Just be careful and transplant them, along with a good 1/4 strength grow fert. watering, after you pot up.

No it is not too early to transplant them and I would strongly recommend doing it ASAP and burying all the bare stem. And getting them out of the peat pots. That is the primary source of the yellowing problems because of the way they encourage over-watering. Lots of info here on the problems with peat pots.

And please do not feed them until after they have adjusted to the transplanting and the true leaves have emerged. They are so stressed now that adding fertilizer, even weak, now will only add to the stress.

For future reference over-crowding also contributes to leggyness so when I germinate multiple seeds in the same small space I transplant them into individual containers within 24-48 hours of germination.

Hope this helps.

Dave

I would feed them...they look like they are in a poor soil and have already depleated the available nutes or there is a nute lock-out occurring.. Over watering i doubt, but peat pots are useless as far as i'm concerned and do cause more problems than benifits. Red solo cups for me.
If your temps are high in your light zone add a fan.

Re-read Dave's post, he knows what he's talking about.

Thanks for all the replies. I've already transplanted them into solo cups and added potting soil, covering the stems up the cotyledons. When doing so I believe the peat pot soil was not moist enough, but it also seems there is a lot of heat generation from the 23w flor. I moved it away so it's about 4-5 inches above. I also moved the 50w R20 about a foot away. Just seems like it's too hot for them? There isn't any window in my house that provides enough sunlight, so this is what I have to do until they are ready for hardening. No fert until they respond positive to the transplant, got it.

Light should be an inch or two above the plants. If it's too hot, use a fan to circulate air.

Ideally you should be using a fan anyway, because it strengthens the stems.

I agree with all the posts.. I cannot stress about the importance of adaquate light/air, as well as proper moisture..

Light:

-A basic 2-4 fluorescent light shoplight will do the job
-you could put fluorescent light inches away from the plants, especially with a fan blowing.. That alone, will solve legginess.

Fan:

A fan will strengthen the stem, get the plants prepared for natures winds, as well as discourage disease.

Watering:

Germination- just keep seeds consistently moist(spray bottle works great), all you need is the surface/seeds moist, no need to flood th growing medium

Sprouts/seedlings once they sprout, switch to a watering can with a very small opening, it's important not to over water, the majority of seedlings die from overwatering, not undering.. Just water so the growing medium is wet, then let the surface dry out, then water again, let dry slightly.. The soil should be like a rung out sponge(moist, not soaking wet) most of the time..

If you had adequate light, a fan blowi g, and proper moisture, nearly all your problems will dissipate.

Joe

This post was edited by Raw_Nature on Mon, Apr 22, 13 at 2:20

Great answers all around, thanks for the responses. So my #1 concern right now is the yellowing on Cotyledons. Again, there are no true leaves on these guys yet. Is my best bet to reduce the water, bring flo lights closer and not be concerned about heat once I apply wind to the area? Should I also thin them now that I've transplanted into cups?

You can see from the photo how yellow the leaves are.

The R-20 50W was thrown in there to obtain full spectrum but it puts out a TON of heat. Should I still keep that a foot away?
tks again

This isn't the transplanting I was referring too. There are multiple plants in the same cup, there is far too much soil in those cups for such tiny plants so they will be drowned by any watering you do, and they aren't planted nearly deep enough.

Transplanting is best done from one container to a slightly larger container (like individual 3- 6oz cups in this case) with no more than a couple of inches of soil and the plants such as yours were are buried right up to the cotyledons with no stem left exposed. Then as the plants grow more soil is added.

No where is it written that any young seedling must sit right on top (nor will it survive) of 16 oz of soil.

Think of it this way - would you put a month old baby in a pair of 34/36 Levis and a size large shirt? Sorry but this isn't going to help your plants at all.

Dave

Everytime your transplanting them, making them rootbound, starting them in small containers, your stressing the plant out.. It's a viscious cycle - you starting them in tiny cells, let them get crowded, dug up the roots, shocked the hell out of them transplanting, it keeps going on and on...

I always start my plants in big enough containers to start with, it works out great, no potting up is needed, and the plants stay undisturbed and able to produc a decent tap root.. No stress on the plants.. If you would have just popped a seed in the solo cups, kept moist, and keep bright lights close to the seedlings, you would have little to no problems..

Next timeIf I was you:

-starts seeds in big enough pots to stay in until planting in the garden
-keep soil slightly moist like a rung out sponge
-don't overfertilize, seedlings are content just with water
-bright lights(shoplight) close to your plants
-fan blowing on plants

Simple as that...

Sorry but no it isn't as simple as that. If it were then commercial plant growers would have been practicing it for years yet just the opposite is true.

Starting seeds in containers big enough for them to stay in is not recommended at all and the many reasons for NOT doing it has been discussed in great detail here by many experienced growers on numerous occasions.

If it works for you, fine, that is your choice but it isn't what is recommended nor advocated for best results. So called potting-up will always be the recommended method for many reasons.

Not only are the plants grown is such fashion much more prone to stunting, over-watering, compromised circulatory systems, and root rot but they are never triggered into developing the fibrous feeder roots they require for best performance. It is the act of the initial transplanting that is that trigger. This fact is well scientifically established and has been for decades.

Everytime your transplanting them, making them rootbound, starting them in small containers, your stressing the plant out.. It's a viscious cycle - you starting them in tiny cells, let them get crowded, dug up the roots, shocked the hell out of them transplanting, it keeps going on and on...

Simply isn't accurate. It mis-represents the entire process as any commercial grower or even most experienced home growers can readily attest to.

As I said, doing so is your choice but it is not a method to be encouraged for others. There is simply far too much evidence against it to be valid.

Dave

As mentioned you should of seperated them when putting them in cups. The grow medium you chose is not going to help your situation, should just use some promix with myco and added extra perlite, this would of helped you with watering and feeding them.
I have a couple hundred going and since they were that size they have gotton 2 weeks of a special sauce of liquid microbial's and food for the microbes that i mix in 5gal batches. Now they are on an organic gem, cal mag, and protekt diet until they are planted.
When my roots are turned loose in my soil the results are amazing and what develops from having massive healthy roots is mirrored above the soil...your roots are the key, so concentrate on them and your results will amaze!

This post was edited by pasco on Mon, Apr 22, 13 at 15:50

I'm learning as I go along. I don't mind thinning them out if it's going to cause a problem but separating them before transplant I thought would have caused trauma to the roots since they are so intertwined below the surface? I guess I am stuck with the current medium/ cup size to prevent further issues, I will wait and see and take my chances. It was recommended from the local nursery to use this potting mix but I see there are obviously more robust options. if these don't make it I may be off to the market to purchase some of their seedlings in progress.

When they are at such a young stage, a very delicate seperation is easy, if you do it slowly and don't force them apart.
Next time try multi cell starter flats and put one seed per cell, if you want 6 good agressive plants, start with 9 seeds per variety.With germination percentages taken into consideration, depending on your variety and seed vendor,even if you end up with 9 plants you can pick the 6 best to use and give the rest to family and friends.