peppers

i planted pepper seeds indoors about 5 or 6 weeks ago they are now about

8 to 10 inches tall but the stalks are far too skinny for them to stand up to even the slightest breeze any advice for a novice please
Reply to
zenaplava
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They need real sunlight or stronger grow lights.

Reply to
Billy

I have a friend with the same problem, she's an indoor gardener because of the heat. Personally, the sun is far better, but I brought her a fluorescent shop light and the plants are doing better. A poor mans grow light would be one cool white and one warm white bulb. Keep the lights close.

What happens is that the plants keep stretching to reach the light.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Better than that is to change the ballast in the fixture to a high-light-output ballast for F32T8 lamps (replacement ballasts are cheap, and pretty easy to install. High-light ballasts are sometimes hard to find tho') Then use 2900° or 3000° F32T8 lamps (really cheap, and they last a long time.) Plants love the light spectrum, and the T8 lamps don't dim over their lifetimes like the old T12 lamps.

I saw some >200W fluorescent fixtures (4 or more T5HO lamps) at the electrical supply store last month that looked *great* for overwintering plant in the basement. They call them "high bay" fluorescent fixtures. Much better than the 400W HPS security light I'm using now. :-) I may get one next winter.

Bob

Reply to
zxcvbob

How do these compare pricewise to your supplier?

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my suprise my local gardening store has the 4 tube for $180 WITH bulbs.

Reply to
gunner

I didn't look *too* closely at them because I didn't want one following me home just yet. :-) I asked the guy behind the counter what the approximate price was for the 4-tube model and he said they were $150-ish. That includes a set of lamps.

I will probably try to get one with hi-brightness white reflectors instead of the polished aluminum; the reflectivity is about the same but it should provide more even lighting without hotspots.

Bob

Reply to
zxcvbob

They are tall and spindly due to lack of light, these are not indoor plants. I doubt these seedlings will recover, you would be better off starting again. Once the first true leaves appear gradually move them into a place with about half sun or more. Take care to water regularly as in the sun small pots or trays dry out quickly. After your last frost, once you have healthy plants about 3-4in high plant them out into a spot that gets full sun.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

As well as growing lamps. I use an oscillating fan that provides a slight breeze over the plants that will also help make the plants sturdier while they are growing indoors.

Enjoy Life ... Dan

Reply to
Dan L.

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