Seedling stretching for the rafters
- Thread starter Finnicki
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Skunksta
Well-Known Member
Get the light as close as you can without over doing it.
Do you have any way to measure the ppfd if its an led light.
Also if you dont mind me asking what type of light is she under at 10%
Do you have any way to measure the ppfd if its an led light.
Also if you dont mind me asking what type of light is she under at 10%
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- #3
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- #4
Upping the light intensity will help significantly, so either turning up the light or getting the seedling closer to it will both help.
When you up-pot you can bury some of that extra stem and more roots will grow along the buried stem, just like tomatoes.
When you up-pot you can bury some of that extra stem and more roots will grow along the buried stem, just like tomatoes.
Why are you trying to slow it down? I've got a section in my veg space I call "Limbo Land" where I deliberately keep clones in slow grow mode and I do that with weak light, and little to no nutrients and light watering.
But seedlings are generally more robust and want to grow faster so deliberately slowing them down requires more effort.
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zigzagman1960
Well-Known Member
If you leave your grow lights at normal height and get a 20w cfl light bulb and hang it down close to the leaves of the seedling for a week or two the stretch will stop.
Lowrider72
Well-Known Member
I agree with the above replies.
If a seedling stretches it's only because of one of 2 reasons, it wants more light or area is too hot with low humidity.
LR72.
If a seedling stretches it's only because of one of 2 reasons, it wants more light or area is too hot with low humidity.
LR72.
I am going along with what the others are saying; more light and not less, more is better. This is one time where one photo would really help by showing us what you are seeing.
Slowing down the growth of the plant is different than preventing the plant from stretching. I figure you are concerned about the stretching of the plant as it develops each new node and not how fast it is growing. Kind of curious as to how many nodes already since most plants are developing the true 3 or 5 finger fan leaves about the 3rd or 4th node after the cotyledon.
If the plant is still a seedling then the first few nodes almost always have small leaves, even if they are 3 finger. The more leaf surface the greater the amount of photosynthesis taking place. Small leaves means not enough surface and low levels of photosynthesis. And, it will direct all available nutrients to trying to get each new set of leaves closer to that light until it reaches a 'happy balance'. Then it will start developing those nice large healthy green fan leaves which will produce all those healthy starches, sugars, hormones and everything else the plant needs.
If it was my plant and my light I would kick it up several notches, maybe all the way to 100% and adjust the spacing between plant and light to handle temperature concerns. If worried about it, adjust that light to 50%, maybe a bit more. If the temperature coming off the light is too high then move it up. Lowering the light to 10% is not the answer. The mehtod of testing by placing your hand at the same level as the top leaves with the back of the hand facing the light comes in handy. If the back of your hand is warm everything is OK. If it feels hot and burning then increase the distance between the top of the plant and the light but do not reduce the amount of light.
For healthy strong plants the more light the merrier. That way it can grow a large root mass to store the sugars and starches for later use, grow a thick strong stem system so it can hold itself up and spread out side branches so it can increase the canopy size with hundreds of leaves to catch as much light as possible.
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Skunksta
Well-Known Member
Fill the pot up that will help some.
And as said lower or turn up the light should sort out any issues.
And as said lower or turn up the light should sort out any issues.
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- #14
Looking good.
Coming up next is to keep an eye on the plant to prevent excessive stretching as each new node develops. Just a matter of watching what is happening to the plant. After awhile we get a feel for what the plant is doing and what it is reacting to and why.
Some people might object to the clear plastic cup. The roots tend to avoid growing where they are exposed to bright light. The roots on your plant will tend to stay closer to the center of the soil in that cup. Once the plant developed a good root mass you can transplant it into a dark sided container appropriate for growing plants.
Until then you can place that clear plastic cup into another cup that is a solid color with a drain hole.
Coming up next is to keep an eye on the plant to prevent excessive stretching as each new node develops. Just a matter of watching what is happening to the plant. After awhile we get a feel for what the plant is doing and what it is reacting to and why.
Some people might object to the clear plastic cup. The roots tend to avoid growing where they are exposed to bright light. The roots on your plant will tend to stay closer to the center of the soil in that cup. Once the plant developed a good root mass you can transplant it into a dark sided container appropriate for growing plants.
Until then you can place that clear plastic cup into another cup that is a solid color with a drain hole.
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Light is food to a plant. At 10%, the seedling was getting very little light so it grew very tall, trying to get food. "Please, sir, may I have more."
The idea of using one's hand to test for heat is a carry over from gas discharge lamps which heat plants because they generate a lot of photos in the infra-red part of the spectrum, just like the heat lamps over the food trays in a cafeteria.
In contrast, LED's do not generate light in the infrared part of the spectrum which means that the light that they give off cannot heat plants.
50% at 12 inches - any reason not to use what the manufacturer recommends? Their recommendations are usually pretty good and, unless you've got specific reasons to disregard them, it might be better to follow them. Looking at the PPFD map for this light, your plants are getting as much light as I give my plants at day 20± (and I'm a "high light" guy). You might want to revisit that.
