Little Girls Won't Learn to Stand

First attempter and poster here. Would appreciate any help from your wells' of knowledge...

Here's my prob: I have four seedlings 1 1/2 weeks old about 4" tall and on their way to their 2nd true leaves. The first half of their lives were spent on a window sill only receiving about 3 hours of sunlight so they're a little stretched out and require to be staked up for support. I've since moved them to their new home basking under a 400W MH and have a fan gently blowing them, which is counter-productive, I know. How can I strengthen the stems when they flop over after the stakes are removed?

Don't remove the stakes if the stalks don't support themselves.

TeaTreeOil said:

Don't remove the stakes if the stalks don't support themselves.

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Stakes will not be removed. In time, I hope they get chubbed up because i'm gettin worried about the increased top-heavy weight, you know? They're growin up quickly but the trunks are stayin slim...

they can be re-buried - up to your desired level. either as re-potting, or simply add soil to bury the stem in the existing pot. Good luck. Walk On!~

tahoe58 said:

they can be re-buried - up to your desired level. either as re-potting, or simply add soil to bury the stem in the existing pot. Good luck. Walk On!~

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Thanks for your advice man but... here's the kicker... Rockwool. I know I probably shouldn't have chosen this medium for my first grow, but I happened to have 'em handy and have read good things about it. Sprouted in cubes and were moved into 4" and was planning on slabbing them all. Bit of a pickle here I think.

no pickle ..... I have just thrown the 4" cubes into the soil and the roots just grow out ..... it might take some additional effort/energy on behalf of the plant ..... but it will work fine.

tahoe58 said:

no pickle ..... I have just thrown the 4" cubes into the soil and the roots just grow out ..... it might take some additional effort/energy on behalf of the plant ..... but it will work fine.

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Tahoe, you're a Genius!

Off to get some earth tomorrow!

It had crossed my mind, but wasn't sure about combining soil with alternative mediums. With your confidence, my mind is made up!

Hypothetically though, if they were left as is, what could solve this issue?

Has anyone had any similar situations?