Hello all, so very 1st time grower and doing a lot of reading which helps. What I would like to do is maybe pair up with a seasoned grower that maybe can mentor me. I am having an issue which I found out thru reading is stem stretch. I believe its the soil im using. I went organic and I believe it just doesn’t support enough earth to hold my girl up. she is stretched out about 5 " and has her second set of leaves but will not stand up. I just tied a small ribbon around the stake that’s in there but I believe that she needs like miracle grow potting soil and to be re-buried up to her leaves. if any seasoned growers could pair up that would be a great help I have a million questions and could use a good mentor. and just don’t want to be tying up the forum for a question 5x a day…
…Thanks in advanceany help would be great thanks in advance
Welcome to the forum great people around to help you!
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so; Or post
NA (non applicable)
- What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed
- Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF
- Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths
- PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)
- PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable
- Indoor or Outdoor
- Light system
- Temps; Day, Night
- Humidity; Day, Night
- Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size
- AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,
- Co2; Yes, No
Always try to upload a clear picture of any issues you may have to allow the community to assist you.
Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer should be included. Feel free to elaborate, but short and to the point questions and facts will help us help you in a more efficient manner 
Thanks!
Please be as complete as possible. If soil please tell us WHAT soil. WHAT light etc. It’s all important.
Zee, thanks for the help so white widow organic soil in bucket inside grow tent with 300w led light and fan I can include a picture but it took me 10 mins to find this!!lolol im a newbie to say the least im trying to figure forum out also oi germinated and went directly to forever home (cause ive never had any success with transplanting so I figured better to start her and put her right into forever house the less screwing around the better for me anyways I just love figuring this all out but boy I could use a mentor…lolol so anyways I have spent a few bucks buying a lot of stuff for her but just trying to figure it all out any help is greatly appreciated
Frankly you didn’t answer most of the support ticket questions.
ok Zee, I will get all the info and respond back soon. Thank you
Welcome to ILGM forum. Usually the main reason your stem stretches out like that is you probably have your light to far away. With the light you have it should be about 12 to 18 inches above seedlings and no more. If you have room in the pot you are using add some soil to it and try get enough around stem to help it stand up.
You don’t need to bury her up to her leaves, just add enough to hold her up. Also don’t use Miracle-Gro soil. MG isn’t amended and buffered properly for cannibis. It has time released nutrients that you can’t control how much is released each time you water. If possible list the exact name of soil you are using. Also post a pic of your girl and let’s see what she looks like. I’ll set this thread to watch and wait for you to get back. If you want to get someone’s attention just type @ symbol and name without any spaces. Like this @Getch357 We’ll get things going in the right direction.
Hello @Getch357 welcome aboard. Regardless of what’s happening with your grow someone here will have a solution for you. An oscillating fan gently blowing on your baby will toughen her up, but gently though we’re not talking gale force. Like @Bulldognuts said light height affects stretch. Up close will burn, Too close gives a bushier plant with tight nodes whereas too far away they will stretch out looking for light. Be careful with your soil choice as well, some stuff is just too rich and your plants won’t be able to handle it. We can handle how and when to feed when we get there 
A very useful feature is the search function. Click on the eyeglass, type in question “seedling stretching” or something similar. Often when I have a question or something comes up that is of interest to me is " I know someone replied on this topic and I read it" so I go look for it. You can pretty much count on not being the first one to ask. Forum members are glad to share their experience and are a great resource.
Also, welcome. There are a lot mentors on this site.
@beardless that’s pretty much what I do as well. It’s such a great resource to have at your fingertips
Its the what, why, how. What is it? Why is it doing it? How do I fix it? I know I wish I had more answers.
Agreed, a quick search and you’re 99% guaranteed to find what you’re looking for on here and it’s backed up with a lot of experience as well
hello all and many thanks to you all for replying! so I read some more last night (a lot of great resources like you all said) and noticed just now 1 mistake I may have mad is I’ve used a raised bed soil. my stupidity but when u go to places like Home cheapo (as I call them) there is no help and as im sure a lot of people here that are in cognito know u really cant talk to them cause its not accepted as it should be. so I asked and it was this or miracle gro…so what would be the best soil for her since she is already in her forever home? and could I just add to this stuff? or should I do a replant?
so I’ve attached some pics still trying to figure out how to use the site properly hopefully it worked and all help is greatly appreciated. in the pics u should be able to see all in tent including light
hello again so ive been searching and there is so many damn types of soil………arghhhhhh I am just starting out and now really confused! is there a soil mix that I can buy that will be o.k for her to stay in? I did buy some fertilizer I will get a picture and include ok so here is my bud and fertilizer (I hope I made the right choices here)
i am going to try to get the right soil. can get pro mix at lowes is this the right kind? well could upload cause its a JXR??? but its promix premium all purpose mix please let me know im confused there are so many everyone has favorites that work for them im just trying to find a good soil to get her to grow in from start to finish im sure after awhile of doing this I too will have a favorite but right now trying to rescue my girl!!
OK, I just checked the soil you are using and it doesn’t look like it has time released nutrients. It actually has several amendments that many use to make soil. So for now you should be fine with the soil you have. Looking at your pic it looks like you have your light to far above your plant. Lower it down. A good way to check if it is to close is put the back of your right above seedling and check, if it is to warm for your hand then it’s to close for seedlings. I saw that you were replying while I was writing this. If you have a hydro store or garden center they should have something like FoxFarms Happy Frog for seedlings. Don’t worry about nutrients just yet. The soil you are using shouldn’t need any nutrients yet. It looks like you have room to add some soil around seedling. Gently add some around seedling. I noticed in pic that your soil looks really wet. Hold off on watering for a little while. Seedlings don’t need lots of water at this stage. Once your girl gets a little healthier we can address some things that will help get you to harvest.
I think @dbrn32 uses promix so it will definitely work. I use fox farms happy frog. I don’t recognize the Alaska brand of fertilizer but the tiger bloom is on my shelf right now. So if you like it I would look at the fox farms nutrients trio. And ask a million questions tie up the forum daily, no one will mind we are here to help.
I felt the same way when I first started. I had a million questions and everyone probably thought I was just plum dumb 
.
Welcome to the forum it looks like you will be in good hands with help! Everyone is very helpful.
I don’t/haven’t, coco now.
This leggy seedling isn’t an issue with growing media though. I believe improper lighting is to blame.
ok so 1 thing I should of added is while I was setting up the tent and figuring out how to fix all the things wrong (not enough straps and trying to get it all together) I had germinated and put my girl into the bucket and in front of a window that gets a lot of light. so maybe she just needs time and I will lower my light I was worried where she wasn’t looking good I may kill her off, so should I just get the soil I mentioned earlier and add a little just around the stem or bring my whole level up an inch or 2?
There is the answer to the problem. Lower your light and add some soil.
My thoughts on your store bought topsoil. Repeatedly watering pure topsoil will cause it to compact and go solid. However if it has sand etc through it then it might be ok. Generally it’s fine for a garden but not so for us. I would consider a general purpose compost if possible, it’s not the best option but preferred over topsoil. I find tomato feed is a good stop gap for feeding as well but only for later on as you go into flower