So I recently dived into the growing arena for the first time and researched plenty before starting my grow. I have encountered a problem in the last few days with my young seedlings with the stem thinning at or just above the soil level, and on the ones most affected it has thinned most of the stem and has stunted the growth.From looking up topics I think the most closely related problem this could be is damping off which I believe is either too much water or mold/bacterial growth around the stems as a result of too much water.
My setup is an outside grow using sunlight with them getting light from around 7am-3pm when they end up under some shade from a corner of the house. For the young seedlings I am not sure if they could also be under some sort of heat shock from too much light/heat. I am not using a fan as I live near the beach giving a light breeze on most days and I water the plants lightly twice daily using a spray bottle, giving them 5-10 sprays leaving the surface of the soil moist, not soaking. The soil I am using is Miracle Grow Organic Choice and I also have, but haven't added it to the soil, vermiculite, peat moss and limestone. I was planning on adding those when I move the plants to larger pots mixing them with the potting mix to cater to the plants.
Plants are currently in cups and I haven't poked any holes in the bottom yet as I thought I wasn't watering enough to warrant any drainage.
Here are some pics:
There are about 4 seedlings with this problem out of the 10 I have growing with the others growing fairly well by the looks of them.
So from what I have looked up from other topics on this website I can try a few different things to help rectify the issue:
1. Wet the area where the soil meets the stem with a mild Chamomile tea or Hydrogen peroxide to sterilize and kill off any bacteria/mold which may be present.
2. Change my watering method to placing the cups in a bucket/tray and fill the container with water to about a half way up the soil level on the cups
3. Replant my seedlings in a mix of the potting mix plus additional peat moss and vermiculite.
Other things I could try to assist their growth but wouldn't fix the issue could be giving them less sun during the day, start fertilizing (I am going to use a liquid seaweed fertilizer, Seasol) and try a different potting mix more specific to starting seedlings. Although these are options I am not sure about.
What do more experienced growers think about my issue and how I can solve it?
EDIT: Seems the pics didn't load the first time so here are some links.
http://imgur.com/Sid1xRh
http://imgur.com/QBgx9B7
My setup is an outside grow using sunlight with them getting light from around 7am-3pm when they end up under some shade from a corner of the house. For the young seedlings I am not sure if they could also be under some sort of heat shock from too much light/heat. I am not using a fan as I live near the beach giving a light breeze on most days and I water the plants lightly twice daily using a spray bottle, giving them 5-10 sprays leaving the surface of the soil moist, not soaking. The soil I am using is Miracle Grow Organic Choice and I also have, but haven't added it to the soil, vermiculite, peat moss and limestone. I was planning on adding those when I move the plants to larger pots mixing them with the potting mix to cater to the plants.
Plants are currently in cups and I haven't poked any holes in the bottom yet as I thought I wasn't watering enough to warrant any drainage.
Here are some pics:
There are about 4 seedlings with this problem out of the 10 I have growing with the others growing fairly well by the looks of them.
So from what I have looked up from other topics on this website I can try a few different things to help rectify the issue:
1. Wet the area where the soil meets the stem with a mild Chamomile tea or Hydrogen peroxide to sterilize and kill off any bacteria/mold which may be present.
2. Change my watering method to placing the cups in a bucket/tray and fill the container with water to about a half way up the soil level on the cups
3. Replant my seedlings in a mix of the potting mix plus additional peat moss and vermiculite.
Other things I could try to assist their growth but wouldn't fix the issue could be giving them less sun during the day, start fertilizing (I am going to use a liquid seaweed fertilizer, Seasol) and try a different potting mix more specific to starting seedlings. Although these are options I am not sure about.
What do more experienced growers think about my issue and how I can solve it?
EDIT: Seems the pics didn't load the first time so here are some links.
http://imgur.com/Sid1xRh
http://imgur.com/QBgx9B7