Thread: First grower..Plants leaves turning downwards!

Hello fellow growers!


Just wondering what could possibly be wrong with my plants and if anyone can help me out on how to fix the problem. The plants are about 2-3 weeks old im not to sure. Im using bottled water and havent started to feed them yet. also im using a heat lamp but its higher up then 2inches. I am getting the proper lighting once pay day comes. also i keep the light on 18/6. Hope this helps.

So if anyone can help me out that would be wonderful!

Lose the heat lamp, unless the room they're in gets abnormally cold. I'd replace any incandescents/halogens you may be using with CFLs or tube fluorescents. You'll be able to keep the lights much closer to the plants, minimize the heat, and help reduce some of that stretch you're seeing.

Thank-you!

I'm getting new lighting tomorrow so i hope that helps alot.
Also is it going to matter alot of how stretched they are?

When you get some stronger light on them, they'll stop stretching so much. A good rule of thumb is to lower the lights as close as you can without letting them get too hot. You can do this by putting your hand underneath the light at the point where the top of the seedling would be. If the heat becomes uncomfortable for your hand, then it's going to be uncomfortable for the plant. But with fluorescents, you can generally get the bulbs very close without burning the tops.

And you can also add some more soil to those pots, all the way up to the cotyledons (round leafs). That'll help keep the seedling from toppling over from its own weight once it grows a bit larger. On top of that, keeping a slight breeze trained on the plant in the beginning will help to strengthen the stem.

Hope that helps! Best of luck with your grow.

thank you so much you have no idea how much this will help me...good thing i kept the good seeds for a later time

Glad I could help.

One more thing sorry...the dirt i had was left outside with the top of the bag open n such so should i just go ahead n add it to the pot or should i buy some new soil?
Also i think this soil has to much ph in it so should i buy some different soil with lower ph and put new soil in both pots lol. im sorry for so many questions i just want the best for my babies lol.

If the soil was left wide open and outside, and you're grow is inside, I'd pick up a new bag of soil to use on the indoor plants. You'll probably have some critters that have moved in and could cause you some problems somewhere down the road. If nothing else, it might be a good idea to bake the soil in the oven to kill off any eggs that are left to hatch.

As for pH, you'll want to get a test kit to measure that. The pH in soil can vary wildly, so any predictions/guesses about it are likely to be wrong - unless you've been growing for a while and know each ingredient you use in the soil mix. Get your hands on a digital pH pen if you can afford it, and if not, then those cheap little liquid test kits will give you a general idea of what you're dealing with. Test your watering source, then test the runoff water from the bottom of the pots, and you'll know what your pH is.

Take care.

ya i didnt use that soil i had some soil left from a pot i was going to use to plant some more seeds.
The one plant that is curling more at the top and bottom doesnt seem to be doin ok....im kind of stumped at what to do..I dont want to lose another plant

p.s: i added more soil to where the rounded leaves were.

p.s.s: One more quick thing the new set of leaves are coming in so i dont know if that helps at all

Heres some pictures just so you get a better idea. Sorry its kind of blurry my camera is not the best.



first picture just showing how its slumping over. I put something beside it to keep it up from falling over.

second picture just trying to show the two bottom leaves are curling even more now.

the top leaves are starting to brown n look like they are going to die

If they're still producing new leaves, then they still have a chance. Be sure the soil isn't allowed to dry out completely, which will generally kill a seedling. The topsoil should stay evenly moist while the seedling is still young, and is going to require more frequent attention this early in growth. You definitely don't want to saturate the pots, but you also don't want it becoming bone dry. Next time, you might want to consider starting them out in smaller containers. I start all of my seedlings out in smaller containers, which requires almost daily watering, but pretty much guarantees the roots are getting just the right amount of dryness and moisture.

And don't get too frustrated if they do happen to die. Just count your chips and try again!

ya the one died but the other one is looking not bad the new set of leaves are getting bigger...if it does happen to die though im def going to be trying again.