Or in my case, I don't fertilize them, but rather put them in a good organic potting soil, that is very gentle on them.  I am fond of Fox Farm's Happy Frog.
 
compmodder26 said:
I usually wait until they have 2-3 sets of true leaves.  If you start them in 72 cell inserts, you wouldn't need to fertilize them until you pot them up.  Or in my case, I don't fertilize them, but rather put them in a good organic potting soil, that is very gentle on them.  I am fond of Fox Farm's Happy Frog.
Thanks. I also pot up to Happy Frog. How long are your plants in the Happy Frog, before you add fert? After plant out?
 
future_man said:
Will my plants have any side effects from this soil when they mature?
 
And what if sun did this to them?
 
It's quite possible that they could actually be stunted from the amount of fertilizer.  After they take in so much nutrients, it actually becomes counterproductive.  The leaves will continue to burn and they start to fall off from the bottom up.  I know this, because I did this to my plants last year.  That was before I decided to go all organic, and they took off after that.
 
The first plant could be drooping because of excess heat radiating from the window, but the burnt tips are classic signs of overfertilizing.
 
Roguejim said:
Thanks. I also pot up to Happy Frog. How long are your plants in the Happy Frog, before you add fert? After plant out?
 
This year, I'm hoping to not have to add any fertilizer.  I'm putting my plants in the ground this year.  My plot is ammended with RCW (Ramial Chipped Wood), which, as it breaks down, should supply all the nutrients that my plants need.  Going this route, I'm hoping that all I have to do from season to season is to keep adding RCW on top.
 
As far as containers go, I'd say you could get by for 2-3 months before you would need to supplement with another nutrient source.
 
compmodder26 said:
This year, I'm hoping to not have to add any fertilizer.  I'm putting my plants in the ground this year.  My plot is ammended with RCW (Ramial Chipped Wood), which, as it breaks down, should supply all the nutrients that my plants need.  Going this route, I'm hoping that all I have to do from season to season is to keep adding RCW on top.
 
Nice, I've been eyeballing Stouts system for awhile, keeping her in mind for when I have a nice manicured yard I can "ruin" :D
 
Roguejim said:
Yes, Windchicken has the most simple growing system utilizing the RCW. Huge plants, too. I'll be going that route, as well.
 
Gary is the one who turned me on to RCW.  He grows some great plant in his RCW beds.
 
compmodder26 said:
 
It's quite possible that they could actually be stunted from the amount of fertilizer.  After they take in so much nutrients, it actually becomes counterproductive.  The leaves will continue to burn and they start to fall off from the bottom up.  I know this, because I did this to my plants last year.  That was before I decided to go all organic, and they took off after that.
 
My god... But if they make it past initial saplings into a nice plant, are they safe? Or will the fruit be affected?
 
Flushing with straight water (2-3 times the volume of the pot) should help alleviate this, as long as you have a reasonably well draining soil. Are they continuing to burn or putting out healthy growth?
 
They are growing very healthy! I am not overrreacting with water since I have bad expirience with one of my seedlings going all mopey... So I am watering only every 3rd day. Don't want to "flush" them as you suggest.
 
Well if they continue to grow and the plants yield lots of fruit, there should be no problem. I just don't know if the added chemicals in soil can have harmfull effects on root growth, lief growth or fruit growth? Can someone confirm or deny this?
 
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