What are you useing for light and how far away are they. They look like they are stretching for the light.
friend you should pat about another inch or so of soil in the pot and around the base of the seedling to give it more support. if using regular cfls get the light real close.
I'm using a 400w MH bulb with hood. The first run I had at growing I put the lights too close and they stopped growing altogether. I was told to back up the lights when they were seedlings to about 2-3 feet from the pot. This is what it looks like.
you can still save them. get some t5 and put them about 5 inches away from the tops or a pair of 32w daylight florescent tubes (2 inches from the tops) and in about 2-3 weeks get your 400w lamp going again. In general try to use your 400w lamp only during your 12/12 hours of flowering.
What??? Why would you ditch an MH for some T5s? That would be like ditching a ferrari for a Yugo. OP. You can get that light closer. Use the back of the hand test to determine your optimal height. Good luck.
Ok I'll try it. In my first grow I had the lights about 8 inches from the pots and it felt ok to the back of my hand but they stopped growing after about 2 days. I was told it was because the lights were way too close for seedlings and I should put them 2-3 feet above. I'm just worried about going too close and scorching them again.
They won't stop growing from the light being too close. Unless of course you burn them. What will happen is that you will grow nice tight nodes. And this, is a good thing. Good luck.
Ok I moved the lights up to about 17 inches above the top. It feels ok to the back of the hand but as I said before so did the last go around.
Mad4reef is right they are growing but in a different way now. They will slow height for girth and tighter node growth. And about a foot should be fine or closer if you have air moving across the top all the time. Just keep bring it slowly down and the plants will get used to the stonger light.
Ok I moved the lights back down to 12 inches from the light. I'm trusting the advice of people here who probably know alot more than me .
I put a thermometer on a box or string at the top of the plant and adjust lamp to 78f as close as I can get to that number anyway. And keep air moving between the lamp and plant. The plant will grow stronger with a little movement from the air also. Gently moving that is.
Problem with this is that the thermometer can get a little inaccurate in direct light. It will register 10 degrees warmer when exposed to direct light. This is the only reason I use the back of the hand. I know it is archaic and dated, but it works. Sometimes the instruments of the new age can fail us. Good luck.
Good point and I use a mercury type and shield the glass from radiant heat which I failed to mention. I taped a thick peice of a cardboard box over the glass. Even if it did fail the room has been dailed for so long I would know just by opening it up if the temp was off much. Im comfortable at 70f to 80f and just about anything higher I am not. Central air spoils ya.
Looks to me like it got top heavy. This is a result of the light being too far away for too long. Your plant was stretching for light. You have two options... 1. Get some sort of a stilt for the plant. 2. Bury part of the stem with some dirt. I would go for option 2. Fill the container almost to the top with soil. Leave about 1/4"-1/2" gap. You may still have to stilt it, but this will get rid of at least half of the elongated stem. Finally, use that oscillating fan. Should be on 24/7 if possible. Nice light breeze will help to strengthen the plant. Good luck.
Ok so I decided maybe it fell because it was a bit parched. I gave it a good soaking until I saw water drip from the bottom and an hour later it shot right back up. I usually don't water them very much at all because I'm worried about overwatering them. Is there a general rule of thumb about watering seedlings? I use a spray bottle usually but it doesn't seem like it penetrates very far into the soil at all. I'm now thinking I might be underwatering them. Only problem is I did the same thing with the one right next to it and now its turned sideways.
idk about over or under watering, but how i water my seedlings is, i fill up a 1 gallon with water, add whatever your going to add, in my case, a few drops of superthrive. and then i pour some water from the 1 gal into a small tupperware container, from that containier, i gently add water to the red plastic cups i use. too much water if u use the gallon container, and it lets u use less water pressure, ive had plants come uprooted and stuff cuz all the water makes the soil too mushy and they arent yet fully rooted in place and shit. it'll auctucally move the soil around in the plastic cups, and thus my lil plant goes on its first water slide, lol. anyways yah, just transfer water to a small containier, and pour in GENTLY, thats the best advice i can give for watering seedlings.... i dont use a spray bottle anymore.