Plant height

[Steve1]

I was watching a popular you tube channel the other day and the person was transplanting his seedling into larger pots. The plants were around 3-4 inches tall with leaves around 1 1/2. - 2 inches long. I commented about how old they were and he said they were 4-5 days old. My plants are 5 days old but they are only about an inch tall. Am I doing something wrong? I have them in a grow tent and I have 2 Bloomspect 600w leds about 18” away from them. I’m using ocean forest soil which I flushed with distilled water before I put the germinated seed in to the cups. Help!!!!

 

[oldfogey8]

Those look fine for 5 days old. Having lanky plants is not what you want. Seedlings that aren’t getting enough light stretch and can get too tall for the stem to support the plant. My son has a Bloomspect light(as well as a Growstar). They are both lower end LEDs but he is getting some nice buds on his plants. If you don’t have a fan blowing gently in the seedlings, get one. It will help the stems grow strong. Make sure you are getting a wet/dry cycle on your soil. I assume you have holes in the bottom of your solo cups.

 

[thegloman]

You're fine steve1.
Yours look like mine do at around 5 days after breaking soil. I use FFOF also but didn't flush out the dirt in the cups.
Some strains grow faster than others. You're looking good.

 

[wheelie]

Your look good and about right where they should be in 5 days or so. Don't sweat it, different strains grow at different rates. CHEERS!

 

[umbra]

Not all strains grow at the same rate

 

[Steve1]

Oldfogey8, yes I do have holes in the cups and a fan circulating the air. Thanks for your helpThis is only the second grow for me. I’ve learned a lot and am hoping this one turns out fine. Thanks to everyone for the help

 

[stinkyattic]

Check your temps. Cold air and soil slows metabolism. But don't worry about comparing yourself to youtube. If we all did that, we'd be institutionalized for bad self esteem! Just keep your conditions good and let your plants do their thing on their schedule.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Also, not everyone on YouTube is truthful. Everyone wants their plants/grow to be special/extraordinary. I always take things shown/said on sites like this with a grain of salt.

As a side note, it is not a good idea to be transplanting 4-5 day old seedlings into big pots.

 

[Steve1]

Check your temps. Cold air and soil slows metabolism. But don't worry about comparing yourself to youtube. If we all did that, we'd be institutionalized for bad self esteem! Just keep your conditions good and let your plants do their thing on their schedule.

Thanks, it has been cooler lately. My room is in my shed. We were on the 70’s to 80’s then as soon as I planted them the temp dropped to the 40’s. Put a heater in there to take the edge off of the cold

Also, not everyone on YouTube is truthful. Everyone wants their plants/grow to be special/extraordinary. I always take things shown/said on sites like this with a grain of salt.

As a side note, it is not a good idea to be transplanting 4-5 day old seedlings into big pots.

You mean everything on the internet isn't true? LOL No I wouldn't think they have enough root structure to be able to be transplanted that young

 

[stinkyattic]

Ooh yeah get your heat up to 75 for the little sprouts! And be really careful not to over water them

 

[jbulgejbulge]

looks like overwatering, also I doubt you have drainage holes poked in those cups, I wouldn't transfer them yet, they don't have root balls yet, the soil could be too hot or too much nutrients, for them, I would puta fan on them and wait till the spoil dries out, they should come to life once that concrete sludge of soil get airated

 

[Steve1]

looks like overwatering, also I doubt you have drainage holes poked in those cups, I wouldn't transfer them yet, they don't have root balls yet, the soil could be too hot or too much nutrients, for them, I would puta fan on them and wait till the spoil dries out, they should come to life once that concrete sludge of soil get airated

Thanks for the input. Yes, there are 4 drain holes in each cup, I only mist them when they are this age. I have no plans of transplanting them yet for the same reason you mentioned(root structure). I do have a fan circulating the air in the grow room. And I flushed the soil prior to planting the seeds to try to alleviate the issue of having too "hot"

 

[stinkyattic]

Be careful misting them. This is problematic for a couple readons:
First, seedlings are most vulnerable to fusarium, verticulum, and other bacterial and fungal attack before the stems become woody. So its better to water with something like a diner ketchup squeezie, just around the plant, not really soaking everything nor wetting the leaves.
Second, misting with plain water is also known as reverse foliar feeding- it can osmotically leach nutrients out of the leaves, leading to deficiencies and stunting.

 

[Steve1]

Be careful misting them. This is problematic for a couple readons:
First, seedlings are most vulnerable to fusarium, verticulum, and other bacterial and fungal attack before the stems become woody. So its better to water with something like a diner ketchup squeezie, just around the plant, not really soaking everything nor wetting the leaves.
Second, misting with plain water is also known as reverse foliar feeding- it can osmotically leach nutrients out of the leaves, leading to deficiencies and stunting.

Thanks, what I should have said was that I mist the soil. At some point I read that direct watering them at this stage could damage the delicate roots. Definitely appreciate the advice on watering. I will have to try it with the squeezie. How often would you recommend watering? Oh and by your advice I put a heater in with them yesterday. I have to say that I have learned a lot from the various posts and there isn't really bashing someone for asking questions

 

[Lesso]

I let my seedlings dry out a little bit between waterings, not bone dry.
No one gets bashed for honest questions here. Just for arrogant comments and spam....or if youre a shill for mars hydro lol.

 

[stinkyattic]

We try to be nice around here... except sometimes spammers get a bit snarked at lol ; )
It's easy to water by weight. Pick up the pot when it's wet to get a feel for it. Then pick up a pot when it's dry, and put that in your mental file too. Water when the pots get light. It's good for the roots to go through wet and dry cycles so oxygen can diffuse into the soil. Just not to the point of wilting, that's TOO dry of course!

 

[Rosebud]

You have had the best advice in this thread. I just want to add that the dry period is important. I put my small seedlings in large pots this month as I was being lazy. They looked horrible. I kept telling my plants i was a good grower and they argued with me. Finally, after a couple of weeks, they look like happy seedlings. I won't do that again and i know better. Thankfully they weren't stunted for life, but sure could have been. Like SA said, learn how much the pots weigh with water and dry. Let them dry out so when you stick your finger in the dirt to the second knuckle and it is dry, then water. Don't mist anything unless there is a reason to. Not even the top of the soil.

 

[Steve1]

What a difference a couple days makes. Put a heater in the room to fix the temperature problem. I have 6 plants going. 1 is a little behind the others but still hanging in there

 

[Steve1]

Oh and thanks to everyone for the advice!

 

[stinkyattic]

There you go! Or, there you grow ; )
And you should thank yourself for asking for advice early, so you can get a jump start on Keeping Up With The Cannabis. It feels like a full time job and the little tweaks make it SOOOO much easier and with fewer headaches!
You're gonna be fine, and we have your back.