Are my saplings stretching too much?

[Scroger]

Hey, saplings are about 3 days from breaking soil. I'm in coco coir/perlite, Lux meter reads 8500-10000 (which I've read is sufficient but I don't speak from experience), I water them 1-2 times a day just a ring around the plant about 30-50ml each feeding. Using an HLG 350R basically on the lowest power (again, saplings are getting up to 10k lux). First grow, so not sure if they're stretching or they look normal. Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Hey, saplings are about 3 days from breaking soil. I'm in coco coir/perlite, Lux meter reads 8500-10000 (which I've read is sufficient but I don't speak from experience), I water them 1-2 times a day just a ring around the plant about 30-50ml each feeding. Using an HLG 350R basically on the lowest power (again, saplings are getting up to 10k lux). First grow, so not sure if they're stretching or they look normal. Thanks for your help guys!

They look fine.

What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. There is an art to watering. Coco can be fertigate many times a day if you want to continually present fresh balanced nutrients to the roots. Begin fertigation 2 hours after lights on and end it 2 hours before lights out. You do not need to fertigate coco every day but when you do you need to fertigate to 20% run-off by the end of the day.

Now don't be killing them with kindness!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Ps you might want to get the Photone app?

 

[Bob's Auto's]