How Can I Make my Seedlings Stem Stronger?

[SmokeyMacPot]

Bend your young plant's stem back and forth to force it to be very thick and strong.

SORRY - NO PIC

Spindly stems can not support heavy flowering growth. An internal oscillating fan will reduce your humidity on the leave's stomata and improve the stem strength as well.

The importance of your internal air circulation can not be stressed enough. It will exercise your plants and make them grow stronger, while reducing many hazards that could ruin your crop.

Author: MedMan

[dylanfan]

will a ceiling fan work?

[l8tnightskunk]

i dont think the air would reach the plants you might need another one closer

[TorturedSoul]

If you have spindly stems it could well be due to lack of adequate light. If that is the case, more light placed closer to the plant.

[grandpastoner]

I don't have an oscilating fan...not sure it would fit in my cab anyway. But I have a fan angled downward blowing against the opposite cab wall and reflecting accross the seedlings like a gentle breeze...and I have it set on low speed.



Hope this will suffice.

[l8tnightskunk]

you could also get like 2 cfls and put them right in the middle

[grandpastoner]

Originally Posted by l8tnightskunk

you could also get like 2 cfls and put them right in the middle

Dude...that's a thought, if I can fit it into my budget. I am seriously thinking about getting a PowerGrower hydro unit from Suncoast Hydroponics for $75.00 which will eat up most of my money. But Pitviper420 is growing Redwoods with his...FREAKIN' HUGE !

I'm gonna look on HomeDepot.com and walmart.com to check 2' cfl prices though...

[l8tnightskunk]

Light Bulb Finder at The Home Depot

[grandpastoner]

Originally Posted by l8tnightskunk

Light Bulb Finder at The Home Depot

Dude...I found on homedepot.com a 30 Watt BD Bright White Compact Fluorescent Light (one of those curly types)...which puts off 2000 Lumens, which is supposed to be the equivilent of a 120W cfl...and a 42 watt cfl which is suposed to be like a 150 W cfl. It appears to be the biggest vthey go (unless I missed something). The 150W doesn't say how many Lumens it delivers...but the don't seem far from what I was looking at on eBay in the grow light area. With the reflective nature of the inside of my cabs, how much do I need to get the job done. My budget just got tighter as I hurt my back at work and may be laid up at home for a while...which means no paycheck unless workers comp kicks in. So my grow project just became more important than ever as well as harder to finance. So any help would be greatly appreciated !

[TorturedSoul]

Originally Posted by grandpastoner

I found on homedepot.com a 30 Watt BD Bright White Compact Fluorescent Light (one of those curly types)...which puts off 2000 Lumens, which is supposed to be the equivilent of a 120W cfl...and a 42 watt cfl which is suposed to be like a 150 W cfl.

Uh... NO. They are not the "equivalent" of a 120-watt or 150-watt CFL. The manufacturers compare them to the light-output of the plain old won't-ever-grow-marijuana incandescent light bulbs.

A 30-watt CFL is equal to a 30-watt CFL and a 42-watt CFL is equal to a 42-watt one.

This seems to confuse a lot of people.

[grandpastoner]

Originally Posted by TorturedSoul

Uh... NO. They are not the "equivalent" of a 120-watt or 150-watt CFL. The manufacturers compare them to the light-output of the plain old won't-ever-grow-marijuana incandescent light bulbs.

A 30-watt CFL is equal to a 30-watt CFL and a 42-watt CFL is equal to a 42-watt one.

This seems to confuse a lot of people.

It confused me. Is it possible that I could get away with growing my bud with just the lights I have now ? (8 cfls 4' long)



It REALLY is a budget thing more than ever !

[TorturedSoul]

Originally Posted by grandpastoner

It confused me. Is it possible that I could get away with growing my bud with just the lights I have now ? (8 cfls 4' long)

It REALLY is a budget thing more than ever !

Uhh... I can't remember the dimensions of your box lol. Got that brain-fungus again I guess. Is the center of your box no more than four inches away from the tubes? Depending on plant density, floros don't penetrate all that far into a canopy.

Speaking of budget, are those 40-watt tubes? If so, that's 320 watts running. You could probably get along at least as well with some CFLs in the center hanging close to your seedlings while they are small - perhaps four 26-watt ones in a couple of those Y-adaptors? Their light is much more concentrated, whereas those 4' tubes are producing their 40(?) watts of light along a 4' line. That would be fine if/when your plants approach 4' in height, but with seedlings and short plants it seems wasteful.

I have nothing against CFLs. Only against stating that one either is, or is comparable to, a light of much higher wattage. Confuses the newbies lol.

Years ago a friend had a box something like that. It was 5 1/2 feet tall with the tubes set as high as possible - on the assumption that there was no point in shining the light on his pots lol - and he also had four of those double-tube fixtures in the center pointing out. I remember that he was happy with the bud he got although I don't have a clue how much it turned out to be. After a couple harvests HPS lights started gaining popularity and he switched to a 400-watt one which seemed to give him more bud with only 2/3 or so of the watts. Although he rebuilt his cabinet to be more rectangular and around 8 square feet.

[wdmickjr]

those are not CFLs in your grow room. they look like T12s or T8s. CFL stands for Compact Fluorescence Light, which tries to look like the shape an incandescence light bulb (but 'curly'). in your grow/vegetation get 26wt 6500k CFL. it screws in just like the bulb does. good looking cabinet tho. great how you hung the fluorescent tubes.
yes a couple or 4 CFLs dangling down about 1-2" from the plant would go over real good. your babies will sing with thanks.
a 26 watt CFL is equal to the light output of a 100 watt incandescent, but there is really no comparison. a different kind of light, incandescent light will not grow anything.
i have 2 lamp 4' T5 (2x54 watt=) 108 watt 6500k and 12 CFL 26 watt 6500k CFLs. later i will have HID for flower. figure it up and it is 396 watts and nearly 32,000 lumen. and in the daylight spectrum of 6500 kelvin.
T5 are twice more efficient than T8, and T8 is twice more efficient than T12; using the same wattage.

[zolar]

i have often used computer fans hooked toa motorcycle batteryn charger you can put them close and low volt DC isn't as big an issue with dampsoil moisture etc if yer seedling seems to be vibrating but not blown over yer wind is about right you can hookup4or 5 fans toa 2or 3 amp charger and this works well for quiet air flow in your cab

[bubblebagman]

Originally Posted by grandpastoner

I don't have an oscilating fan...not sure it would fit in my cab anyway. But I have a fan angled downward blowing against the opposite cab wall and reflecting accross the seedlings like a gentle breeze...and I have it set on low speed.



Hope this will suffice.

hey grandpastoner......I wouldnt keep the fan pointed directly on the plants. You want the soil medium to stay relatively warm.....For my seedlings, I keep them in a clone tray with the dome on....just until you see the second full set of leaves. By then your plants should have developed more of a strong root system. Even then.... I would want an oscilating fan that could create a gentle breeze....you dont need the fan to be too strong.....Just keep in mind soil temp......Good luck grandpa !!!