Canna terra is available here in Australia too and @Smokey101 is 100% right about it being hot for seedlings. I burnt a couple of little ones with it and had to start again. Start some in a seedling specific mix or even some coco or something and then move them into the canna.
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The npk on it is supposed to be 15:10:10 so its pretty heavily loaded
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Oh yeah that def is loaded and @GinoTonico im not surr which country your in but i honestly feel your struggle is coming from that rich nutrient soil when starting seeds i would def use a lighter based soil even just normal no nutrient potting soil since your seedlings have stored nutrients when they sprout and just need good temps and humidity and once theyve established themselves in about 2 or 3 weeks (in a solo cup) they will be ready for that soil most timesā¦ some strains just enjoy light feedings and ya may need to dilute the soil some before transplants. Good thing all youll need is a small bag of soil and should be good to go
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Thanks to all!
Iāve started again with 2 new seeds, freshly purchased (so definitely not old).
The issue Iāve been seeing finally seems to have a name: damping off.
If these die too, thatāll confirm it. It actually happened during one of my earlier failed attempts, and I did change the soil and washed the pots and tools with soap ā but I didnāt sterilize anything.
Iāve already started this run, but if it happens again, itās 100% damping off ā probably a leftover from when it first appeared (damn fungi).
So in that case, Iāll need to completely sterilize everything from top to bottomā¦ just thinking about it is exhausting.
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Dampening off is from too much water. It rots the stem at soil level. I donāt believe itās fungus. I know it doesnāt stay in a pot as I have had seedlings dampen off from watering errors when I first started. I reused the soil with zero issue.
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Damping off is caused by several different fungi that thrive in warm damp conditions. Too much water contributes to a low oxygen environment that favors the various pathogens that cause damping off . . . treat the media with a hydrogen peroxide solution to help solve the issue. And yes, It can remain in a pot or soil if it isnāt properly cleaned/treated.
Personally Iāve only seen damping off occur in soil . . . never been an issue in a clean soilless or hydro environment regardless of the amount of water the seedlings are exposed to.
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I did not know that. Thanks for the explanation
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Yes, damping off is caused by a type of fungus ā not just excess water (although thatās definitely an important contributing factor).
Now something strange has happened: one of the two seeds germinated well, while the other, somehow, ended up on top of the soil just two days after planting it.
It had been placed in a jiffy and lightly covered with soil, so how is it even possible that a seed moved upward enough to end up sitting on the surface? It was literally just lying there on top of the soil.
I put it back into the soil, but now the first seed is already nicely sprouted, and the other one still hasnāt done anythingā¦ Iām already worried it wonāt make it.
Iāve never seen a seed move like that on its own.
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I had it as well actually where the seed was laying on top of the soil. I also didnāt understand but I think itās maybe because I put water directly on top of where the seed was. Maybe a small pool formed because the water didnāt immediately get absorbed and then then seed could have floated up.
Anyways, I replanted the seed and a couple days later it sprouted and it became a nice plant. So donāt give up hope yet!
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Oh yes, it sprouted just yesterday! It looks healthy so far ā same with the other one.
But itās too early to celebrate. Since December, Iāve successfully germinated something like 12 out of 12 seeds (no joke).
The problems always start a few days after germination, so weāll see what happens this time.
This round, Iām keeping a dome over each seedling for at least two weeks ā I want to see if that was causing them stress (though I doubt it).
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I woke up this morning and the root from my seed was sticking up above the soil, in the germ chamber. I have also had a root do a circle and grow into the seed cover. Cannabis seeds are crazy.
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I had one pop and start growing the plant underground on my last run, it wasnāt until a week after the others came up that i dug around in the pot and found it sitting just below the surface.
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Just as expected, they already seem to be stalling. One is starting to deform and turn yellow, and the other one looks healthy but hasnāt grown at all for 3ā4 days ā itās just sitting there, doing absolutely nothing, as if itās waiting forā¦ who knows what.
I know early growth is mostly happening below the surface, but I have a feeling damping off has struck again.
Itās a never-ending massacre of poor, defenseless newborn seedlings.
Iām laughing so I donāt cry ā time to disinfect everythingā¦ including myself.
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Buy new soil and rinse the pots out with a bleach and water mix. You donāt need much bleach either.
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Try a different soil mix if you are going to be replacing anything.
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I use hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting. I use that shit on everything. If it bubbles you know there was shit left behind after you wash it.
Did you change soil brand?
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Alright guys, now Iām 100% sure: it was a damn fungus ā damping off, no doubt about it.
A few days ago, when I saw the seedlings were stuck at the same stage yet again, I turned everything off and unplugged the grow box to avoid wasting electricity, planning to clean everything out over the weekend.
Not even 48 hours later, I go to start cleaning, take a look inside the grow box ā and what do I find inside the plastic domes where the seedlings were?
Two fully grown mushrooms, taller than the seedlings themselves.
Iāve never seen anything like that. I was speechless.
From December until now, Iāve wasted a ton of time and seeds all because I messed up the first time:
Back in December (too much water, too cold, no light ā I really screwed it up), I saw some white fuzz on the soil and just āscraped it off,ā removing the top layer.
Then, as the seedlings died, I threw away the soil, but I only washed the pots and tools with regular dish soap ā I didnāt properly disinfect everything like I should have.
That means that damned fungus stayed dormant in my pots and tools from December until now, silently killing every single seedling like a serial killer ā and as soon as the conditions were right, it popped out.
And there you have it, folks: hundreds of euros wasted because of one stupid fungus and because I cleaned ā but I didnāt disinfect.
Now Iām going to clean everything with bleach ā from the pots and tools to the entire grow box ā hoping it will finally get rid of the problem.
If only I had figured it out soonerā¦ damn it.
But hey, better late than never.
I hope my experience helps some other beginners out there avoid the same mistake.
As for me, Iām not giving up ā Iāve already got everything ready to start again.
The adventure continues. Stay tuned 
