My seedlings stretch to much, how to keep them shortest before stacking nodes?

TurboTokes

TurboTokes

Well-Known Member
Is there a preferred method to keeping the new seedlings shortest before they start growing and adding new nodes?

Ive always had the impression it could be controlled with the intensity of your light and the height you keep the light above the plants, but real world experience for me, growing from seed in a soil-less medium, I have always had to much stretch or more than preferred, I see some growers pics on here with pictures of there solo cup grows/ seedlings and the plants are only 2-3" tall and they are ready to start topping / training.

Im really just asking for knowledge, Im switching from HID to LED and I just planted some bag seeds to put under my 100w 3500k HLG to play around with how it could grow seedlings and I started it at 24", got quite a bit of stretch and they are just showing there second leaves
 
I've had this issue many times in the past. The seed will grow tall and fall over and break. I learned I have to harden them off slower. Dome them, then open the dome a little each day until they are acclimated to the outside(of the dome) air. Then put them under a good light...

Since I have been taking my time and SLOWLY letting them acclimate I have had great success.
Good luck
 
I’ve been successful keeping the early seedling growth short by planting directly in soil no dome with a circulating fan aimed so there is a little air movement on them as they emerge.
 
Your seedlings stretch from low light - many of us have ditched t5's and weak veg lights for something waaaay more brighter.

At no point do seedlings need a dome, this is really bad info and neither do they like wind - air exchange they love :-)
 
TacoMac said:
That.

Best veg light on the planet.
Click to expand...

Well actually i had much better stockier seedlings with bigger fatter leaves under a hps so cannot agree they are the best veg lights in the world as results speak for themselves.

:-)
 
TurboTokes said:
Is there a preferred method to keeping the new seedlings shortest before they start growing and adding new nodes?

Ive always had the impression it could be controlled with the intensity of your light and the height you keep the light above the plants, but real world experience for me, growing from seed in a soil-less medium, I have always had to much stretch or more than preferred, I see some growers pics on here with pictures of there solo cup grows/ seedlings and the plants are only 2-3" tall and they are ready to start topping / training.

Im really just asking for knowledge, Im switching from HID to LED and I just planted some bag seeds to put under my 100w 3500k HLG to play around with how it could grow seedlings and I started it at 24", got quite a bit of stretch and they are just showing there second leaves
Click to expand...
Use led on seedlings. I've found that getting them to a foot tall under LEDs turns them bushy. Then swapping to flower under hps they'll stretch but have a lot more nodes
 
The first two are ones I started under LEDS. The last was under a 600 mh on 50%. You can see the difference in node development. BTW. The last is a High Altitude "Stoned henge" which is meant to be a short, bushy plant. Yeh right. The damn thing is 4ft already and been tipped. Short and bushy my ass
 

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From my measly one year experience growing please take my advice with a grain of salt.

I have found that sprouting the seed in my preferred medium instead of other germination methods gives the seedlings a better head start. IME, the plant anchor's itself more quickly. Also using a 24/0 light schedule helps me avoid temperature fluctuations which seems to prevent a lot of the early stretching that I was experiencing during my first two grows. My last bit of advice would be to have your light at the proper distance from your plants at all times.
 
If you are using t5s or even t8s/12s all you have to do is get the lights almost right on top of the seedling and there wont be any stretching.
T5s I usually go about 2-4 inches away and a 8 or 12 I will put about an inch.
 
The light spectrum in the T-5 HO's is important too.
Ultra blue light - from some aquarium bulb's are the way to go - mix them in 1:1 with normal veg bulbs.
NO Mid spectrum bulbs or bloom bulbs!

Keep the canopy as close to the light source as you can.

Any that do stretch....just like someone said earlier. Simply replant/re-pot deeper. Right on down to the first real leaves.
The buried stem will generate new roots too....

Take suggestions of LED with a grain of salt. If they ain't COB...forget it....
 
T5's are fine for vegging. These were grown under 6500k HO T5's. No stretch.


t5veg.jpg

ruderalis1.jpg
 
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