Direct sunlight... how much?

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm starting my very first grow, and it's outdoors. It's a bit late in the season, I know... but over here (south-central cali) it's a long growing season with fairly predictable weather until early November.

I had 100% germination on my Swiss Miss by Gypsy Nirvana and 100% germination on my Papaya from buydutchseeds.com. I started them all in peat pots with grow cubes purchased from Burpee. I'm very pleased with the germination rates I've gotten but I have some concerns:

My weather is very hot and very dry. While I'm attentive to my seedlings, I'm worried about the amount of direct sunlight that they're receiving, seeing how it's so hot. I do understand that when a plant goes into the vegetative stage it needs 16 hours of light a day. But... what about seedlings? They seem to be stretching (will have pics put up tomorrow on a grow journal that I'll be starting). I know they aren't stretching for lack of sunlight, as I have them out from the time it's shining in my back yard (approximately 7am to 7pm). So.... that is 12 hours a day of DIRECT sunlight. So I have two concerns really.... is that too much sunlight seeing as how we have high temps with low humidity? Or... is that not going to be enough sunlight for them later on down the road during vegetation? Does diffused sunlight count towards the 16 hours a day they need or does it absolutely have to be direct sunlight?

I do keep them well watered, but trying not to overdo it. I also mist them several times a day to keep them cool, and as it's very dry here I'm not worried about mold at this point.

I've purchased two grow bibles from amazon, in addition to reading anything and everything I can on the boards here, but I'm having a hard time figuring out about the sunlight/diffusion/heat issues. I lost one seedling today. It was the very first one to sprout and it just stretched to beat high heaven, finally it just sort of sighed and gave up. I don't want that to happen to the rest of my seedlings. But... I don't want to short them on necessary sunlight.


Anyone have ideas, especially those used to hot/dry temps?

Thanks very much in advance :)


Sabrina

if your gonna be growing id really change your picture and where you live. growers arnt the only people that read this forum. big brothers watching you, so take precations.

other than that i havnt had that problem before, the heat might be too much for them at the moment. this is my first gorw out side so dont have too much experiance out there but have been growing in doors for a little while.
after my seeds had germinated (indoors) id always use fluros for the fist 2 weeks un till they were strong enough to coap with hid's. so i gues it goes for the same out side. i'd assume that were you live the sun is like a hid and is pretty hot. so it might be good to keep your seedsling inside at a window or some thing for the fist 2/3 weeks untill they have hardened up.
didnt really have that probelm here in the uk, wish i did tho! cause more sun is better!! ubt i did start my seedlings indoors here, but that was many becasue it was too cold out side!

hope this helps, and i wish you all of the best luck with your first gro!!

psy

if you sprout your seedlings under hot summer most will die, Place them under partialy shadowy/sunny place for first 10 days later introduce them to direct sun.

You can give the seedlings upto 24hrs of light in its first few weeks. But i just go by the normal sunlight hours for over here (england) which is average of 16hrs.

Direct hot sunlight will kill the plants or seriously dry out the soil and cause you to water every day or 2. But realistically you should move your plants to a window that has a bit of shade, so the light isnt FULLY on the whole plant. A good shadow source is the window panes on the windows. They act as good shade and will decrease the amount of sunlight on the pot by about 30% :) that usually does job for me :)

Keep us updated and (if u aint already) start a grow journal, would love to see how your papaya come along :D

See ya in a bit,
Sam

OMG my poor seedlings, I feel so guilty putting them in the hot direct sun like that. I know a perfect place to put them now though, until they get a bit stronger. Out of the 10 Swiss Miss and the 10 Papaya I've planted (total 20 seedlings) I've lost 5, and I know it's all due to heat related stress. So definitely after today they will go in an outside area but dappled sunlight. So they still have warmth but without the hot sun beating them down.

BTW, grow journal will start soon, but there's not much to look at, just some stretchy seedlings that are elongating I think due to too much heat.

Oh yes, I ordered some Lowryder seeds :P I HAD to! After reading of yours and all, I couldn't resist.

Thanks so much for everyone's advice. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the 15 left alive, and "maybe" get some females out of the groups.

Also, I do intend on pollinating 1 female Lowryder with 1 male Lowryder this season. $50 for Lowryder seeds is a bit much for what is essentially weed that is the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to amount and quality. Not that I mind it being weak, but seriously... the price on those seeds is a bit much. I'll let you know when it comes in. :)


Sabrina

Just wondering, if you do grow the plants and harvest the seeds may i buy some lowryder seeds from you. In UK we have to pay a sickening $70 - £35 which is horrible lol. So if i could buy any seeds from you it would be most appreciated.

Cheers much,
Sam

Hey there :) Hell yes I would... we can take it to emails. I'll send an email or if you see me on MSN we'll chat.

Now for once in my life I'm hoping for a long summer and no early cold snaps!


Sabrina

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrWhippy

Just wondering, if you do grow the plants and harvest the seeds may i buy some lowryder seeds from you. In UK we have to pay a sickening $70 - £35 which is horrible lol. So if i could buy any seeds from you it would be most appreciated.

Cheers much,
Sam

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Brilliant, Thank you, if you want to add me to your MSN contact list then add [email protected] and i will accept ya request :D. I think i msged you on MySpace about 2days ago so check that also. Look foward to speaking to ya mate and good luck with ur plants,

Sam