1. The cotyledons have changed to yellow/are fading without new, true leaves. What, if anything am I doing wrong? I see the true leaves are just barely coming out.

2. The stems have turned purple. Anything to do here? I read a few threads which said to mostly do nothing.

3. they have become leggy. Is it too early to transplant and bury the stems?

4. I just added a 50W R20 plant light (after the yelllowing) which emits a lot of heat and placed it about 8 inches above the plants, is this ok?

Tks a bunch for your answers!
legend.

And please do not feed them until after they have adjusted to the transplanting and the true leaves have emerged. They are so stressed now that adding fertilizer, even weak, now will only add to the stress.

For future reference over-crowding also contributes to leggyness so when I germinate multiple seeds in the same small space I transplant them into individual containers within 24-48 hours of germination.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Light:

-A basic 2-4 fluorescent light shoplight will do the job
-you could put fluorescent light inches away from the plants, especially with a fan blowing.. That alone, will solve legginess.

Fan:

A fan will strengthen the stem, get the plants prepared for natures winds, as well as discourage disease.

Watering:

Germination- just keep seeds consistently moist(spray bottle works great), all you need is the surface/seeds moist, no need to flood th growing medium

Sprouts/seedlings once they sprout, switch to a watering can with a very small opening, it's important not to over water, the majority of seedlings die from overwatering, not undering.. Just water so the growing medium is wet, then let the surface dry out, then water again, let dry slightly.. The soil should be like a rung out sponge(moist, not soaking wet) most of the time..

If you had adequate light, a fan blowi g, and proper moisture, nearly all your problems will dissipate.

Joe

You can see from the photo how yellow the leaves are.

The R-20 50W was thrown in there to obtain full spectrum but it puts out a TON of heat. Should I still keep that a foot away?
tks again

Transplanting is best done from one container to a slightly larger container (like individual 3- 6oz cups in this case) with no more than a couple of inches of soil and the plants such as yours were are buried right up to the cotyledons with no stem left exposed. Then as the plants grow more soil is added.

No where is it written that any young seedling must sit right on top (nor will it survive) of 16 oz of soil.

Think of it this way - would you put a month old baby in a pair of 34/36 Levis and a size large shirt? Sorry but this isn't going to help your plants at all.

Dave

I always start my plants in big enough containers to start with, it works out great, no potting up is needed, and the plants stay undisturbed and able to produc a decent tap root.. No stress on the plants.. If you would have just popped a seed in the solo cups, kept moist, and keep bright lights close to the seedlings, you would have little to no problems..

Next timeIf I was you:

-starts seeds in big enough pots to stay in until planting in the garden
-keep soil slightly moist like a rung out sponge
-don't overfertilize, seedlings are content just with water
-bright lights(shoplight) close to your plants
-fan blowing on plants

Simple as that...

Starting seeds in containers big enough for them to stay in is not recommended at all and the many reasons for NOT doing it has been discussed in great detail here by many experienced growers on numerous occasions.

If it works for you, fine, that is your choice but it isn't what is recommended nor advocated for best results. So called potting-up will always be the recommended method for many reasons.

Not only are the plants grown is such fashion much more prone to stunting, over-watering, compromised circulatory systems, and root rot but they are never triggered into developing the fibrous feeder roots they require for best performance. It is the act of the initial transplanting that is that trigger. This fact is well scientifically established and has been for decades.

Everytime your transplanting them, making them rootbound, starting them in small containers, your stressing the plant out.. It's a viscious cycle - you starting them in tiny cells, let them get crowded, dug up the roots, shocked the hell out of them transplanting, it keeps going on and on...

Simply isn't accurate. It mis-represents the entire process as any commercial grower or even most experienced home growers can readily attest to.

As I said, doing so is your choice but it is not a method to be encouraged for others. There is simply far too much evidence against it to be valid.

Dave