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Flimsy Stalks on Seedlings

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SmokeStack

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I noticed that some of my seedlings don't seem to be well rooted. Their stalks are bent and very flimsy. The seedling will flip back and forth easily with my finger and are not firmly rooted in the soil like many of my other seedlings. Will these seedlings survive and/or require staking when transplanted into the ground?

The stalks, especially where they meet the soil surface, are very thin. I am wondering if the stalks will grow bigger and support the plant, or if it will become a bottle-neck that will choke and eventually kill the plant. Has anyone experienced this in young seedlings? What causes this to happen?

I have included a picture of a Burley TN90 seedling. Encircled in red is the bent stalk to which I was referring. This seedling is very flimsy.

5-23-12 flimsy stalk TN90.jpg
 

Michibacy

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Immediate thought is light is too far away or low nutrients. IMO it doesn't look TOO bad but there is deffinetly something odd...
 

Jack in NB

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Smoke -

I've had that problem for years. All my seedlings look just like yours.

My last attempt was to clip the leaves a bit, but that didn't change anything.

They stiffen up a bit as I set them outside in daytimeto harden off before planting. Started that a week ago.

A local horticulturist suggests more light; I'll try that next year.

Having said that, the problem hasn't affected production.

I bury an inch or so of the floppy stem at planting, which is coming up in a couple of weeks. They still flop a bit for a few days, then literally explode. Plants are 5 - 6 ft high by the end of July, when I start my first priming, and flowers start early Aug. TN90 is the latest of my varieties to flower - late Aug.
 

deluxestogie

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You can snip off the lowest two or three leaves (or not bother), then mound a bit of dirt about the stem to stabilize it. Regardless, when it goes in the ground, plant it a little deeper, and mound the soil as much as you can without burying the growth tip. It will do fine. Once the plants reach about 1 foot tall, I can't tell the difference between the thin-stalked seedlings and the sturdier ones.

Ignore the curve of the stalk, when planting, and just orient the growth tip vertically.

Bob
 

LeftyRighty

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yeah, same here. Seems like a lot of my plants are that way, even after hardening off. I just plant a little deeper, and push the soil up around whatever stem there is. They stiffen up in time and are OK.
 

BigBonner

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I would say the soil is the cause . The roots are hitting hard compost and pushing the whol plant up . The leaves on the bottom of the plant should be near the soil line . This tells me the roots are pushing up .
A good loose soil will help piled up to the bottom leaves .

Notice the lowest leaves on my plants
s2Ptg.jpg
 

Ishi

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Received my plants from BigBonner and did not get them all planted right away. In 4 days some of the larger plants had 3/8 inch roots coming out of the stem above the bottom leaf. I laid them on there side about 6 in deep and curved them up like I do with a tall tomato plant. The are doing better than some I planted without burring part of the stock.
 

BarG

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I would say the soil is the cause . The roots are hitting hard compost and pushing the whol plant up . The leaves on the bottom of the plant should be near the soil line . This tells me the roots are pushing up .
A good loose soil will help piled up to the bottom leaves .

Notice the lowest leaves on my plants
s2Ptg.jpg

Seeing your plants first hand sure makes me want to try that float tray next year. Thats a huge greenhouse, and ton of seedlings.! You and FmGrowit aren't serious are you BB?:)
 

Chicken

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damn thats a lot of seedlings,,,,wow big bonner,,,

i didnt know you started so many like that,,,

man thats just a lot of plants,
 

johnlee1933

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John,
It's interesting that the CT growers don't seem to be using float trays--just cell flats with no lower trays.

Bob

I don't know about CT growers in general, just this one. The cell trays are set on slatted frames and an automatic sprinkler system is used. The ends of the green houses are opened and closed by hand as the grower see fit. The floors are dirt and I suspect contribute a lot to the humidity. I inspected all the green houses. I would say less than 1% of the seedlings were culls (under sized for the most part). There were few or no blank cells. The plants I brought home were planting culls (too small) and they are doing fine for me so far.

John
 

wazzappenning

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mine are even worse. looks like just a teeny root is trying to hold it up, but instead the plant is growing off to the side of it. any attempt i have made to play around with them usually ends up with them not doing too well after. hardening off?....i have to start paying attention. a week or so left to go before putting them in the ground.

05232012093.jpg

05232012094.jpg
 

deluxestogie

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Wazz,
Add a bit of soil to each cell, and mound it at the skinny root. Also, if you clip the larger leaves (about 1/2 of each) the seedlings will be better able to stand up.

Bob
 

FmGrowit

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Stop watering your plants so often. Once they are as big as your, they only need water a day or two after the soil drys out. It's much better for the plant to allow the soil to go dry than to keep the soil moist. You might want to look up "damping off" and take necessary measures.
 

wazzappenning

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thank you guys. i find if i leave them dry out too much (the soil still feels very slightly moist to me) they start yellowing/ getting floppy and i loose some of the smaller ones. watering almost immediately hardens them back up/greens them up.

ill add some soil. also cut half of all the leaves or just the bottom ones?
 
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