Plants keep falling over and dieing

k im havin problems. this is what i got set up.
in my attic, i got a 150 watt dayspot grow light by agrosun positioned about a foot and a half to 2 feet above the soil. the pot im using is about 8 inches in diameter and im using some good potting soil from my local nursery. i have the light on 24 hours a day right now since the i figured it would need it since the light is only 150 watts.

this is what happens. i germinate a seed. i plant the seed about half an inch in the soil, sprinkle soil on top and water. everything starts going cool, the sprout appears above the soil and starts growing. the top starts growing two little leaves and keeps growing upward. finally the two leaves on top have grown into small little leaves, and the plant is about 5 inches tall, the stem is about string thin and it topples over and dies. i water regularly, whenever the soil is dried out and needs it. i use spring water.

i dont know what im doing wrong, but everytime i try to grow a new plant, it gets about 5 inches tall with just two little leaves ontop, the stem is basically string thin and then it topples over and dies. dunno if my light isnt strong enough or w/e, but i need some advice or tips. thanks. -raptures

i would say your lights are to far away.. it needs to be 1-2 inches away during the seedling stage. read the growfaq. tells you all about it

get a compact flourescent bulb and keep it an inch away

ya but im afraid that if i put the lamp too close it'll be too hot for the plants. the bulb in the lamp is a 150 watt incandescent grow bulb.

throw that bulb out they dont work use a cheap 23 watt compact floroescent spiral bulb

and that's gonna be good for seedling, vegative, and flowering? just 23 watts?

no dude only to get some leaves onit i thought u wanted to stop them from dying right now sorry i would have skiped it if i knew u were going to get upset

no what im asking is if i buy a 23 watt spiral bulb, would that be good for all stages?

no it wont! but it will get it so u can use a bigger lamp if u dont u will continue to have the same problem your choice but the 150w incadesant isnt good for all stages either obviously the closer the light the less the seedling will streach and the faster it will root and the faster u will get leaves and a thick stem that will not die

thanks. -raptures

well i placed the light about 2 inches away, checked on em a' couple hours later and they were shriveled up and dead.

You bastards you killed *insert names here*!! Gotta love southpark

u need to start fresh put the germed seed in the soil keep your cfl light 2 to 3 inches away and watch it grow put a fan on the light if its too hot in the attic

ok heres the deal, 1 cfl will work ok if its very close and only for a limited time, by the time they start getting their second leaves they are gonna need more. cram as many cfls into your grow space as possible, add exhaust and reflective material (mylar, white paint, tiles BUT not aluminium foil). better yet get a HID such as a High Pressure Sodium or Metal Halide lamp from a hydropoinics store. they take a bit more effort because they need special circuitry and they also cost more and produce more heat but they are far better for growing. plants need as much light as possible and incandescent lightbulbs are useless because they are in totally the wrong spectrum. hope i helped you.
catchya

Attics are hot enough as it is aren't they? Maybe moving your setup to a cooler room would help in itself.
Putting your CFLs TOO close can be just as bad as putting them too far away. I had lots of damage to my plants when I put my CFLs too close.
Another thing that no one's said yet is that you want to get BLUE spectrum CFLs (6500k or Daylight) not the red spectrum (2700k or warm/soft white) because the blue spectrum bulbs promote foliage growth - which is what you want!
Also... for strengthening your stems, air circulation (just a light fan) over your plants helps a lot. It simulates the wind in the nature . I don't think the lack of this was your problem initially. Just don't use incandescent bulbs (even if they're painted blue and call themselves grow lights) or put them too far away.

23 watts in a CFL is not equal to 23 incandescent watts either btw. 23 is about 100 incandescent equivalent watts.

I'm a newbie myself... and I must say this website is not only fun, but about the most informative place for new/experienced growers. Just read EVERYTHING you can and ask useful questions (use the search feature a lot too to not be so redundant)

Cheers and Good Luck!!

ditto on the blue spectrum/daylight bulbs. Im using em, workin fine so far, very healthy looking plants

If this is your first grow.... Might I suggest doing alot of reading first? Look into setting your grow area up and the do's and dont's. Most importantly, read everything about lighting. I dont care what anyone says here but no matter what method of lighting you choose to go with you cant go wrong(Incandesents = NO. Too expensive, even if they had the proper qualities). Check your budget, and your environment carefully. You dont need a 1000 watt MH to grow 4 plants, and you also dont want 1000 cfls to grow 100 plants either(obviously, this is when 1000 watters come in handy).

From what I read, you are making all the newbie mistakes. Slow down and get a game plan and set your grow area up correctly. You dont have to do it the best, but at least do it right, there are many options on how to do it so it can work best for you. You must practice patience from the first day, even if you dont even have a plant to see.

"You must practice patience from the first day, even if you dont even have a plant to see."

Wow I like that

Quote:
Another thing that no one's said yet is that you want to get BLUE spectrum CFLs (6500k or Daylight) not the red spectrum (2700k or warm/soft white) because the blue spectrum bulbs promote foliage growth - which is what you want!

not quite, blue spectrum bulbs are (cool white) are good for veg because the blue spectrum enhances foliage growth but red spectrum bulbs (warm white) are better for flowering, this isnt to say you cant interchange the two but people often have better results with a mix of the two or using cool white for veg and warm white for flowering.
catchya
chazz