When do you put seedlings under the light?

[Cpt. Kronic]

when is the best time to kill the male plants?

 

[darkdestruction420]

as soon as they show themselves......man we are cruel....lol

 

[ibuild4u]

ha ha thx just the info i was looking for

 

[rollanotherbowl]

you don't have to worry about too much light.... they can take pretty much as much light as you throw at them. the only dangerous part is heat from grow lights.... you can cook tiny new seedlings under HPS lights if they're too close.... it's kind of a guessing game at first... you want the lights as close as you can get them without putting out too much heat on the plants

 

[jjburnout]

you don't have to worry about too much light.... they can take pretty much as much light as you throw at them. the only dangerous part is heat from grow lights.... you can cook tiny new seedlings under HPS lights if they're too close.... it's kind of a guessing game at first... you want the lights as close as you can get them without putting out too much heat on the plants

Can you just use the back of your hand to test the heat at seedling lvl? if you are comfortable leaving your hand there its not too close... or is this just for more mature plants?

 

[Near]

I try to refer back to this simple thought. If it were in its natural habitat what would be happening? The soil would be getting direct sunlight before the seed ever sprouted and once sprouted the seedling would be getting direct sunlight from the second it broke ground.

Just think about plants in the wild.. They dont get 'special treatment' (low light) when they first pop out of the ground.

They absolutely do. Tiny seedlings are blocked by much taller and larger plants, getting a fraction of the light. Plants compete for light and tiny ones end up with less.

 

[Widowess]

i a looking for the same answer dude

 

[Kerovan]

My lights are on the cups the minute the seed goes in the soil with the timer already set at 18/6. The plants need light as soon as possible after sprouting.

 

[DrGreenbird]

Ive ALWAYS Used soil and HPSfor the whole process, I leave my plants in a warm window for about 48 hours allow them get their shit together then i string my light high for 24 hours to allow the seedlings adapt to the new enviroment and then i bring the light down to about 30cms above the plant and go from there and ive not killed one (touch wood)

 

[hotrodharley]

Can you just use the back of your hand to test the heat at seedling lvl? if you are comfortable leaving your hand there its not too close... or is this just for more mature plants?

That is for mature plants. CFL is best for seedlings as it can be lowered to within inches and not burn the plant.

 

[mzdannie]

I know this old but i just wanted to say that the info you all have provided is the same thing im going thru. I have a 400watt hps and i have mine appr 3-4' from my propagation station with a heat pad..... However, i am not using the hps right now. I have 2 cfl (forgot the watts) but they are sitting 5-8" from the seedlings. If i understood right, then i should be fine.

Oh yeah and im organic!!!!! Organic... Growing that is

 

[balakoth]

I know this old but i just wanted to say that the info you all have provided is the same thing im going thru. I have a 400watt hps and i have mine appr 3-4' from my propagation station with a heat pad..... However, i am not using the hps right now. I have 2 cfl (forgot the watts) but they are sitting 5-8" from the seedlings. If i understood right, then i should be fine.

Oh yeah and im organic!!!!! Organic... Growing that is

Started my seedlings in a cup of ph balanced water, once sprouts popped, placed them in perlite and a covered dome.. When they popped out of the ground, they went under my Solar storm 800w LED Grow light.. It was raised to 24 inches (The heat they put off is extremely minimal to an HID).

Previous comments make notes about, Spring, Weaker light, taller plants etc. Yes this is all true. But no where on earth is there a 1000w HID HPS light that equals even the Lumens spring time daylight sun puts out. Watch the heat, get them under light when they sprout.. all is well.

 

[Cobnobuler]

I know this old but i just wanted to say that the info you all have provided is the same thing im going thru. I have a 400watt hps and i have mine appr 3-4' from my propagation station with a heat pad..... However, i am not using the hps right now. I have 2 cfl (forgot the watts) but they are sitting 5-8" from the seedlings. If i understood right, then i should be fine.

Oh yeah and im organic!!!!! Organic... Growing that is

If your using the CFL's for the seedlings thats fine but you may want to get much closer than 5-8 inches away to avoid the "beansprout" stretch as the seedling reaches for a light thats too far away, it tries to get itself closer to it creating too long of a sprout. Thats not the end of the world either since if you need to, seedlings can be replanted bringing the top closer to the ground. IMHO

 

[Malevolence]

I turn on a 250w MH 24/0 when I plant them. After about a week I change to 18/6.

 

[darren121]

hi on 2 off my plants there is marks on the leafs i put up pics any ideas how to fix the leaf problems or is is nothing to worry about you need to zoom the pic

 

[K J]

just read my post above, it has to be one of the quickest and easiest methods.

You're planting a seed, not preforming open heart surgery. Your post above is stupid specific.

 

[Addlesee93]

Hello can I get any help at all from anyone would you say this is ready for lighting itbrokesoil this morning and has shot up to this since then do I leave a bit longer in dark place or put under light now thanks for any help

 

[blake9999]

Give that damn thing some light. It's starving for energy.

 

[MasterOf Arts]

i think my method is perfect.

use a real 1'x1'? paper towel that is usually located in the kitchen.

fold it in half, place seeds inside, use slightly warmer than room temperature (+5-10 degrees, trust me)...

soak a cloth towel in the same warm or even warmer water, squeeze most of the water out but leave it nice moist. i just keep it as moist as possible without dripping.

now place the first paper towel on the second cloth towel, then place the warm water (+5-10 degrees) in the palm of your hand and drip it over the already wet paper and cloth towel.

the step above makes sure everything is making contact.

now place the towels is a completely dark drawer, cabinet, box, whatever, try to keep it at 65-75 degrees and within 24 hours they should be cracked with the white root coming out. As long as there is some root showing out of the seed, the seed is ready to be transplanted to soil.

have a good soil mix, use your finger and poke into the soil 1 inch.

*when you place the seeds in the soil, it doesnt matter what direction you place it in. the next 24 hour period in weak lighting will allow the plant to search for proper lighting and water.

one thing special thing i learned. during the next 24 hour period, main roots will grow and shoot out like no other. in 24 hours, roots should shoot straight down to the bottom of any planting container/pot. this idea is key as roots are crucial foundations to the plant, and by shooting straight down the entire container, it makes sure the plant can attain water at any depth of the container. i learned this the hard way because sometimes my vegetation on top grew too fast for the roots and as a result plants were topping over. i believe this tiny issue is only for 24/7 vegetation people. because any off time will allow the roots to grow, otherwise it's too busy with the photosynthesis of the top vegetation? haha

when transplanting the seed, i use a plastic bag over my hand to make sure nothing on me can shock the seed. hopefully you gloves or something, because using just a bag can get tricky since the seed is so tiny.

now drop the seed in, cover it up, water it lightly so that everything is cohesive.

now just place it in the light! i try to save light by putting the sprouting seeds slightly outside of my large mh lights. meaning the light rays are not directly hitting the surface, it's simply bumming random light outside of it's efficient range, and it works great for me. within 24 hours, from 1 inch deep in the soil, it will be tall enough and ready to move to the normal mh light.

once it shows the first 2 leaves, it's ready to go grow!

recap: within 48 hours, you should be able to place your seedlings into normal growing. if you don't know what height to place it at, just always go much lower than you think, then adjust. by having the light so far away, the plant stretches immediately to try and find light.

one time i left the seedlings under the weak light for too long, instead of the 24 hours (second 24 hour period of my method), and instead of moving them to the full growth light at around 2 inches, the sproutings went up to 6 inches! it's just searching like no other.

without proper lighting, the plant will not grow. I've been testing differently lightings, and it's amazing what typeof difference it makes.

so yea..this is obviously more than what you wanted, but i apologize, i was lifted when* i started this.

which means it's time... =)

i actually planted my seeds straight into soil and had a 600w hps light on and they germinated in 26 hours and broke the surface in 3 days and now i dont have to transfer anything for a while as for the rest im unsure as i havent got that far lmao

 

[Flowki]

400W and single cmh at about 3 foot, 600w 4 or 5'. After the first week or if you notice the stems stretching too much (lack of light) drop them half a foot per day if you're unsure, stretchy plants is better than sizzled plants. Distance is a guide, your hood type, heat management etc will all play a role. Heat stress will show as curled leaves, light coloration and very slow growth and crusty top soil/medium from too much heat. Lack of light might show as darker green with long thin stems and seedlings falling over. Lower or heighten the lights accordingly but learn from the heights you got wrong. Again if in doubt, stretchy is better than sizzled, you can always bury the lanky stems deeper on transplant.