LW, B. Torch, P. Torch
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:20 pm
Hello!
TL;DR: I'm a complete newb who decided to start some seeds before doing adequate research, and am concerned the research I did do was misguided. Pictures at bottom of post.
As the title says, I have four containers with Lophophora Williamsii (LW going forward; the site I bought them from claimed these are LW, I'm not 100% convinced) seedlings, two containers of Trichocereus Peruvianus (P Torch going forward) and two containers of Trichocereus Bridgesii (B Torch going forward).
The soil mix for the LW is the following:
1 part standard cactus soil mix
1 part vermiculite
3 parts perlite
The soil mix for P Torch and B Torch is the following:
1 part standard cactus soil mix
1/2 part EWC (earth worm castings)
1 part coco coir
2 parts perlite
They are currently living under a 600w LED light. Actual wattage from the wall is 198w I believe? It's not an actual 600w. I keep them in a seed starter tray with a humidity dome, and have cheese cloth draped over the humidity dome to cut the total lux down to ~1300. Above the cheese cloth the light is producing 12,000 lux at 32 inches above the tray.
Temps average 84F with 80% RH, +/- 10%.
LW seeds were sown on 2020-11-18. Approximately 30 seeds were sown in each container. I prepped the soil, filled the containers and bottom watered until moisture was visible on the surface of the soil. Not muddy, just damp looking. I then let the containers drain for a little over an hour before sowing the seeds. I sprinkled the seeds across the surface then smoothed the surface with a clean spoon to ensure adequate contact with the seeds to surface.
I placed each container into a baggie and put them in a grow tent, shaded by other plants within that tent so that they weren't being blasted by 40k lux. Germination was ok, not great but not terrible.
As to avoid having eight baggies with containers hanging out in my grow tent (there's enough to deal with in that tent, didn't need additional things to move daily) I moved the LW containers into the seed tray when I sowed the P Torch and B Torch somewhere around 2020-12-11.
Every couple days after that I misted the humidity dome and the surface of the pots as the seeds germinated, wanting to ensure adequate humidity. Mid January, I stopped misting so often and did my first bottom watering since initial planting due to the P Torch and B Torch containers getting light when picked up. I also exposed the seedlings to more direct lighting in the tent, and that's when I noticed the LW and B Torch starting to get a bit red.
Given I had an extra light hanging around, taking up space and doing nothing, I decided to move the tray out of the tent and give it somewhere a bit more mellow to do its thing. This happened somewhere around 2021-01-19. I noticed no improvements over a week, and decided that they were likely still getting too much light as the growth rates seem slower than what I've seen other posters here show, and applied the cheesecloth fix.
Since applying the cheesecloth, the B Torch has greened up more and the P Torch has remained unaffected through all of this. LW seems to have picked up the pace a little but it's hard to tell given they're so small and I haven't been taking photos in any kind of reasonable iteration to definitively document growth rates.
All that being said, I have some concerns.
1. LW are looking pretty red/brown. I've not started cactus seeds before but what I've seen here is that coloration is an indication of too much lighting or possibly rot.
2. How much humidity is too much for 2-3 month old seedlings?
3. When should I start decreasing the humidity?
4. Should I be top watering for now? If so, how often?
5. Should I be applying a fertilizer? If so, how often?
6. How soon should I start exposing them to more light? There are multiple layers of cheesecloth so I can progressively increase the intensity until they're under the light, full bore.
Pictures for possible diagnosis:
LW
B Torch
P Torch
TL;DR: I'm a complete newb who decided to start some seeds before doing adequate research, and am concerned the research I did do was misguided. Pictures at bottom of post.
As the title says, I have four containers with Lophophora Williamsii (LW going forward; the site I bought them from claimed these are LW, I'm not 100% convinced) seedlings, two containers of Trichocereus Peruvianus (P Torch going forward) and two containers of Trichocereus Bridgesii (B Torch going forward).
The soil mix for the LW is the following:
1 part standard cactus soil mix
1 part vermiculite
3 parts perlite
The soil mix for P Torch and B Torch is the following:
1 part standard cactus soil mix
1/2 part EWC (earth worm castings)
1 part coco coir
2 parts perlite
They are currently living under a 600w LED light. Actual wattage from the wall is 198w I believe? It's not an actual 600w. I keep them in a seed starter tray with a humidity dome, and have cheese cloth draped over the humidity dome to cut the total lux down to ~1300. Above the cheese cloth the light is producing 12,000 lux at 32 inches above the tray.
Temps average 84F with 80% RH, +/- 10%.
LW seeds were sown on 2020-11-18. Approximately 30 seeds were sown in each container. I prepped the soil, filled the containers and bottom watered until moisture was visible on the surface of the soil. Not muddy, just damp looking. I then let the containers drain for a little over an hour before sowing the seeds. I sprinkled the seeds across the surface then smoothed the surface with a clean spoon to ensure adequate contact with the seeds to surface.
I placed each container into a baggie and put them in a grow tent, shaded by other plants within that tent so that they weren't being blasted by 40k lux. Germination was ok, not great but not terrible.
As to avoid having eight baggies with containers hanging out in my grow tent (there's enough to deal with in that tent, didn't need additional things to move daily) I moved the LW containers into the seed tray when I sowed the P Torch and B Torch somewhere around 2020-12-11.
Every couple days after that I misted the humidity dome and the surface of the pots as the seeds germinated, wanting to ensure adequate humidity. Mid January, I stopped misting so often and did my first bottom watering since initial planting due to the P Torch and B Torch containers getting light when picked up. I also exposed the seedlings to more direct lighting in the tent, and that's when I noticed the LW and B Torch starting to get a bit red.
Given I had an extra light hanging around, taking up space and doing nothing, I decided to move the tray out of the tent and give it somewhere a bit more mellow to do its thing. This happened somewhere around 2021-01-19. I noticed no improvements over a week, and decided that they were likely still getting too much light as the growth rates seem slower than what I've seen other posters here show, and applied the cheesecloth fix.
Since applying the cheesecloth, the B Torch has greened up more and the P Torch has remained unaffected through all of this. LW seems to have picked up the pace a little but it's hard to tell given they're so small and I haven't been taking photos in any kind of reasonable iteration to definitively document growth rates.
All that being said, I have some concerns.
1. LW are looking pretty red/brown. I've not started cactus seeds before but what I've seen here is that coloration is an indication of too much lighting or possibly rot.
2. How much humidity is too much for 2-3 month old seedlings?
3. When should I start decreasing the humidity?
4. Should I be top watering for now? If so, how often?
5. Should I be applying a fertilizer? If so, how often?
6. How soon should I start exposing them to more light? There are multiple layers of cheesecloth so I can progressively increase the intensity until they're under the light, full bore.
Pictures for possible diagnosis:
LW
B Torch
P Torch