Worried about my plant

[peteouthere]

Hey I have my 8 day old seedling, don't have lights so ive been keeping it on the window. I'm worried about it being too top heavy. Any ideas on what i should do? This is my first time growing myself so I really don't wanna screw it up. Btw the soil is just some compost soil. (I know coconut or some substrate would be better, but that's just what i had at home)

 

[Bill284]

Hey I have my 8 day old seedling, don't have lights so ive been keeping it on the window. I'm worried about it being too top heavy. Any ideas on what i should do? This is my first time growing myself so I really don't wanna screw it up. Btw the soil is just some compost soil. (I know coconut or some substrate would be better, but that's just what i had at home)

Welcome to 420 my friend.
You should repot her or add more soil. You have too much stem sticking up from soil.

 

[Pepperhead]

May likely stretch you need to have some increased light a small compact fluorescent would work until more intense summer sun comes along

 

[013]

Hi Pete,

Welcome to 420. Coco would not be better, unless you know what to do and how to do it. Coco has zero nutrients to sustain a plant so it must be bottle fed. The reason your seedling is top heavy is because it’s stretching to search for more light, this is not good. Light coming in from a window is very indirect, a tiny seedling should not need to be supported - it should stand on its own.

Most of us use a fan moving air nearby to strengthen the stem but this plant can’t stand without air moving. She needs more light pronto.

 

[peteouthere]

Welcome to 420 my friend.
You should repot her or add more soil. You have too much stem sticking up from soil.

Hey, thanks for the advice, I was thinking of doing that, I'm just worried that it's still too young to survive repoting..

 

[Bill284]

Hey, thanks for the advice, I was thinking of doing that, I'm just worried that it's still too young to survive repoting..

Be gentle she will be ok. Do you have any superthrive, or seaweed based products. A drop in her feed will help her recover if you stress her,but at that age she will be fine.

 

[Enjoil]

I think she looks just fine! Maybe get some good dirt and add a little bit up top so she don’t fall over. Window is the perfect place for a seedling! They hate strong grow lights!

 

[Cheryle79]

same here, very leggy

 

[013]

Some growers use those fibre planter cups with success however in most cases I’ve seen lately the roots never penetrate the side walls like they are supposed to. Same for peat pucks or peat pellets the membrane needs to be cut away at transplant. The most successful ones are the rapid rooters. I think you need to have 20 ounce cups with plenty of drainage holes, cut away the fiber pots and bury those stems deeper. The other problem is not enough light, this is why they are stretching - to get more light. If you continue you will have a very tall plant with giant node spacing and very few buds. Most of us start them under an indoor light.

don’t jump on this right away but wait for a few others to chime in

 

[Southerncough]

I support leggy seedlings the same way you did and found the best solution to repot them and bury most of the stem. The buried stem will send out roots too!
Also as mentioned they're stretching for adequate light, so if they're doing this in your window you may need to add a little more (low wattage) light.

 

[013]

They look good so far just leggy as ever. Yeah if you bury the fiber pots I’m afraid it will not have adequate roots. I think if you soaked the fiber pots for a week before planting that might make a difference but now it would cause root rot.

Hey @Southerncough - have you or anyone else reading along ever used those fibre starter cups?

 

[SmokingWings]

same here, very leggy

Those are not getting anywhere near enough light. Not only are they stretching up trying to get light but the growing tip is starting to go horizontal looking for sunlight. More light. More light.

 

[SmokingWings]

Hey @Southerncough - have you or anyone else reading along ever used those fibre starter cups?

Yes, years ago. The paper fiber has to stay moist so it actually starts to breakdown or decompose while the plant is still a seedling. Our natural reaction is to keep the paper from getting wet so most of us will give the plant enough water to grow but we skimp on the extra needed to keep the paper wet. Then when planted outside in the ground the moisture there helps speed up the decomposing and the roots start to push through in a week or so. Plus the entire cup should be under the soil outside, not the top inch or two sticking up.

I have had no luck at all with getting any sort of rapid growing of the roots through those paper fiber cups when trying to transplant into a large pot.

All my experience with the fiber cups or pots were with flowers and vegetables. Never tried them with Marijuana plants.

 

[Carcass]

Open the window and she'll stop stretching- being behind the glass makes them stretch- bad...
If opening the window isn't possible, just put her under a cfl or led bulb @4" above her leaves.
And, as others have stated, bury her deeper when you transplant.

Welcome to 420, Pete

 

[Cheryle79]

Those are not getting anywhere near enough light. Not only are they stretching up trying to get light but the growing tip is starting to go horizontal looking for sunlight. More light. More light.

I have had them inside on the windowsill from seed, what would u suggest

 

[SmokingWings]

I have had them inside on the windowsill from seed, what would u suggest

More light. Windows can let light in so we can see but plants need more of the light spectrum and glass blocks some of that. @Carcass had a good suggestion, open the window so some unfiltered light gets to them. You could move them outside and bring them back in but that gets tedious after a while. You can try to set up some artificial light with a CFL or LED bulb as mentioned. That will work for awhile.

Also, the white netting blocks some light from getting to them. Is that your greenhouse?

 

[Cheryle79]

Those are not getting anywhere near enough light. Not only are they stretching up trying to get light but the growing tip is starting to go horizontal looking for sunlight. More light. More light.

More light. Windows can let light in so we can see but plants need more of the light spectrum and glass blocks some of that. @Carcass had a good suggestion, open the window so some unfiltered light gets to them. You could move them outside and bring them back in but that gets tedious after a while. You can try to set up some artificial light with a CFL or LED bulb as mentioned. That will work for awhile.

Also, the white netting blocks some light from getting to them. Is that your greenhouse?

Yes it’s only a small plastic portable greenhouse,
Think I’ll bring them in and get a light for them,
How long should I have the light on them at this stage, and also I repotted them so most of the leggy stalk is covered now, hope they stop stretching ‍

 

[Carcass]

How long should I have the light on them at this stage,

I'd go with go with 18on/6off or 19/5, but you should figure on getting a real grow light pretty soon.
You will need a fairly big light if you're figuring on growing out all 9 of them....

 

[SmokingWings]

Yes it’s only a small plastic portable greenhouse,

If it is what I think it is they are meant to be used outside on a patio or along a fence or the house. The plastic does block some of the sunlight but enough gets through to keep the plants growing and the inside of the greenhouse warm if it is a cool day.

The windows in our houses will also block some light and the two of them combined means that the plant will not be getting enough even on a sunny afternoon.

Are you going to be growing the plants outside when the weather gets better? If so then two of those curly-Q CFL bulbs should be enough to get keep them growing and healthy. If you are planning on growing the Marijuana plants inside the house then a good growing light set-up will be very helpful.

 

[Cheryle79]

Are these any good?