why did my seedling fall over

[whswakboardz71]

it is still growing good except it leans on the side of the pot. the leaves are bigger then the rest of the plants but it has no stem strength. its a nice and round bend so i dont think the stem is damaged. what happened and how would i fix something like this

 

[crazy-mental]

you have had the lite too far away. stick in a stick to help hold the plant up. move the plant closer to the lite. flo 1/2" hps 1 foot. after youve help it to stand up , with a stake, the plant will get stronger, plus have you got a fan blowing inbertween lites and plants.

 

[crazy-mental]

and by the way welcome to the site. try to start a grow j. and pics always help us to help you.

 

[pencap]

Listen to this crazy mental pluck!
He may have an identity crisis............But he knows his/chit....
those little babies are "Stretching" for light....thats why you have "skinny long stringy stems"..and no leafs~~~Push for more light...the more the better!!! One little bulb will grow a leaf.........but cha need LIGHT~ Lots of it!!
Welcome, good growing...and blessings by passing along knowledge!!

 

[whswakboardz71]

here. the one on the right can support itself now, but it almsot fell. but if the straw wasnt on the one on the left it would fall right over.

1 week 4 days

 

[Budsworth]

Make sure you have a gentle breeze blowing on your seedlings. That will make the main stem stronger. And like mental said bring the light closer.

 

[FilthyFletch]

wow those are super stretched what kind of lights are your using? I assume either 4 foot florescent shop lights or crappy cfls.Either way they must be way to far as those should be half that length and filling in.If you use a shop light which is better then cfl you keep the light just touching the tops as there will be no heat given off really at all.A cfl can be tricky as they get hot.With a cfl get the blue light spectrum bub and keep it about 2-4 inches away depends on the reflector you have and if your fan is blowing correctly.P.S. I saw mention of someone saying how far to keep an hps or HID light away from the plant but at this stage no HID lighting should be used as its too strong for this young a seedling.Good luck

 

[motorheed]

as said light right on top if using a fluro, plus gotta have a fan giving them a breeze too strenghten them up,that,ll do the job ,plus why the hell have you got them in such large pots? should be 3 inch pots ,you need a good root ball & that wont happen when you give them so much space to roam about ,then transfer in2 6 inch pots & once again make sure well rooted.
good root ball = good yield as well as other variables,before finally pottin in2 size you want for flowering.

all the best mate

 

[FilthyFletch]

I disagree with motor heed.I find if you can start in the pot you will finish and water well without overwatering your plants will be healtier and fuller.Small pots are good for small room availiable.I start my moms in 5 gallon buckets and they grow from there til I take thier lives

 

[GrizzSpitter]

Pot size won't matter, but those are starved for light right now. Also, take those straws and cut them to about the length of the stems of your plants. Next cut a slit length wise so you can open the straw up like a hot dog bun. Then, take the straw open it up and put it around the stem and gently press it down into the soil to secure it. This should provide support to your stems and the straw will basically fall off when the stalks grow too big.

 

[whswakboardz71]

thanks a lot everyone. i moved my light closer, and i cut straws and pput them next tot he stem to support yeah, the ones that strethced are tall haha long ass stems but the other two are shorter and filling in more.

how far should my light be away?? i have a 400 watt mh being air cooled with a glass shield so it doenst produce really any heat. my plants are 2 weeks old from seeds and they are not very big yet they still only have one set of leaves. so far away or close? its at about 18 inches right now.

 

[crazy-mental]

Listen to this crazy mental pluck!
He may have an identity crisis............But he knows his/chit....
those little babies are "Stretching" for light....thats why you have "skinny long stringy stems"..and no leafs~~~Push for more light...the more the better!!! One little bulb will grow a leaf.........but cha need LIGHT~ Lots of it!!
Welcome, good growing...and blessings by passing along knowledge!!

what me. never.

 

[FilthyFletch]

You do know these are too young for a 400 watt HID light right? These should be under seedling light like a florescent shop light or dare I say it a couple blue spectrum cfls until they are established plants.The 400 watter this soon isnt to good on them

 

[crazy-mental]

i have 6 seedlings like that , and there doing fine under 4, 8watt and 1. 10watt. for that size. 400 is too big for now, thats why your plants are streatching. cos. the lites too hot to get it near the plants. 1 foot if you can. use a fan inbertween the lites and top of plants. plus a fan/wind. makes a plants much stronger.

 

[whswakboardz71]

they are at trwo weeks now and all are standing on own strength. i am still using the 400 watt mh cuz im too stubborn to switch my stet up all back. but its pretty close and my temps are like 75 now so i think its all good. they are finally growing decent now. but i planted another seed and i have it under a cfl and ill leave it under that for 2 or three weeks then expose it to the 400 watt mh and see the difference. so ill be growing 1 out of 5 the right way. ha oh well first grow. im learning sooooo much i love it.

 

[motorheed]

I disagree with motor heed.I find if you can start in the pot you will finish and water well without overwatering your plants will be healtier and fuller.Small pots are good for small room availiable.I start my moms in 5 gallon buckets and they grow from there til I take thier lives

ok bud, im now goin too try this technique ,i usually put seeds in2 3inch then 6inch then finally 11 litre pots till the end.

that was the way i was taught but allways like too try new ways.
reason for 3 changes in size of pots was that i was told the root ball will not develope properly if you transfer right into large pots ,but hey allways up for makin things better.

cheers dude.
let you know how it goes.

 

[bwinn27]

what type of light do you have? if it's cfl then get it 3inchs or closer use the back of your hand to tell if it is to hot.

 

[whswakboardz71]

im using a metal halide that is 400 watts, with a glass shield and in line fan. its at 12 inches away it doesnt put any heat off really at all. is 12 inches alright? the plants are coming up on their third week this sat. the growth has definitly started to accelerate. i can get pics tomrro.

 

[homegrownboy]

Pot size won't matter, but those are starved for light right now. Also, take those straws and cut them to about the length of the stems of your plants. Next cut a slit length wise so you can open the straw up like a hot dog bun. Then, take the straw open it up and put it around the stem and gently press it down into the soil to secure it. This should provide support to your stems and the straw will basically fall off when the stalks grow too big.

Good idea, i was going to say the same thing...i had a few stringy ones and i did the same thing

 

[whswakboardz71]

heres an update, 2 weeks and 5 days. some of the new leaves r light green, but is that just cuz they r new leaves. how they look? any input?