Did i screw up?

So here I am, two weeks into my first grow using the Sunlight Sheds Mini Caddy System. I like it a lot, everything seemed to be going fine. Little sprouts coming up, everything was good. Then the little sprouts turned into really long sprouts, with a couple of leaves at the top, but then started falling over. I guess I had them too far away from the light? I was just using the stock setup for it. So I put a couple of paint cans under the res, which is as far up as i can get it to go because the cooling fan inside will keep me from moving it any closer to the light. I also took the reflector thing off of the light tube, which has given it a lot more light in there, and since i did that the babies have seemed to rebound a little, standing up on their own more, at least partly, but i havent noticed any new leaf growth. So what do you guys think? Have I given enough info here? I really hope i can save these little babies and not have to start all over again, but i really don't know what i am doing, so any advice is appreciated....

what kind of lights are you using? depending on the lights you need to have them a certain distance from the plants. From the looks of it, ur lights are waaaaay too fat away. You could also use some fans to keep the stems nice and strong

dirtyal1223 said:

what kind of lights are you using? depending on the lights you need to have them a certain distance from the plants. From the looks of it, ur lights are waaaaay too fat away. You could also use some fans to keep the stems nice and strong

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i'm using just what came with the system. 400 watt bulb in now. It is the Mini Caddy system from Sunlight Sheds.

Since those pictures, I have moved them as close to the light as i could get it by setting the res on top of two paint cans. I would have moved it farther up, but there is the fan in the back that the res is too big to sit beside, at least if i want to close the doors. I also took the reflector off to give more light to the plants, which seems to have helped.

Does this crop still have a chance? How do the fans work to keep the stems strong and what would i need for that?

Thanks!

what kind of bulb is the 400 W? HPS? MH? You want the light about a foot away if its an HPS or MH, if they are floros then you want them 2 inches away.

It looks like you mite want to start over. Those stems are stretched as hell but you can cover the step up to the leaves with soil if thats possible. I dont think so bc you are using hydro.

Fans will simulate wind that the plants would get if they wer eoutside in their natural environment. Because they must battle with wind, the stems learn to get big and strong

dirtyal1223 said:

what kind of bulb is the 400 W? HPS? MH? You want the light about a foot away if its an HPS or MH, if they are floros then you want them 2 inches away.

It looks like you mite want to start over. Those stems are stretched as hell but you can cover the step up to the leaves with soil if thats possible. I dont think so bc you are using hydro.

Fans will simulate wind that the plants would get if they wer eoutside in their natural environment. Because they must battle with wind, the stems learn to get big and strong

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If I remember correctly, this one is an MH bulb, and then the HPS one I put in for flowering when I switch to 12/12. I could be backwards on that though, but I don't think so. Right now, with the res on top of the paint cans, they are about a foot away if not slightly more than that.

Ok, finally had a chance to check things out. It is a MH bulb in there currently, and with the paint cans boosting the res it is just over 12" away from the bulb. So assuming these don't make it, is this a good place for me to start trying again? Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

also, since the distance seems to be causing these issues, should I think about switching to the HPS bulb for growing and flowering on the next run? would that do anything to benefit me at all?

The light needs to be closer they are stretching towards the light

try to bury them up to the first set of leaves and get them closer to the light. you can curl the root up if you have to. be very gentle.

MH for veg, HPS for flowering, everything else sounds good

Your seedlings will stretch, thats a given. I start my seeds in dixie cups. Fill them 1/2 way full and plant the seed. After they sprout I put them under flos after about 3 days. they have begun to stretch to where I can fill the cup up to being almost full. That gives them good support. After that on to the 150w hps for a few more days. The best thing to do is plant low in your pots so you can add more dirt for support around the stem. Its better to have them stretch some than to fry them. When they are seedlings its better to have the light on 24 hrs. You can put sticks in the hydroton to give them support. Are you growing 14 plants in dwc from seed? If so its going to turn into one huge tangled mess anyway. Might do better with only 3-4 plants.

Sorry, didnt look at the pics first.

ok, so i have the res moved as close to the light as i can get it, about a foot away with a 400w MH bulb in. Out of my 8 babies, i tried curling up the root so they arent so tangled on 4 of them. I am going to get some sticks and prop up the others. there are a couple that get hit from the fan inside now, and they have started to stand straight up again, getting stronger. I might try getting a little fan to put in there for the others as well. Thanks for the help!

Early said:

Your seedlings will stretch, thats a given. I start my seeds in dixie cups. Fill them 1/2 way full and plant the seed. After they sprout I put them under flos after about 3 days. they have begun to stretch to where I can fill the cup up to being almost full. That gives them good support. After that on to the 150w hps for a few more days. The best thing to do is plant low in your pots so you can add more dirt for support around the stem. Its better to have them stretch some than to fry them. When they are seedlings its better to have the light on 24 hrs. You can put sticks in the hydroton to give them support. Are you growing 14 plants in dwc from seed? If so its going to turn into one huge tangled mess anyway. Might do better with only 3-4 plants.

Sorry, didnt look at the pics first.

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With adequate lighting, there is no need for seedlings to stretch.

ok, so i moved some farther down into the plugs, i only tried it with 4 and it seems to be a success, even though two of them tended to pop right back up to almost where they were, but they are doing fine. acouple that i left long are really thriving it seems. i hope so at least.

Your growing area looks wayy to messy.
Put the lights about 24 inches from the plants and you'll be fine.

what do you mean by too messy? the way the plants are together?
Right now the plants are about 12 inches away from the lights. I had them 24" away and i think that might have caused them to get all long and stretched.