HELP! Leaves are turning brown, dying plant

[herbgrower]

What happened: The seedling was growing fine but one bad day I over-watered it. After that soil became muddy and wet, white mold like dots started appearing. This happened after two days of over-watering. Before that it showed some droppyness but it was growing. Noticing that the plant started dying, I chose to re-pot it and it has been two days but it is still not showing any signs of recovery. Now I have doubt that it might not only be over-watering but also nitrogen deficiency. Please guide me into this. This is my first grow and this seedling had suffered a lot still stood up. I don't even know the strain and seedbank it came from because it was a golden seed found in one of flowers I had but still I really don't want this seedling to die.

Set up: 80cm/80cm grow tent, 25W Actual Power LED(in seedling stage), Soil

[Tersky]

Well...couple things come to mind. First, from the pic it looks as though she stretched a bit and 25w is not very much light but you may need to have moved it closer as seedlings dont need much light but do need enough to prevent stretching. Second, dont use vermiculite. Use perlite. Vermiculite retains water and can cause root rot. Especially if you over water. Also, what nutes are you using or are you using super soil? If you dont have nutes and the soil did not come with nutes in it then you probably do have some deficiencies. However, i dont see this plant making a comeback, especially with the vermiculite. If it were me i would call this a learning experience and start over. I've had seedlings look like that before and they never came back.

[herbgrower]

I mistakenly put vermiculite. I have soil mix and perlite in it. Thanks for the info. I guess I will put hope on new seeds now!

[Tersky]

Oh ok. I was under the assumption that it was vermiculite so you may actually be able to save it. I used vermiculite once...once i said...lol. What i would do is let it dry out. Also, i would start adding some light nutes when you do water it https://www.growweedeasy.com/nutrients. It could be lack of nutes or a ph issue but in soil ph is a little easier to manage. If it does come back, when it is time to repot bury the stem up to a couple inches from the bottom set of leaves. Sorry, i thought it was vermiculite and that retention of water can be bad but if it's perlite then it will dry out quicker and may be savable. i was thinking it was root rot from overwatering/vermicuilite but it just may be over watered and slightly deficient.

[starramus]

I wouldn't give up just yet. There is still hope. Let it dry out well, and 2 days is not enough time for recovery. Some nutes may help. This is what I have used for years. https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Farm-Liqu...s%2C259&sr=8-1 Start out light though with 1/4 dose. Tersky is correct move that LED closer.

[herbgrower]

I repotted it and let it dry for 3 days. The soil had some moisture while I potted so today I saw it completely dried. I watered it but not till it runs off because I am still scared to overwater it again. The main issue to me is pH. I have added nutes(pic), neem oil and lemon. The nute has pH of 3.93. Soil pH is 7 but it fluctuates to 8. What can I do to balance pH without using pH UP. pH UP is not available as of now. It has to imported and stuff. I need long term solution to maintain pH. I use the RO water but it is too alkaline.

EDIT: The seedling has first started out in sun light and just few days before it was put in LED because the light had malfunctioned. It grew stretchy in that period.

[starramus]

are you measuring the pH after mixing the nutes, and RO water? Try to keep it simple. baking soda for pH up.

[herbgrower]

starramus I only have soil pH tester at this point. I will soon have the water ph tester. What about pH down? Any way to down it? currently I use lemon.

[Tersky]

If you user RO water then PH is hard to control. I use a ro and tap water mixture (75% ro 25% tap water) to make sure the ph is stable. I found just using ro water made ph unstable and hard to change as in a drop of ph down can be too much. On the flip side, the tap water took like 5 drops of ph down to move 0.1 points. I do not know what you would use other than ph up and down though i know there are things out there. Sulfer is usually used long term ph down in soil and vinegar is short term i think. Not sure what you would user for ph up tho. The main question is what is the ph of the nutes and water together or do you not mix in water first? Also what nutes are you using? Some nutes have ph buffers added.

Side note: My tap water is like 8.0 pH but my ro water come out at 6.0 pH

[herbgrower]

Tersky This nute is some local brand here. Probably first one ever but they have followed the same veg, flower and nuts format. It came in combo. Brand name is City Greens. I will keep in mind the cal mag. I have to find its domestic version as well. Thanks a lot to you guys. I would be in complete misinformation if it wouldnt be this forum.

[Tersky]

I understand man. We do the best with what we have. I'm spoiled with amazon. There are many ways to grow a plant and it may take some tinkering to find out what works best but i believe you dont need any fancy nutes to do it. It just makes it a bit easier.

[herbgrower]

Tersky I am betting on that.

[Sww]

Have you try fresh soil and time to
recover.. 🙂

[herbgrower]

yeah i repotted it in fresh soil. fingers crossed

[starramus]

When tending to a sick plant I have found that neutrality is the best policy. Therefore I have used distilled water until the plant is in recovery. Of course this is not long term, but until you see signs of new growth.

[starramus]

Not sure about the nutrients you are using. I'd get an order in for a reliable brand. https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Farm-Liqu...s%2C259&sr=8-1

[herbgrower]

I will keep that in mind. Fox farms is just too costly for me right now especially when I'm on learning curve.

[Canuck147]

Just leave it alone and let it grow.

[herbgrower]

Hey guys some bad news. The seedling is showing no recovery instead this morning I saw its newest of leaves getting tip burn and turning brown. What should I do? Should I repot it again only with coco and perlite? Do you think this is nitrogen toxicity?

[herbgrower]

This is the latest condition. Interestingly the newest leaves which tip started turning brown today is now curling upwards. I think this is due to mismanagement of pH which led to nitrogen toxicity burdened with over-watering probably.

[herbgrower]

Hey guys quick update! As you know my seedling was sick due to pH and other load of stuff. I ordered the pH tester but it hasnt been delivered yet. The medium was drying out and I had to improvise. I had soil pH tester. I took the coco-perlite mix with which I potted the seedling. Tested its pH, it was 7.5+. I mixed water with local pH down liquid, watered the soil, tested pH after hour and it was near 5.5 later dropped to 6. I gave the same water to the sick seedling. After an hour-two the pH was set to 6-6.5.
Today I noticed that pH level was going up to 7 after 24 hrs of watering. The moist meter reading was half meaning half of the waster was drained/used. Something caught my eye was the latest leaf which recently turned brown, today it further turned white-ish. I tried to capture it but because of flash and the object being white, it is just a white flash on photo. I have marked it but it is still not noticeable. It is not powder, this is the leaf turning white.
Can you guys tell what it is? I am just learning from the nobbie mistakes but I still want to save this plant.

[herbgrower]

Tersky The light is very close to the seedling because it is only 25W actual power draw right now. It also has more red as compare to blue and white. Do you think I should move the light?
Edit: There is no cupping or clawing. Only the tips turning downwards which is consistent symptom since the problem started. I am trying to pay very close attention to heat and light stress although I am just noobie. Your insight would be very helpful.

[Tersky]

It depends, how close is very close? Usually the manufacture has a distance to canopy recommendation. LED's are notorious for light burn and are supposed to be kept far away in comparison to cfl. https://www.growweedeasy.com/led-gro...-cannabis-buds
Also i wouldnt grow seedling with red light as red light makes it stretch.

[herbgrower]

Tersky I moved light to about 6 inches from the seedling. This is just some cheap 25W makeshift light so I am afraid that the seedling wouldn't get enough intensity if move further. The manufacturer has like no say in this. They don't understand me when I ask for data. They think light is not working and asking me if I want replacement. Lamo I am waiting for PAR600 which should be landing in week. I can go methodical after that.
On that note do you think this is because of pH fluctuations?

P.S. : I started talking to my plants and apologized for my carelessness :P