SOIL Trying to prevent seedlings dying

[Dreco]

Hello i currently have two plants one about three days old and the other just planted, i had 3 but one which was at least a week old died and i wasn’t really sure why. It started turning light green one day and began to droop I’ve so i thought i was under watering, i increased and the next day it was the same but by the next day it fell over and died. I am running a organic soil medium, in 5 gallon fabric pots, but they are currently in small cups until transplant, i have a 2x4 grow tent with led stand strip lights, a pretty solid air system and a humidifier. I run a 18/6 light schedule and try to water once a day but have been basing it on soil meter reading and feel. I haven’t exactly figured out my temperature and humidity levels yet because i am a first time grower and it’s just becoming summer where i am.
so my question is any advice as to how i should water my other two plants in the seedlings stages and when i should i begin to feed or if i even need to i was told the soil was water only but i keep seeing that i should still at npk and other nutrients in. Also my soil ph is ver high and even after multiple ph down watering it will not drop how kan i fix that???
other concerns as my light placement the first plant seemed to be reaching so i moved them closer but that’s also happened around the time it died.

the first photos are of the plant that died and the rest of of the current set up and plant the other hasn’t sprouted.

[Cali]

Best advice is read the tutorials on seedlings. On the main GWE site. Main thing is they don’t need much water just a bit around the stem not much at all.

[JDU]

I use a spray bottle. As many as 3x/day or whenever it gets dry.

[welshweed]

Jeez Dreco !!
It's no wonder these poor little buggers are dying. You're simply hitting them with too much stimuli - too much technology.
Look, I'm new to growing cannabis, but I know a bit about gardening - lettuce, tomatoes, beans &c. But whatever you're growing, whether it's cannabis or cabbage, seedlings require much the same attention.
Namely
* a nice moist germ free growing medium
* warmth
* a good balance of dark/light (babies need to sleep in order to grow!)
* and a bit of peace and quiet

Forget about bloody grow tents, strip lights and ventilation systems while they're still trying to coming to terms with the outside world! All that will come later.

[Tersky]

My opinion is to get rid of the LED for germination as those can be harsh on seedlings. I would use T5 as those are gentler on seedlings and can be kept closer to prevent stretching. Also, early on watering should be done in minimal amounts as the seedling has not built up a hardy enough root system to handle lots of water and can drown easily. I typically water it once when planting and mist a couple times a day and use weight of pot to see when to water again. As far as feeding goes, if your soil has feed mixed in already then you dont need to feed until flower usually. This could also be part of the problem as seedlings can die easily with soil that is too "hot" meaning has too much nutrients in it for seedlings.

I also disagree with the person above as i grow cannabis in tents exclusively which need proper lighting and ventilation. The only thing about your setup i disagree with is the led's. Not sure what the actual wattage is for those but you want to aim for 35-60 watt per sq ft. in flower but seedlings cant handle that intensity which is why i suggested the T5's

[SoOrbudgal]

Hello Tersky wonderful to see you out and about here. Hope all is going well for you?

[Tersky]

Ah well it's going. Having back and hip issues from a car accident 20 years ago so haven't been able to do a serious grow. But i'm doing physical therapy now and slowly getting better after having surgery last October. Hope all is well with you.

[JDU]

Agreed! Good to see ya Tersky!!

[quirk]

You certainly don't have a green thumb. All kidding aside, take the cover off so your seedling doesn't damp off. Don't worry about feeding and don't keep medium saturated by watering every day. You shouldn't need to add more than 30-50ml of water every 2-3 days. Provide enough air circulation to get it wiggling a bit.
Good luck.