Drooping seedlings

[Apples N Banana]

Well, I'm growing some bagseed plants to have a supply of mids (variety is best) for selling. Having germinated all eight of the seeds, I put them in peat pots, filled about 9/10 of the way with good quality potting soil, put them on a heating pad, watered a small amount, and put plastic wrap over the pots (that's my normal routine for seedlings, they tend to grow very quickly into the vegetative phase that way). After one week, all were doing well, each was around two to three inches high, with two seedlings rocketing to about four inches.
I used a squirtbottle and misted the plants once in the morning, once at night, and didn't ever leave the soil soaking wet, only slightly damp.
I'm a completely outdoor grower (the soil around here is amazingly rich due to a decade of composting...it's lovely) and don't use any lights, so the seedlings have been sitting on my windowsill.
Yesterday, I noticed that the three tallest (4 inches) plants had completely fallen over, and their stems are quite weak. Oddly enough, the most mature of all the seedlings (one that I planted a week prior to the rest, making it two weeks old in soil instead of just one) is doing just fine, and has a well-developed set of true leaves about an inch away from the cotyledon.
These drooping plants have normal leaf colour and texture, though on one the true leaves seem less wide than normal.
I've not been using any nutes (duh ) and the plants have been receiving fairly equal sunlight, though we've had a few rainy days recently.

Is this over-watering, or something else I don't know of?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

I've not been using any nutes (duh ) and the plants have been receiving fairly equal sunlight, though we've had a few rainy days recently.

Your seedlings are stretching for the light and are too tall.

Where exactly are you keeping them and how are they getting the 'sunlight'? Cannabis can be quite the light-hog compared to most plants and will grow to get closer to a light source it can use. Unless you plant straight into the ground outside, keeping them under Fluoro lamps for a few weeks will keep them short, stout and bushy while they strengthen up for transplanting outside.

Hope that helps

 

[Apples N Banana]

They've been on my windowsill and just get whatever the sun hands out to them, but stretching makes since.
Are there smaller HPS lights that I could buy for the seedling phase only, so that this won't happen again? I've also read of tying down the head of the plant to the base of the stem, thereby "training" the plant not to grow too tall...that feels ineffective though (I would hate to have my head tied to my feet..)

 

[THC123]

a pic tells more than a thousand words

 

[Apples N Banana]

a pic tells more than a thousand words

you've no idea how much i don't want to go downstairs...oh the energy

 

[Apples N Banana]

Three of five of the drooping plants:

The "strong" one, who doesn't look too good in this picture, though I promise is a vibrant green.

 

[MoeBudz^420]

Those seedlings are severely stretched due to reaching for light. They need minimum 5-6 hours of direct sun/day to grow well and not stretch too much. Your window sill obviously lacks sufficient hours of direct sun for good growth...

I'd either start em inside under cfl lights, which I do - or sow the germed seeds directly to the outdoor garden once they pop and show a root. You can lose tender seedlings easily outside tho - 1 bite from a slug = 1 dead seedling when they're that small.

IMO transplant and bury them almost up to the cots in a new container, and/or stake em up then get em under more hours of direct light/day and a wee bit of wind asap...

A seedling just putting out its 1st leaves should look kinda like this:




Hope I helped, and good luck.


Peace

 

[Apples N Banana]

Now, I've had seedlings die outdoors fairly quickly due to light stress. So you're saying it should be pretty much fine? I've got a location for transplanting well-prepared, and since tomorrow's gonna be overcast and around 65 it shouldn't be too harsh. Is that the solution?

Thanks guys

 

[habeeb]

your plants are streching from lack of light, there reaching out to catch rays.

don't use HPS for seedlings, MH or CHM, or floro.

no need to mist them everyday, you can foliar once a week with seaweed, fulvic... don't baby them or they'll never learn to walk..

seedlings would not die from lights stress putting them outdoors, you need to back track and find your problems out. read a couple books and don't pop all your seeds at once.

good luck on your adventures

 

[iGro4Me]

Here are my seedlings after 7 days under cfl's man



Get those babies some light bro

 

[FreezerBoy]

Stretching for light.

Seedlings are built for the full strength of the sun. Problem is, you've told them that the sun is only 1% of it's actual strength and they believe you. Put them outside at "noon" so the first day of real sun is a half day. Consider a small trellis to provide shade the first few days. Personally, I wouldn't put a plant outside until it's at least a foot tall. A single snail can destroy an entire garden of sprouts.

To shorten the plants, transplant them lower so only an inch sticks out. The plant will stall for a week or two as it sprouts new roots towards the surface.

 

[stAx]

those are prime for repotting. bury them all the way up to the cottys...they will bust roots from that lanky stem...i let mine stretch and repot all the time. it gets em going faster in the long run believe it or not. looks a bit more than i would let them go. hit them with more light bro after the repot.

 

[Apples N Banana]

Thanks guys, makes me feel like a kid again getting all worried, but hey, they're my babies

 

[Lady J'adore]

Here are my seedlings after 7 days under cfl's man



Get those babies some light bro

And such little beauts they be

 

[iGro4Me]

Thanks guys, makes me feel like a kid again getting all worried, but hey, they're my babies

Hey man, I apologize about posting pics in your thread.

And such little beauts they be

Thanks Lady J. :wink: