seeds Anyones seedling get top heavy ?

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Hey all,

Seedlings are getting bigger and bigger everyday. A couple have gotten so top heavy that they have 'fallen' over. Others look like they are about to. This can't be normal right ? If you notice some are growing real 'tight' like. Others are all wispy... Or is this newb just crazy ?


-- Mega

 

[synclinorium]

As long as they are getting enough light I wouldn't worry about it too much. In fact, if I don't have a fan on the seedlings I'll usually (gently) knock them aside and them let them correct themselves before pushing them over again. Goes a long way towards strengthening the stems.

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Should be getting enough light... 400w MH in a 3 x 3 grow tent ?

 

[Maxsack331]

yeah that's plenty of light, should be about 2-3' above them or so.. but as far as the stems I haven't seen this myself, except for maybe one plant that is kind of stunted, but it's doing great now.. I'd say get a oscillating fan on them for a few hours a day (or like 15min each hour, depending on the timer you have) and your soil looks pretty loose and dry in most pics (which is good), so it might just be that some of them don't have developed enough roots to anchor themselves in as well.. I dono, might try the fan if everything else is in order like watering and ferts and stuff...

but I hate to be one of those "whistle blowers" but do those leaves look as yellow in person as they do in the pics, or is that just the lights.. and I would take them out of the grow tent and check too, because they look a whole lot greener outside the tent than in there usually, but the soil looks pretty dry, but I just remember the one plant I had that is a little stunted now but I was watering it a little too much and it's stem was really weak and it was falling over a little (like yours but the plant was a few weeks older) and so I cut back on the watering and the roots seemed to have expanded a lot and took hold and that with the fan on (although I didn't really have the fan on that much in the shelf where it was) and the stem thickened up pretty well and the plant is growing great... just something to check for

oh and btw, you can easily stick those cups right up against each other if you want for now..that way you can get them all under the light and put the light a little closer.. but then again.. it's only a 3x3' tent with a 400w HID light.. which is plenty, so again, I guess as long as the light its 2-3' above the plants about, depending on your hood, then just give the fan a shot

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Thank you for the info yo. They certainly look a lot greener outside of the tent. They have been under a fan for a week or so. I am wondering about the soil. I started them in jiffy pots then moved them to the solo cup adding jiffy seed starter mix. I wonder if roots are not taking hold.

As far as watering I would say i let them get pretty close to drying out completely.... too the point you can see the soil pulling away from the cup?

On a couple of side notes... first row (the row of three). The one on the left... its bottom leafs sprouted... but then nothing... no new set.

Then on the bottom row... why are the bottom leaves so larger compared to say the bottom leaves of the plants that are growing more compact... is this a species thing ?

 

[mrz1988]

I wouldn't worry about the roots, the roots will come in time. Usually this is stem strength that causes the falling over, but they will naturally strengthen up. I'm curious as to your temps in the grow tent and how close the light is. Sometimes those things can cause problems when you're using MH but obviously your plants aren't burned which is good. The fan will most certainly help. You want to water sparingly with peppers and yes, the top parts of the soil should be completely dry before watering again. I use clear cups so I wait until I see the water or condensation level drop pretty low in the soil before I water again, otherwise I do it by feeling the weight of the cup. It should be fairly light.

As far as the 'bottom leaves' I think you're referring to the set of leaves that the plant starts with fresh from seed aka the cotyledons. Some strains take longer to take off than others, so just be patient and you should see leaves coming up. If they don't after a few weeks you might have sprouted a dud.

As far as the cotyledons go, C. annuum strains tend to have cotyledons that grow quite large and will often have more space between leaves. C. chinense strains won't have cotyledons that grow nearly as large and often start growth relatively compact.

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Thanks again. Lights started out fairly high maybe six feet for the first couple days then dropped to 30 inches over the last... week maybe ? Not sure about my temps. I have the small fan blowing on them and then another inline duct fan throwing hot air out of the top of the tent... my idea being throw hot air out the top means sucking in co2 filled air into the bottom.

Have to hit they hay tonight but I will add some more pictures of my set up tomorrow... I hope you, and everyone who cares too, wouldn't mind giving me some feedback.

 

[Hendrix1326]

I would recommend repotting the top-heavy seedlings and burying the stem up to just below the cotyledons. This will encourage new root hairs to form on the buried portion of the stem, increasing structural integrity and thus, resulting in a sturdier plant. I just did that with a bunch of my seedlings today, since a few were getting a pinch leggy and leaning a little bit. Good luck, they seem to be coming along nicely other than the little hiccup!

 

[megahot]

I agree with mrz and Hendricks. Id bury to just below the cotyledons and get a fan on them for 18-24 hrs. young seedlings like lower light levels. Me personally, would not have gone with a 400 W MH light at this stage of growth. If your light is dimmable I'd dim it to 250W and set it 2 feet or so above the seedlings

 

[SuperHot]

Thank you for the info yo. They certainly look a lot greener outside of the tent. They have been under a fan for a week or so. I am wondering about the soil. I started them in jiffy pots then moved them to the solo cup adding jiffy seed starter mix. I wonder if roots are not taking hold. As far as watering I would say i let them get pretty close to drying out completely.... too the point you can see the soil pulling away from the cup? On a couple of side notes... first row (the row of three). The one on the left... its bottom leafs sprouted... but then nothing... no new set. Then on the bottom row... why are the bottom leaves so larger compared to say the bottom leaves of the plants that are growing more compact... is this a species thing ?

The starter mix is only used for germination, after this has accrued and ready for pot-up you need to use something equivalent to PRO Mix BX along with some friendly ferts. You’ll notice a big difference thereafter!!
Good luck

 

[Hammerfall]

soemtime you have water them and there is some water on the leaves that is pretty heavy for this small plant...
sometime your light source may be too far so they reach up and grow long and thin and falls.

i had tomatoes that has done that.. remedy : closer light source. what is bad it's that you have a lots of Watts in that light so too close will burn them...

you could also put a small popsicle stick to hold the faller plant. (until it get stronger)

Nice plants

 

[Nagel]

The starter mix is only used for germination, after this has accrued and ready for pot-up you need to use something equivalent to PRO Mix BX along with some friendly ferts. You’ll notice a big difference thereafter!!
Good luck

Definitely gotta agree with this. I noticed a marked increase in growth in the ones I potted up into a potting mix vs. leaving them in the Jiffy Seed Starting Mix for longer..

So much so that I now use these little plastic cases to germinate in till hooks are up and helmets are off, then transplant almost immediately to a mix of the starting mix and soil. Pretty big difference in growth rates, as the seed starting mix is minimal ferts, if any, and I believe leaving them in the starting mix for too long they start to require some nutes, and I mean trace amounts, that arent being provided by the seed starting mix (and are supplied by a potting mix).

 

[Maxsack331]

The starter mix is only used for germination, after this has accrued and ready for pot-up you need to use something equivalent to PRO Mix BX along with some friendly ferts. You’ll notice a big difference thereafter!!
Good luck

yeah I was thinking about something along these lines too, but wasn't sure what you were using as a potting mix.. but I would go ahead and re-pot them, don't really need much, and if you want you could just throw some MG potting soil or something in there at like 20-30% of your mixture or something like that, (or the PRO mix if you have it, but point being, any "OK" potting soil mix will be better than just the seed starting mix.. for the most part) so that it is still really lite but also has some "body" to it and nutrients..