Sprout stretch question

I found some mystery seeds I got over a year ago, and the person who freebied them to me didn't know how long he'd had them, so I wasn't sure they were even viable. I was doing some cloning and had leftover cubes so I figured I'd give them a shot. I did not do enough (any?) research, until after they sprouted and started to stretch, and I realized I was doing something wrong. Ass-backwards, I know.

Now they are under sufficient light and growing at a good rate. They have been transplanted into 4" pots. At this point they are each pushing out there sixth set of leaves, and they are so top heavy I'm giving them some support with little stakes and soft wire. I'm wondering what happens next... Will the stems thicken out? When I repot them next time, can build soil up higher on the stem?

Any advice is appreciated.

bury them as much as you can without covering any leaves if they are stretching... put a fan on them the vibrations will make the stems thicken up within as fast as a few days. if they're in RW then stake and fan them

if they are stretching ALOT make sure your soil is staying warm enough generally the seedling mats aren't enough and a heat pad is required but the colder the soil the more the stretch... same with the soil staying too moist but its all related to soil temps.

bokedoki said:

bury them as much as you can without covering any leaves if they are stretching... put a fan on them the vibrations will make the stems thicken up within as fast as a few days. if they're in RW then stake and fan them

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Thanks for that -- I do have an oscillating fan that is gently sweeping by them while the lights are on.

They are not in RW, I used Rapid Rooter Plugs, and having recently moved them into soil (in the 4" pots), there isn't any room to build soil around the stems at this point. Normally I'd give them a while to root out before I'd transplant them to bigger pots - do you think its worth doing it early in order to set them deeper in soil sooner?

phil k said:

if they are stretching ALOT make sure your soil is staying warm enough generally the seedling mats aren't enough and a heat pad is required but the colder the soil the more the stretch... same with the soil staying too moist but its all related to soil temps.

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Excellent information, thanks for that. They are not on a pad, but the room they are in has so many lights going (for plants in various stages) that the ambient air temp is around 74-76 degrees night and day. I was hoping that would enough warmth?

yes and no. shock is something you want to avoid at this stage as the plants are young and trying to establish themselves. but i have personally transplanted at a very young age to change my medium because i changed my mind. but my plants were around the age of yours. If you can be EXTREMELY gentle and not disturb the root system it will be ok. i try to transplant only 2 times total. once from small container to like a 1 gallon then i finish in 5g. do what you want but don't fuck with them sometimes you can be your own worst enemy.

I was under the impression that they were younger. I reread. and yeah they are fine just dont break any roots and you'll be ok! in soil it takes my plants 3-7 days to "adjust" to their new environment

IMOP no, the problem really comes to the stress thats happened... chances are you'll always get funky 3 leaves and weird genetic car like that but its also just almost a waste if they aren't started right... I never recommend starting the seeds in riot cubes theres a lot of issues that can come into play with them.. not that they are bad its totally fine the better option is just a basic soil start from the beginning. I always always start my seeds in solo cups .. i put them in a Humidome setup with a XL heat pad under the humidome setup on medium... that keeps the soil warm enough with a high enough humidity to almost always have 90-100% perfect germination...also next time scratch the outside of your seeds REALLY lightly with sandpaper it gets the water to break through the seed faster and 99% of the time you germinate all at the exact time... some seeds have a stronger outer coating that water has a harder time penetrating... thats why you want to keep it in a humid dome .. the high heat and humidity generally germinates easier.. but thats a whole other topic... i wouldn't use too riot for seeds again its just more of a pain than anything. start directly in promix in a solo cup.. i also use the 8oz plastic solo cups not the large ones for seedlings .. I'm trying to find some pics of my last seedlings batch and i can't find them but when i do ill post them

when i say XL heat pad i don't mean the grow store one i mean the one you buy at a pharmacy for your back.. they have ones that can get wet and are basically the exact same as a seed mat with higher heat options.

Thanks everyone, for sharing your knowledge! I jumped into this all at once and have seedlings, clones, one indoor crop 2-3 weeks from finishing, and I just put two girls outside... so I have multiple learning curves overlapping but I'm learning more every day.

here some seedlings done the way i explained in the small cups