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Re:Show HN: GreenPiThumb – A Raspberry Pi Gardening Bot by trevos on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @11:28AM (#14646265)
Seedlings need _light_ when they pop out or they get all spindly. The sun does something like 1 kW/m3, so if you're using artificial light, you will need plenty of (preferably LED/CFL) lighting. Source: the generations of spindly tomato plants who went before the thick-stalked purple-green-leaved ones.
Re:Show HN: GreenPiThumb – A Raspberry Pi Gardening Bot by setq on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @11:34AM (#14646330)
Indeed. This was on the kitchen window sill with sunlight 50% of the day. We got there in the end unaided by technology but it was so much fun trying with it.

Ones that worked eventually: http://imgur.com/a/EDdwR - note cable ties :)

Re:Show HN: GreenPiThumb – A Raspberry Pi Gardening Bot by polyfractal on Tuesday June 27, 2017 @01:17PM (#14647274)
While that's true, the OP's solution is one way to help promote thicker stems if your lighting is sub-par. E.g. more light is best, but failing that for some reason (budget, space, whatever), stimulating the stems is a reasonable backup.