The good news is that, ten days in, I've got 8 of 8 feminized seeds sprouted and with leaves. The bad news is that the root/stem looks overly long. We're talking 2-4 inches long, and they've fallen over from the weight of the top. Should I stake and tie them?
if you can add an inch of dirt to the containers burying the stems deeper..this should add support...i always do this at transplant anyway so your doin' it early.....toothpick or something can be used to stake them but best bet is to have a fan lightly blowing on them to stregnthen the stems like in nature...also plants will stretch if they dont have enough light...get light close to plants...good luck
Many thanks, deacon. I'm using a flood and drain table with rockwool and perlite. If I was in soil, I'd bury them to right below the little leaves. As it is, I've thought about using some of the perlite pebbles to stack around the base, or cutting the bottom 2" off the root and dipping the buggers in a rooting hormone. The "toothpick or something" approach seems the most prudent at this juncture.
You can put a small stick in the rockwool right next to the stem of the spout and get a little air blowing on it. It'll grow nice and strong.
Thanks to one and all for the helpful advice. Necessity, as they say, is a mother, so I got creative and cut in half vertically some rapid rooters and wrapped them around the base of the plants. With a little luck, this should solve my problem. If not, I'll snip, dip, and replant. I've got the oscillating fan on them. Now it's a waiting game.