Why are my plants falling over?

[ThePigeonKid]

They are broccoli and cauliflower. Here is a pic:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/6871481
What can I do to help them?

 

[dpurdy]

The first question I would ask is, how far is your lighting above your plants? Secondly, what type of lighting are your using? If your using fluorescent lights they need to be within a few inches of your plants. With lights a long distance from your plants, they will get leggy and the stems will be very weak. Hope this helps.

 

[lesa]

They look awfully leggy.... stems are too weak to hold up the leaves. You can try to nurse them along- but my advice would be to grab some more seeds and direct sow them. Mother nature is just so much better at seed starting than we are! Good luck and Happy Gardening!

 

[ThePigeonKid]

They look awfully leggy.... stems are too weak to hold up the leaves. You can try to nurse them along- but my advice would be to grab some more seeds and direct sow them. Mother nature is just so much better at seed starting than we are! Good luck and Happy Gardening!

I am in zone 6 when do I "direct sow" them?

Thanks!

 

[lesa]

I would say now... what are your temps like?

 

[chris09]

Looks like too little light with too much heat.

If you are using florescent shop lights you need to either have them very close to the plant which then you will have too much heat or what you can do it have 2 shop lights side by side and put 4 grow lights in them. Use the better ones that are around 50 watts each then you can have the lights about 6 to 8 inches away from the plants.
Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cabbage like to be on the cool side, once they start to germinate I keep that at about 60 to 65 degrees.


Chris

 

[ThePigeonKid]

I would say now... what are your temps like?

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Jewett+OH+USOH0452

 

[lesa]

Looks like the weekend would be a good time to get them in the ground... if cold temps continue during the overnight, you might want to consider some kind of a cold frame set-up outside....

 

[catjac1975]

They are broccoli and cauliflower. Here is a pic:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/6871481
What can I do to help them?

I think I am seen mold. Try watering with a few drops of bleach or hydrogen peroxide added to the water. Could be too wet. The plants should not be that leggy. They are too far from the light source. Or reaching for a window? I would never use those planters that you are using. I use plastic pots and reuse them year after year. I use seed starting formula and top them with coir or vermiculite to prevent damping off and mold.

 

[ThePigeonKid]

Thanks!