Lettuce not looking so good.

[brogz]

Well I started my lettuce about 2 weeks ago and right now they aren't looking so hot. The leaves are rather small but the stems are very stretched out and weak. They can barely hold them selves up. What am I doing wrong here?

[rainbowgardener]

Picture would help, but stems stretched out and weak sounds like not enough light.

[brogz]

[url=https://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s424/brogz42/IMG_20120502_073015.jpg][img]https://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s424/brogz42/th_IMG_20120502_073015.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=https://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s424/brogz42/IMG_20120502_073019.jpg][img]https://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s424/brogz42/th_IMG_20120502_073019.jpg[/img][/url]


Look how close the light is.

[brogz]

I am thinking the rockwool is staying too wet. Would this cause these symptoms?

[fintuckyfarms]

Yep, looks like dampening (sp) from the roots being too wet. It happened to my lettuce also but not to the other veggies planted in the same material at the same time. I noticed from youtube that the commercial lettuce farmers use oasis so I got some to try.

[applestar]

Close or not, those look like starved plants to me. What kind of output do these lights have? Even looking at the photos, the color of them, etc. doesn't come out like that when I take a picture of my growing area. I don't think it matters whether it's hydroponic or conventional.

For comparison, here are some lettuce seedlings from a few years back:
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image3923.jpg[/img]

Judging by the elongated hypocotyl -- stem up to the first seed leaves -- I suspect they were initially very spindly, light starved seedlings. If the current light environment is OK, then maybe the weak seedlings were unable to take up nutrients because those true leaves are very weak looking as well. It's a situation not usually seen in soil-growing because the super spindly seedlings would not have been able to survive the harsher outdoor environment. Up to a certain point, spindly seedlings can be saved by burying up to the seed leaves at uppotting. I don't know if that would have worked here.

If not the light, then it must be the nutrient solution.
But if roots dying is really the suspect, try digging one out and examine the roots.

[brogz]

I put a new three bulb CFL light on them and they have already started to pick up. They don't look amazing but they are looking better.