I didnt know it was this easy to mess up!!

[soundslikewill]

Ok so my sprout is at Day 8 and it was looking pretty healthy, but I put an oscillating fan on last night and I wake up this morning and it's toppled over! I put some pieces of pearlite underneath it to support it a little. It's not dead but I don't know what to do to save my little guy!!!any ideas?

[Weedhound]

stake it somehow. It it isn't dead it should come back unless the stem is snapped--and even then they are fairly hardy.

PS LOVE that statement.....when I started I didn't know it was this easy to mess up either.....

[MisterE]

I've used a little bendy twist-tie from a bread bag before. I just bend it into a little "U" to let the stem lean on it a little, and poke it down into the grow medium (not deep, just enough). Usually after a day or two it's not leaning anymore.

[soundslikewill]

Well it's like brown and completely toppled over but its still connected its not severed.

[Weedhound]

hmmm don't like the brown part....Definitely stake it up.....treat it gently....pray.....

[soundslikewill]

i stood it up the best i could with the medium its growing in. i hope it makes it

[harris7]

you dont need a fan on at that stage. just fan them with somthing a few times a day to build up stem stiffness.

you can consider adding more soil to support the stem.

[dutch.lover]

not to be negative or anything, but your seedling might have dampened off (is that what you call it?)...meaning the soil was too moist for too long and it caused the stem near the top of the soil to rot- hence causing your plant to fall over. i hope for your sake it's not, because your plant will die, but too wet of soil is a good thing to look out for in the future.

[Weedhound]

good point dutch lover!

[dutch.lover]

haha thanks. i only know about dampening off cause the first time i sprouted seeds, they stretched like crazy and toppled over- i was freaking out thinking they had all dampened off...but luckily they didn't. lol.

[whisky]

streached plants are not good always make sure ur light is close to the plants and not toasting them hot dont overwater its a very common mistake

[madeline]

And you MUST get off calling them your "little guy"...you're not talking to your penis and we all hope for little ladies.

[JackdaWack]

so what now were pedifiles out for little girls....haha jkjk

[bluntman 420]

lol u might as well start new seeds...

[wakdady]

this might sound redundant but, are the container wall with your seedlings transparent? I recall i had a couple seedlings in a tupperware container and after doing so well, i came out one morning and completely fallen over. But i guess, DUH, light to roots no good, hehe.

[stinkyattic]

... light to roots no good, hehe.
Doesn't matter at that stage as the roots will be nowhere NEAR reaching the walls of the container and risking exposure... anyway that's not what killed your seedlings... I've had totally healthy plants growing in clear party cups... really neat to watch the roots develop... not something I'd make a habit of, but it's not like a sudden death thing!

[polycultiv]

I always take a piece of wire and twist it around a chop stick to make a spiral of about 3 rings, with a straight end and put the straight end in the soil with the spiral around the seedling to support it, without constricting it. Before that, my seedlings always got stem rot and flopped over. After a couple weeks I just untwist the wire when the plant doesn't need it any more.