Why are the leaves so droopy?

Germinated from seed (afghan kush) 3 weeks ago. Compared to some of the other pics on this site, my plants look really small. I am growing in hempy buckets so I can't really over water, I have not added any nutes and I am using a 400w hps (1 foot above plants) inside a tent with good ventilation and I have a fan blowing on the seedlings (only small amount). To me it looks healthy aside the drooping.. time to add nutes yet or wait a little longer?

I hate to bump but.. bump..

i was going to say looks like overwatering to me, but since it's hempy, no way like you've said.. but yah, at three weeks old, especially in a hempy setup, i'd start feeding them lightly... start out at like 1/4 strength or so at first, and slowly bump it up by about 1/4 or so a week till you're either at full strength or you see some nute burn, at which case back them off slightly again..

What is the pH of your nutrient?
What is the temperature of the nutrient?
Room temperature?
Airflow?
Humidity?
Light cycle?
Nutrient airation?

Also when it comes to hydro type grows you do need to be giving your plants some nutrient albeit very light amounts, are you able to measure the strength of the nutrient? EC/PPM meter?

One of the main issues though that is often overlooked with hydro is the state of the roots. Are they spreading out or stunted and bunched up. If all else is fine and it is a root problem, then back the light off a bit and allow time for roots to recover and spread out.

Also do not expect too much from 3 weeks of seedling growth. Seedlings spend the first four weeks of their lives forming adult structures before putting on a growth spurt.

magentaspoison said:

Germinated from seed (afghan kush) 3 weeks ago. Compared to some of the other pics on this site, my plants look really small. I am growing in hempy buckets so I can't really over water, I have not added any nutes and

I am using a 400w hps (1 foot above

Click to expand...

plants) inside a tent with good ventilation and I have a fan blowing on the seedlings (only small amount). To me it looks healthy aside the drooping.. time to add nutes yet or wait a little longer?

View attachment 1751462

Click to expand...

Raise the light. Make it about 30" till the seedling is growing stronger then ease it down closer.

I say no on nutes, it looks perfectly green and healthy other than the droop as you say. I never feed my hydro seedlings anything at all for months on end and they grow just perfectly, i've never quite understood the unwritten rules of hydro needs nutes from the near get go. Only time i've experienced drooping is when there's not enough water available for the root system.

Any reason for raising the light? From what I've read, it's OK to have the light close provided I can keep temps in check. Does that not apply so much to seedlings?

Jonus, a lot of those questions I can't answer yet as the rest of my stuff has not arrived.. I know I should've got everything before starting but I couldn't help but jump in.

I lifted the lights and gave a tiny amount of nute the other day; seems to be fine so far. My PH paper came today and my tap water is about 6 and the run off is the same. My temp/humidity kit came as well and while temps are 73F/23C, humidity is very low at around 20%. I've been misting the tent to get it up to 65% but it drops quickly so I've taken to putting a wet towel inside which is keeping humidity from 45-50%. Misting + towel can get it back up to about 65-70% but again, it drops off really quickly.

Is the lower humidity going to be a big issue? Obviously 20% was but @ around 50%, it's a little closer to ideal than before.

Leaves are still drooping but she has grown well over the past few days.