Ok, this one is driving me bonkers. First indoor grow in too many years to count. I’m getting anxious to get the big light back on and I’ll be damned if I’m not stumped on this one.
I’ve grown for 20 years, so this isn’t my first rodeo. Before I get to my question, some background is probably in order.
1 - I’ve always handled my seeds the same way and never had an issue like I am this go round. I use the paper towel method to germinate and it has pretty much always been fool proof.
2 - I use a 50/50 blend of Schultz potting soil and perlite for starting my seedlings.
3 - My method has never failed me. Until now.
History of the beans -
Last year I had an outdoor fem’d auto grow going. First experience with them and I made the mistake of assuming I could just leave them to do their thing. Boy, was I wrong on that one. Something went haywire. Not sure if it was a recently installed LED street light the city installed out front or not, but I’m going to blame that as the cause. Be damned if 9 out of 10 plants didn’t end up being seed weed. At least one of them hermied on me and ruined the rest, except one. Started indoors in May and moved outside the first week of June.
The one odd plant out grew from June until the end of October when I had to take it down due to moving. I just finished smoking the last of that plant a couple weeks back. Tend to think that one wasn’t an auto at all.
At any rate, a couple weeks ago (against my better judgement) I threw caution to the wind and started a few beans from last year’s disaster. I plan to stay within my legal limit of 4 plants. Bingo! 4 seeds into the paper towel, 4 pop and go into cups. All 4 break the surface as expected.
I’ll be damned if they haven’t stalled. They’ve grown the first pair of leaves, got to a height of 1/2" - 1" (1 to 3 cm) and done nothing since which has been a week now.
I’m at a total loss. Same methods I’ve always used, same lighting, soil, you name it. What in hell is going on here?
The only thing I can think it may possibly be is contamination of the water. But how, if that’s case? My wife swears up and down that she hasn’t used my spray bottle for anything. I know I haven’t used the bottle for anything else. That spray bottle has been dedicated to my seed starts for years. The water I am using is store bought distilled.
I’m just about ready to toss these and start over again, but without figuring out what is going on and doing what is needed to resolve the issue I am bound to follow in the same footsteps that got me here. I realize that the first instinct for most reasonable people is to just buy more beans, but after last years fiasco I’m more than a little hesitant to drop $10 a bean only to get burned again.
I have to figure out what is holding these ones back. Are auto’s known to behave this way? Could there be something in the water that is causing the problem? If so, why would the beans get as far as they have?
This one has me completely baffled. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome and considered.