New plants seem weak...

[JoeRockhead]

Hi,

I have 3 plants in Promix, all are the same size, good color and developing well. However, 2 are bending over as they are too weak to support the growth of the leaves. Should I prop them on some stakes or will they straighten out over time?

If I put a little more promix around the base it helps a bit, but I don't like the idea. Is it okay to do this?

Thanks.

 

[Smokin Moose]

I can't see it hurting. Many garden plants require staking at times. Just make sure your tie to the stake is not too tight or abrading with movement. Good luck matey..

 

[Bagzgroove]

Staking would be fine as moose said. . . how old are they? What kind of lights are you using?

Bagz

 

[JoeRockhead]

They are about 2 and half weeks old or so. I'm using a 400W M/H and they are about 3 feet from it at this point. I had them under a weaker light for the first week after sprouting. They are about 5 inches high.

 

[RooRman]

A gentle breeze from a fan is what is necessary. This is a very effective method to strengthen the main stem and should do away with the need for staking altogether.

I do not like to stake plants, it becomes like a crutch for them and it's hard to get them to support their own weight later if they had been staked as seedlings.

 

[JoeRockhead]

I have a fan blowing on them at the lowest setting. This has never happened to me before but these are new seeds. One of the 3 is doing fine.

 

[zyph]

You have your MH 3 feet away from your plants? That's a little far I must say, I'm using a 400W HPS and a 400W MH together and both are about a foot away from my plants.. If you can get a fan blowing directly onto the lights ( a fan with quite a bit of air movement (CFM, 500ish pref) you could easily lower your lights..

As for staking, I am in conjunction with RooRman on this one.. If you can put more soil in your pot you could actually probably make them pretty stable, and then make sure you keep a fan blowing on them and it'll strengthen them within 2-3 days.. You really should be able to fill the pot up with soil all the way up to your first 2 pedals that develop without harming the plant.

 

[JoeRockhead]

I will lower the light and add some soil. Thanks for the info.

 

[zyph]

I will lower the light and add some soil. Thanks for the info.

Well, you also need to keep in mind the heat that lamp is going to release, If you have no way of putting quite a bit of air movement underneath that bulb to get rid of the heat it will cause your plants to overheat and transpire to stay cool..

On the other hand if you can put a fan on ur bulbs then you could even get it as low as a foot away, my 400 MH isnt vented, I have a custom, home-made reflective hood that I'm actually in the process of putting flex duct on to keep it even cooler..

If your light setup has a option of putting flex duct on it, I would high recommend that, and get some kind of fan in it to suck that hot air out of your hood.. Although if you don't have that option, a simple fan blowing across the bulbs at a good rate will keep it cool enough..

Remember though that the light fades the higher you have your light, so the higher your light is from your plants, the less lumens your plants are getting, ya follow? Basically the light spectrum fades and dulls out if its too far, which could also cause your babies to stretch in early stage of growth making them very spindly..

Which could also be the cause of your very weak plant problem...

Hopefully this all helps

 

[Smokin Moose]

Your lights should be 12" over your plants.

 

[JoeRockhead]

I've lowered the light and have a fan blowing mildly enough to remove the heat and push the plants around a bit. I had them staked but removed them after two days. They are all standing on their own now. The light is about 18 inches away at this point and things are going smoothly.

Thanks again.

 

[RooRman]

BTW a fan blowing in a closed room just moves hot air around. This fan is just for strengthing the stems by simulating a gentle breeze. It is not for managing temperature.