Genetic stretching in seedlings

[A.k.a]

I’ve got some regular seeds that I planted and so far four out of five seedlings grew ridiculously tall no matter what.

The first two I thought it was my fault and the light was weak so I transplanted them and buried the stems and they’re doing great.

Then I did three more and one is a reasonable height but the other two are like six inches and grow super fast.

The older one is fine now it’s thickened up enough to support itself and is just pumping out growth at two weeks.

The other one is growing leaves pretty quick also but kept stretching until this morning it had fallen over.

Is this pretty common or did I just get unlucky with the seeds??


This is the two week old that turned out ok.


This is the two week old with the one that’s fallen over. The downed one is 7 days.

 

[A.k.a]

Also is there a normal amount of fingers for leaves the first few nodes?

The first two that I transplanted grew two sets of three fingers then went to five, while the newer ones did one set of three and then went to five.

I’m assuming the transplant caused the second set of three fingers on the first two.

Also this is the normal one the same age as the fallen over plant.

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

The stretching is from lack of light, not genetics.

 

[The Real Medicine Man]

To far from the light. They are stretching to find the light. Seedlings should always be keep close to light source to prevent stretching from occurring... Hope that helps.. TRMM

 

[xtsho]

Too far from the light.

I know everyone is going to LED's these days but that doesn't change the fact that T5's are excellent for starting seedlings. You can keep them a few inches away and you'll get no stretch. That's why I'll never stop using my T5.

 

[A.k.a]

All but the first two were started under big cfls a couple inches above them is the thing. I moved to the main light after five days.

I guess it could be the light but the one seedling that’s a different strain grew normally while only one out of five did from the other strain.

What surprised me too was how fast the leaves grew while it was still getting taller like that.

 

[xtsho]

All but the first two were started under big cfls a couple inches above them is the thing. I moved to the main light after five days.

I guess it could be the light but the one seedling that’s a different strain grew normally while only one out of five did from the other strain.

What surprised me too was how fast the leaves grew while it was still getting taller like that.

CFL's and HO T5's are two very different lights. I'm talking about a 4 bulb fixture with four 54 watt 6500k bulbs.

Not to get distracted on a lighting debate, the stretchy one didn't get enough light early on. That's why the stem is so long and spindly. Just bury it deep when you transplant and it will be fine.

Good luck with your grow.

 

[neonfree]

I agree the stretch was from lack of light, but also from genetics. My indica seedlings were fine, but the sativa dominant strain stretched and fell over under same lighting, distance, exactly same setup ive done multiple crops through. Nitro lemon haze, very fast growing strain. Flowered them at 4 weeks veg, now at week 5 1 week into flowering they are 3ft already.

 

[neonfree]

Also, one thing that many growers might overlook, is the temperature during lights out. When the plants sleep and lights go out, they stretch to find that light again, the warmer the temps the more it can stretch.

 

[The Real Medicine Man]

Also is there a normal amount of fingers for leaves the first few nodes?

The first two that I transplanted grew two sets of three fingers then went to five, while the newer ones did one set of three and then went to five.

I’m assuming the transplant caused the second set of three fingers on the first two.

Also this is the normal one the same age as the fallen over plant.

View attachment 4881787

Jw what soil ur using? Also do you know the ph of the soil? The leaves in background are wavy which is a sign that the ph is out of line..

 

[Rurumo]

CFL's and HO T5's are two very different lights. I'm talking about a 4 bulb fixture with four 54 watt 6500k bulbs.

Not to get distracted on a lighting debate, the stretchy one didn't get enough light early on. That's why the stem is so long and spindly. Just bury it deep when you transplant and it will be fine.

Good luck with your grow.

xtsho is right about the t5 bulbs. I germinate under them and then keep my seedlings under them 24/7 for the first two weeks, then I switch to my LED (and switch to 18/6 at that time)-honestly, it's a pita changing lights, but so so worth it. T5's give your plants a great start on life. I keep all my tomatoes and veggies for my outdoor garden under 4 ft t5's for 6 weeks until it's time to harden them off and plant outside. I always have nice seedlings with very little stretch. Feeding silica doesn't help with stretch, but it does make the stem a little stiffer, which helps. I recommend repotting those stretched out seedlings, just bury that long stem in soil and leave maybe 1 inch between the soil and the first node.

 

[JonathanT]

Are those clear plastic containers inside the fabric pots?

 

[A.k.a]

Lol yeah I made literally every mistake possible at first.

It’s six month feed potting soil in about 3/4 gallon water jugs which I put in fabric pots once they showed up. The ph was definitely way out of line. When I finally learned about that and got the tools I realized the tap water I was using was a ph over 8. As soon as I started feeding balanced water things cleared up. The biggest one was turning a yellow/green shade until then.

I grow a lot of mushrooms so I have tons of coir around and decided to give that a shot also which is what the two little seedlings are in. I have a bunch of big T5 bars that I use maybe I’ll put the next seedlings/clones under those and see how they do.

This stuff was more complex than I expected and I spent a lot of last week learning how to mix water and nutrients and balance and dilute everything.


The difference in plant phenos is surprising too. All the regular layer cakeX chocolate nightmare seem to be a little different. A couple grow really fast and a couple slower, and the leaves are a little different too.

I cut open a little piece of straw and put the seedling in it this morning. Within a couple hours the leaves had turned right side up again so that’s good.


These two are 22 days and the one in the back left is feminized triple cheese. I couldn’t tell if the spots on it were from splashing nutrient solution on them while feeding the coir seedling or a problem with the soil.



I gotta say the room is smelling so much better now that it’s not just fungus

Just happened to get one of the coolest looking shrooms I’ve had in the last year this morning.