My first grow and I’m about 9 days in. I sprouted my tap roots in 2 days then planted in solo cups. It took two days but I got plants coming up. I am wondering why the stalk is so tall. I have little leaves but they are so tall. When I watch videos everyone else has a short stem then leaves. I’m praying I have not messed up already. I have them on a seed heating strip and a cover over to keep the humidity in. All advice welcome. And thank you all for sharing how you grow…
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@Lauraroach welcome to the forum. That stretch with your seedlings is from not having enough light. You need to bring the light closer or put them in an area with more light.
Also, when you transplant it would be good to bury some of that lanky stem under the soil. Only leave about 2 to 3 inches above the soil.
Get the light right and everything else will work out.
Happy growing. 
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Thanks so much. It’s a little nerve racking growing for the first time. I have a grow tent and I will place them in there tomorrow. I was not sure the lights would be good for them as they are so fragile. When I was a kid they would call marijuana a weed. Lol it’s not like a weed it’s like a fragile thing. I sure am glad y’all are here for us newbies. I’m sure I will have lots of questions and I’m reading and watching you tube videos. Thanks again
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Welcome to the community @Lauraroach !
You’ve come to the right place for all your growing questions.
I’m sure you’re gonna have a fun and exciting time with your first grow, and enjoy a nice harvest when the time comes!
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The folks in this forum are great! They will help you with all your questions.
I am a newbie as well, but your plants REALLY need more light! If you buy a grow light there will be directions on how close the lights need to be above your plants.
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Do not be afraid…Fear immobilizes us. Companionship fuels us and you will have plenty of that here. Welcome to our little corner of the world…skip the YT videos, mostly for profit. Here, you get information, not a sales pitch.
The plants…yes, not enough light (how close or strength of the lamp) and/or maybe not the right kind of light
When you have stretch happening, there are only a couple of ways to deal with it, and this is before you play with the lights. The plants come first so address the stretch. Some people add topping (soil) to support the stem, I find that most of the time my babies die when I do that. I get leaves, crumpled paper, straw…any material like that and surround the stem for support. I also have let them lay down.
Once you got that, it is time to look at the lights.
What light/s are you using…no one seemed to ask and you never mentioned it
How far is the light from the plants - distance
Step 2 will happen after you give us some guidance so we know what the next best thing to do is
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Thanks for the help. I didn’t have them in the grow house after they sprouted up. I hate that I’m a live and learn kind of girl but like you said fear is not our friend. I have them about 20 inches from the light now. So… now that I have leggy stalks should I put them in 5 gallon cloth pots now? It was suggested to bury them a little further down so it shortens the long stalk. I just don’t want to kill my first babies. I’m hanging in there with these because the seeds are expensive. Thanks in advance for all y’all’s input. I’m not buying rolling papers just yet…lol
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I would NOT put in 5 gal containers now…
What are you using for soil? Nutrients, if any? Water…RO or other, Ph
20" is ok or maybe 24" to start and move lower when things change / improve
Some people do bury them…MY OPINION…remember, it is an opinion…Sometimes the stalks do not like to be buried and have moist soil up against them. My method is what I said. I crumble leaves, papers (newspaper) and surround the stalk while supporting it. I water the outer edge so I do not get the material wet. I use enough to get right under the cotyledon (first 2 little round leaves. I keep them in their STARTER cups…(solo cups here). They can stay there, with just water, for 2/3 weeks EASILY. No nutrients, just water and not too wet. You should be able to get 2 nodes (true levels of leaves) above the cotyledons before you even think of potting.
Now, what type of seeds / genus are they? All Gelato fem? no auto flower, right?
You have 6 plants going. 6 x 5 gal containers is crowding a little. Remember, after vegging, these will grow easily to 5 feet or more if you do not trim and train. I would not go more than 4 x 5 gal. If you have any 3 gal, you will crop less but you will be able to get them all in the tent
Waiting on your thoughts
After thought…Fan…air circulation. We use small fans to circulate the air but they also help makes the stems STRONGER. Make sure you got fan/s going on. Not too much but gentle breeze
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So glad @Mrb53004 is in for the win. What he said about crowding is right. Gelato tried to kick my ass, excuse my language it’s the nicest way I could put it. I left her in 1 gal pots and I’m hindering her potential, as you can see, however, I learned she likes it warm and not too much movement and/or touching going on. I let her just go naturally outside of the small pots. She can get tall for an indica. Also, I feel like my plants throw up hands when I take pictures, I have two tall and the rest are medium sized:
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I have gelato and northern lights 3 and 3 . I made some soil with coco 10% pearlite 20% and 80% organic soil. I also used just the organic soil in three of them. I was not sure if it would make a difference so it was my experiment. They all grew the same. Lol… I will shore up my babies tomorrow. I had them under the lights for the day and tomorrow lights all day and then dark at night. Is that correct thinking? I live near Santa Fe so it’s very dry I have a humidifier in my tent so do I need to run it 24/7? I know lots of questions but I do promise to pass on the help y’all give me when I can in the future. We all help each other… I love that
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Kmac03 those are some pretty babies you have!!!
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Great advice… I will be following your tips too
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Thank you! I can do better, but that’s the perfectionist in me. Ha! Next time I grow her, I clean up a bit. I just couldn’t let her challenge go unnoticed. 
I’m looking forward to following along. 
Welcome. I am a newby too but I started some plants with bad ligjts and they stretched 6 or 7 inches. I used dowl rods 12". And pipe cleaners to support them until they got enough stem to support themselves easily. I then backed off the support a bit at a time. Mine did not start to really veg (leaf out) until they got strong enough to stop stressing. They are now (under much better lighting) just about through the second week of flower and are looking pretty good considering my booboos. Work with them be patient and you should be alright.
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Chop sticks… lol.
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