How do you prevent leggy plants?

I'm using a T5 light, and before I got it I was using regular plant flouros, my seedlings stretched up to like 8 inches and fell over then. They are doing better these days, but I just started new seeds, I want these ones to grow bushy instead of up, they are 2 inches under my T5 light, will this keep them from needing to reach to the light since it's right on top? I want these ones a lot bushier than the last, the others have pretty much quit growing in height since the T5, they're now getting bushy, but I want bushy all the way through on these babies. Short and Fat. Thanks guys.
 

dura72

Well-Known Member
get a fan on them, they need a fan to strengthen the stalk, and keep the fluros real close, bout 2" from them
 

shizz

Well-Known Member
the fan doesnt do that. it gets rid of the heat of the light so u can get the light closer. with leds there no fan needed at all and they have thick steams but get ur light closer take temp of air right at top of plant make sure its not over100 at the top of the plant... add red spectrum soft white cfl.
 

dura72

Well-Known Member
bullshit, the fan blowing on the stalk makes the stalk build up and thicken, its the equivelant of workin out at the gym, the constant pressure makes the plant put more effort into growing the stalk. ive used every lite system and stalk thickening is nowt to do with light.
 

jimmy130380

Well-Known Member
shizz your a tool ,thats what the fan is for at the early stage ,you shouldent have a heat issue cause you only need a small light until they put some leaves on
op keep that fucking light on em real close
my plants grow right on the fluro tubes cause they are not that hot
keep ya nodes tight and top when bigger ,then top again when it gets over the first round of topping (if ya strain likes topping)
or try lst
thats i get a bush
 

canniboss

Well-Known Member
Keep the lights as close as possible without burning your plants. With a T5 this should be within a couple inches i think, just test with your hand. You could also try to LST by tying your plants down and making them spread out before going upwards. You could also FIM, top, or supercrop them.
Here are some FIM'med & LST'd plant I have going now.
canniboss-182785-albums-gorilla-grow-2010-picture946380-dsc00313.jpg
 

canniboss

Well-Known Member
my 2 cents about fans is that they are great for keeping your plants from dampening off when they are little. I use one for cooling/smell, but not for stalks.
 

tomahawk2406

Well-Known Member
dude can you shed some light on that cfl setup in the pic, thats awsome. i want to have a set up similar to that.
 

tomahawk2406

Well-Known Member
Keep the lights as close as possible without burning your plants. With a T5 this should be within a couple inches i think, just test with your hand. You could also try to LST by tying your plants down and making them spread out before going upwards. You could also FIM, top, or supercrop them.
Here are some FIM'med & LST'd plant I have going now.
View attachment 950852
my last post was for your pic
 

litljohn

Well-Known Member
i agree with everyone here.fans keep a room at a even temp but also helps thicken up stems,its supposed to simulate the wind and the movement will make the plants put energy into the stalk to handle the wind
 

canniboss

Well-Known Member
its just an extension cord with 2 lightsockets plugged into it. Then plug 2 Y adapters into the lightsockets, and finish up with zipties... I use a stanley blower into a filter with a small passive intake and a 2X2X3 space stays in the high 80's with 8 23W bulbs.
 

fourrings

Well-Known Member
Keep the lights as close as possible without burning your plants. With a T5 this should be within a couple inches i think, just test with your hand. You could also try to LST by tying your plants down and making them spread out before going upwards. You could also FIM, top, or supercrop them.
Here are some FIM'med & LST'd plant I have going now.
View attachment 950852
Those look great! I have an og kush in flower and they were like that. It is a nice thing to look at all the bud sites
 

canniboss

Well-Known Member
1 more thing tomahawk. You might want to put glass or plexi under the bulbs if your gonna do this setup, I burn the shit outta my plants when I take them out... I suppose you could just make the lights able to yoyo and stay near the top
 

StaySmokin206

Active Member
i agree with everyone here.fans keep a room at a even temp but also helps thicken up stems,its supposed to simulate the wind and the movement will make the plants put energy into the stalk to handle the wind
No I dont believe that is right.. I could be wrong (Very possible) but I have heard that the fan does simulate the wind and it doesn't rip fibers or what not and build up the stalk but it does blow all the ?? (forget what its called I just smoked a blunt) off of it enabling more production of some kind.
 

litljohn

Well-Known Member
No I dont believe that is right.. I could be wrong (Very possible) but I have heard that the fan does simulate the wind and it doesn't rip fibers or what not and build up the stalk but it does blow all the ?? (forget what its called I just smoked a blunt) off of it enabling more production of some kind.
i know from experience that a fan will help thicken up the stems,but believe what you want i guess,point is, you need a fan for even temps and a healthy plant
 
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