Plants grown from seed

I'm having a bit of a problem with my cabbage plants. They are just getting to the 'plant' stage from being a seedling. I sowed them in modules and some are growing fine with nice thick stalks. Some however have an extremely thin bit of stalk just where the soil level is. It's really odd, lovely thick stalks above, but kind of floppy at soil level and extremely thin. The thin bit is a few millimeters in length.

My Dad suggested I put some more compost around the top of the plant to support the thin bit.

Anyone have any knowledge of this problem?

 

Although it says in some books not to do that, I had the same problem with my pak choi. I grew them on the window sill & they got too leggy. I earthed up the long stem to support them & i've just harvested & frozen them, no problems

 

I think the often happens when they are grown like this.
One reason why they are best transplanted.

Just plant them a bit deeper and bury the thin stem when you do.

 

That's great advice, thank you. It is so thin it's like cotton! How on earth do they grow nice big growth above that!

 

You can actually get a second root system form above the thin part if you keep them moist once transplanted.

 

I invariably plant things deeper when I repot them. As you say Victoria P, some can have very spindly stems that need support. Also some flowers, especially Cosmos, grow dog-legs when they are young, if they are allowed to flop over at some point. By planting them a lot deeper, you can bury the entire dog-leg, and have a really good looking plant again.