Tall and skinny seedlings

How can I get shorter, stronger seedlings?

My seedlings, (sprouts) are five days old and they seem healthy, but they are tall and skinny. What can I do to prevent this?
They are in 6-inch pots, under a 75-watt fluorescent gro-lite. They seem very fragile and weak at this stage and I am worried.

Rrader,
Internet

The reason the seedlings are growing tall and skinny rather than shorter with sturdy stems is that they are not getting enough light. When they are light starved they start growing tall in an effort to get a closer to the canopy and unobstructed light.

Even though the light has a clear path to the plants, they are not getting enough because the light is not intense enough. The solution is to give the plants more light. For every square foot of growing space, the plants should have between 40-65 watts input of high-pressure sodium light. If that is inconvenient, use metal halides. It is difficult to produce good buds using incandescent or fluorescent lights.

Readers with grow questions (or answers) should send them to Ed at: Ask Ed, PMB 147, 530 Divisadero St., San Francisco, California 94117, USA
You can also email Ed at AskEd@cannabisculture.com, and send queries via his website at www.ask-ed.net.
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