A couple of my plants are trying to droop over despite using a soil tamper to stiffen up the soil at the base of the stem. Is there a way to stake them or should I even attempt to? How about some 5/16" red lava rock at the base to stabilize them? I have a small fan keeping air moving so the stems should be getting stronger but they still lean over some and I have to try and straighten them up. Any thoughts on this? Thanks
Over the next week the stem will strengthen and straighten them right out - in the meantime I've done something as simple as laying a stick/skewer horizontal across the pot/solo cup so the leaning stem has something to help hold it upright, make sense? Bendable wire to make a "U" shape and placed in the soil upside down so the stem is inside the "U" holding it up.
If your plants are too "skinny" and falling over, they likely need more light! Add a couple CFLs at least! Granny
They are under four 6500k T8 fluorescent lights which is more than enough light for plants less than two weeks since germination.
I instantly felt some remorse after posting it, because I really would like to help. But that's all I got.... A picture of the patient and her surroundings could help me MacGyver some solutions. Is it possible to pile some soil around the base of the plant, effectively shortening the plant's height? That's usually my go-to if my stems seem a little weak.
I put a couple of teaspoons of ewc around each plant the other night to top dress them but that isn't doing much for supporting them overall. They seem OK at the moment and I think I will do as others have said and put a stick across the 4" pot to support them. Can I plant them deeper when I transplant into the 1 gallon pots in a week or is that risky to the stem of the plant?
Planting it deeper when you transplant is fine, and will cause more roots to grow from the buried part of the stem. (Like tomatoes) But if they are much flimsy now they may not be ready to transplant in a week. And I agree with Granny, either get more light or get it closer to them. Mine were started in a room with a 600W MH lamp and they never got leggy. Just bushed up steadily.
I have heard planting them deeper is not good but I can't confirm that. With tomatoes I know it to be true but they have a hairy stem system that naturally grows roots from those hairs when buried. Cannabis does not have those hairs on the stem so I don't know if I believe that one. Anyone care to verify or nullify that one?
I always bury mine a little deeper, say an inch or two below the coty's. The stem will thicken as it grows. A few roots will start off of the stem, but nothing like a tomato's. A light breeze from a fan will also hrlp to strengthen. If you need to, you can use a chopstick or a straw as a support. Stick it in the soil and tie the stalk to it with twists ties, not too tight but enough to keep it tied to your stake. Once you see thst your stalk has strengthened, it can be removed.
Having or not having "hairs" doesn't determine if roots will grow. And I can't say that the above is from great amounts of experience, but I'm fairly sure it is true. If nothing else it will help stiffen things up.
I've buried my plants past the first one or two nodes when I transplant sometimes and the stems will pop out of the ground if they care to. I don't understand what could be detrimental to a plant with buring the stem a little deeper. If you're really worried, just dig out around the stem a little after it's thickened. But, if you can get it to fix itself w/ the pencil-across-the-lid trick, then I think that could be better, absolutely no messing around with the soil/roots. I still want to see pictures, though, haha.
Thanks again everyone. I used a pipe cleaner I cut in half to make two supports and put them in to support them.
Some strains just start out leggy no matter the light - leggy sativas. Short squat indicas usually start out stiffer and shorter, and then there's everything in between, yay poly hybrids.
Would you say these could be transplanted into one gallon containers next weekend and planted deeper to add stability to the plant?
as LumperDawg advised us (and it works!) start adding silica to your watering & foliar. We've seen great results w/our sativa strains.