Replant Those Long Stretchy Stems ( Its Easy )

osowhom

Well-Known Member
I'm having this exact same problem! I'm a first timer as well. I am using a 4ft T5 fluorescent that I placed about 4-5 inches above my seed trays. Now I have seedlings that are about 3" tall! Anyway, I'm planning to replant tomorrow into bigger pots for veg, so I will just be careful when transplanting and then cover the stems with loose soil up to the cotyeldon leaves. One question though...my local hydro store thought I should start og nutes already in week 1 using pro organics line and I wonder if I should use plain water directly after transplanting or go ahead and use some more of my 1/4 strength nutes? I watered yesterday with plain water, today with nutes. Any thoughts?
go organic they just want to sell you nutes this is week 4 from that size nothing but promix bat guano bone meal worm castings and waterweed.jpg
 

mikaroni

Active Member
So I am a new grower. I got a new LED light panel. Is it cool to grow new germinating seedlings with it at the required height of the light 34-30" above new germinated seedlings? Or should I do some other kind of light? My new light does have a dimmer switch, but I have no clue whether I should use it, or plant at the 24-30" recommended height.

Here is the light I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Farmer-SF-4000-Dimmable-Spectrum/dp/B07TXFR69M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?th=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=jare06-20&linkId=704d7f50976675c7f90c604544efca30&language=en_US

The reason I ask is because I used a small LED before I ordered my new light that was about 8" above the germinating seedlings, and they got both a slight amount of light burn and stretched to about 2". I'm gonna test this burying thing today to try to fix the stretch.
 
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Apostatize

Well-Known Member
If you're soil-less (Grodan blocks), what then? I guess you could just waste all/part of a 4" top cube by cutting a deeper hole before you insert your starter plug (or perhaps you could aggressively bend/clip it to a desired height). With soil-less, it seems like you always have to modify whatever clever advantages there are with soil; and that is a negative.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
If you're soil-less (Grodan blocks), what then? I guess you could just waste all/part of a 4" top cube by cutting a deeper hole before you insert your starter plug (or perhaps you could aggressively bend/clip it to a desired height). With soil-less, it seems like you always have to modify whatever clever advantages there are with soil; and that is a negative.
Why wake this pinned post to ask a question? And why would you insert anything into the rockwool? Is there nobody local you could ask for help occasionally?

Other than the cutting stem that is.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
I guess I misunderstood the forum. Haven't asked anything that wasn't simple or a follow-up of a question related to something I'm presently dealing with. I'm having success -- pretty, pungent, potent -- just here looking for efficiencies.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
I guess I misunderstood the forum. Haven't asked anything that wasn't simple or a follow-up of a question related to something I'm presently dealing with. I'm having success -- pretty, pungent, powerful -- just here looking for efficiencies.
You usually have to pretreat rockwool. Do so. Take your cuttings and dip in cloning gel or powder. Insert into the cube. Keep moist. Not soaked! But don’t let it dry out. Cover with some kind of dome. Weak light over. Wait for roots. Assuming this is for hydro?
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Yeah, but the thread's about making stretched seedlings shorter. Probably doesn't matter so much if you grow tall but I grow low. I'm not asking how to stick a clone/seedling in a block, I wanted to apply something like the soil example to rockwool. Starter plug goes into 4" block, goes atop 6 or 8" block. So, if you have a (delicate) stretchy seedling and you want to ensure you grow low (i.e., the whole point of what I'm doing), I'll try cutting deeper into the 4" block so the plant can start to grow horizontally closer to the same height as seedlings that didn't stretch as much. That's all I was trying to get done. I think that will work. I could probably get away with sticking the stretched seedling directly into a 6" block. Same result: all plants roughly the same height.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Yeah, but the thread's about making stretched seedlings shorter. Probably doesn't matter so much if you grow tall but I grow low. I'm not asking how to stick a clone/seedling in a block, I wanted to apply something like the soil example to rockwool. Starter plug goes into 4" block, goes atop 6 or 8" block. So, if you have a (delicate) stretchy seedling and you want to ensure you grow low (i.e., the whole point of what I'm doing), I'll try cutting deeper into the 4" block so the plant can start to grow horizontally closer to the same height as seedlings that didn't stretch as much. That's all I was trying to get done. I think that will work. I could probably get away with sticking the stretched seedling directly into a 6" block. Same result: all plants roughly the same height.
Making stretched plants shorter? Okay
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Use a T5. Keep it right on top of your young plants. No more than 2” above them. Leave them under the T5 adjusting slightly as they grow.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Making stretched plants shorter? Okay
Avoidance is best, gotta get better. Although I try to keep plants roughly the same height, I've actually built one tent around the possibility of accommodating plants of different heights (the other's strictly plants very close in height): 3 shelves (sides, center) and, on the floor level in the space between the shelves, a couple pallets stacked on the floor and foldable metal dish rack stands for Grodan blocks and taller plants that otherwise look really healthy. Why let any light hit the floor? Options and audibles.... Brings the canopy closer together in height and plants are a little more neighborly about light usage.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
I make them shorter. It’s called supercrop and I snap them frequently.
Oh, for sure -- you should see the amount of cork-hooks I use on each plant. Looks a little nuts I guess, I think it's incredible.

What I'm talking about is missing by 4 to 6", not feet; and having a plan to deal with (1) a priority group you did great on with their even height and (2) those you missed on but it's still close enough where an adjustment virtually eliminates the height difference that got away from you -- preferably, an option you wouldn't have to reset every harvest. Or just get better..... Started most recent bloom with lights ~6-10" from the top of the super-cropped canopy.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Oh, for sure -- you should see the amount of cork-hooks I use on each plant. Looks a little nuts I guess, I think it's incredible.

What I'm talking about is missing by 4 to 6", not feet; and having a plan to deal with (1) a priority group you did great on with their even height and (2) those you missed on but it's still close enough where an adjustment virtually eliminates the height difference that got away from you -- preferably, an option you wouldn't have to reset every harvest. Or just get better..... Started most recent bloom with lights ~6-10" from the top of the super-cropped canopy.
I just SCROG them. Far easier and very productive. I top 3 times in a row. Early. Then supercrop into a wheel shape. Regardless of strain. Keep them belly high. Throw them in the flower tent and slam a screen down on them.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
I just SCROG them. Far easier and very productive. I top 3 times in a row. Early. Then supercrop into a wheel shape. Regardless of strain. Keep them belly high. Throw them in the flower tent and slam a screen down on them.
Right on. In the bigger tent, what I'm putting toward the top of the canopy happens to be a SCROG using 18-gauge steel (I use it and duct tape for everything. I tried a combination of net scrog (I guess) and several just horizontal rows of steel, at different heights and distances from both sides of the plant. PITA, had to reset every time; one layer of steel scrog I can leave in place. I might put a few plants to the side -- in my "bullpen" -- to try topping 3x (maybe holding them in veg a while longer). Thanks.
 

mikaroni

Active Member
So I did this with one of my plants that were too tall (i started growing with a little light before I bought my big one). I realllly didn't like the way it broke apart in the soil. So on the remaining ones, I just cut a solo cup at the base, and taped them on.
 

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Tomas 69

Member
Something I have been wondering: I knew about transplanting up to Cotyledon but at the next transplant can you plant the stem deeper again??!
 
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