Strange seedling behavior

[Zeedman]

Maybe they are too close to the light. 6500 lumens? The LED's in my garage are each 5000 lumens and it looks like daylight.

6500K is the "daylight" light spectrum; the bulbs are rated at about 3000 lumens each (times 6 for each fixture). So 18,000 lumens for each fixture.

The spacing between lights & plants is the same as I have used for several years, but this is the first time the seedlings have been acting intoxicated. Said in jest, but that may actually be their reaction to uninterrupted 24-hour light.

It is possible that the plants are a little too close, the leaves turn very dark & get a little burnt occasionally. I'm still accustomed to light spacing based upon T12 bulbs in shop lights, with the plants just 1-2" from the lights... but I've been slowly backing off of that, and watching how the plants respond. I don't want to raise the lights too much though, as I have been very happy with how easily the plants harden off when placed in sunlight.

 

[seedcorn]

Ok, that’s how you harden your plants-with alcohol and you get them drunk. Will have to try that as I usually kill them during the hardening off phase. Do you use “hard” cider?

 

[Zeedman]

Ok, that’s how you harden your plants-with alcohol and you get them drunk. Will have to try that as I usually kill them during the hardening off phase. Do you use “hard” cider?

No, I use "light" beer.

 

[ducks4you]

Dunno. I have a gro light on 24/7 on top of my fridge and the two (bought) beefsteak tomato plants under it aren't behaving like yours. Are they potbound?

 

[Betula]

Maybe they're too far from the lights? Not enough light can cause droopy seedlings. I keep mine about 2-4" away from T5HO lights.

 

[Zeedman]

The seedlings are otherwise healthy, with absolutely no sign of becoming leggy. If anything, the plants were probably too close; the light may have been too intense. I've been moving the lights farther away since I first posted (about 2" above now) which has stopped the leaf burn & the plants remain healthy. Most of the seedlings have begun to straighten up... don't know if it was the rough handling toughening the stems, the adjustments to light height & timing, or if they would have straightened up on their own regardless. It is still odd that there was such a wide variation in this phenomenon between different varieties.

Definitely not pot bound yet, although at this rate of growth I'll have to pot some of them up soon. At that point they will need to go out into the solar greenhouse, there won't be enough room under the lights. The two varieties in this tray (Czechoslovakian and San Marzano Redorta) are ahead of the rest. I had to give them more room before they became hopelessly entangled.

 

[Betula]

Oh yes, the tangling. About half the tomato plants I grow are heart and/or paste varieties, so there's a lot of drooping and tangling around here.

Glad to hear yours are still healthy.