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Newbie after some advice

Stufat

Stufat

Ok so this is my attempt at growing anything so I'm a real novice.
Planted my seeds in the non electric propegator in early feb. After a few weeks the 2nd set of leaves appeared, I read somewhere this is the time to move them out the propegator to a pot.
They are growing steadily, I read somewhere that tomato feed is good so I have a solution made up that I use.
My main concern is (forgive my ignorance in not knowing the correct terms) the stem seems quite thin and floppy. I've had to support it with a wooden kebab skewer. Without the support it would flop over.
As I'm on a small budget, I'm using not much more than daylight from the bay window and water/tomato feed.
I realise this may take longer than some of the set ups you guys have but that's all I got.
Forgot to mention, these are lemon drops

Should the stem be this floppy? Am I doing anything wrong? Could I do anything better?

96d215da65cd4d95241434ff9d2f1588.jpg
 
Ok, now I'm lost.
A fan for breeze, or one of the heater type fans? What does the fan do for the plant?
Also, what does up to the cotys mean?

Sorry for being hard work
 
I think the reason for them being so "limp" is because of the lack of light/photosynthesis. The reason I say this is because I have noticed with pruning that leaves that are allowed to "work" more produce thicker branches and stems. In the cycle of the plant, once the leaves send the processed chemicals/sugars back down the stem to the roots to grow the roots, some of that is left behind in the outer layer of the stem/branches which will thicken them.
 
Now, I do fully agree with beerbreath81 that you should, at this point, bury them a little deeper. The nice thing about peppers is that they deal with being buried deeper by growing more roots. Some plants do NOT like to have their stem/trunk buried, but peppers, like tomatoes, actually benefit from it. They start to develop more roots from the stem that is now underground and you will actually have a healthier plant. - Just don't try doing this with a Japanese Maple, if you bury the trunk at all, they tend to die off.
When OKGrowin said to add a fan, he means a nice small fan to "stress" the stem to either strengthen up or fail. This is a good thing to do since the plants will usually develop a sturdier stem from fighting against the wind. Just be sure (since the plants you have are pretty delicate still) to use a soft breeze.
Up to the cotys - he means the first set of leaves that sprouted form the seed.
 
Plant them a little deeper.
 
Give them as much light as you can.
 
Put a fan on them if you can. If I can't use a fan then I take a pencil and push the plants around to try to simulate wind. I do this once or twice a day.
 
Cooler temperatures makes the plants grow slower but with thicker stems. My plants are at a constant 62 degrees. They are short but very strong.
 
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y529/david_klein1/Peppers%202014/peppers_zpsac242d45.jpg
 
mrgrowguy said:
Just be sure (since the plants you have are pretty delicate still) to use a soft breeze.
Click to expand...
I think if I sneezed in the same room as them they'd fall over!!

Excellent advice, thanks guys.
Should I scrap the project and start again? How deep should the seed be planted? I think I put these about 3mm under the surface
 
yeah the problem is your stem was stretching looking for more light it seems (why your cotys are so high)(why your node length is pretty high).
 
The fan helps signal to the plant that it needs to grow a thicker stem or it will... fall over like yours lol.
 
planting them deeper is a short term fix, adding more light + fan is long term fix.
 
Yeah I agree with the rest of the group! You could plant deeper or add more soil, get a small fan on em, and you can find some cheap cfl light fixtures that will hold you off until you put em outside! Keep reading through the forum, tons of good info and people willing to help. Welcome and good luck!
 
This one one of the wild Capsicums I am growing this year. CAP 503, which is a rare C.eximium. The seedling was long and leggy, with it`s seed cap still on. after removing the seed cap, I took it and buried it up to the cotyledons (the seed-leaves under the seed cap). 6 weeks later it was doing OK.
 
From this sorry sight, 
 

 
To this,
 
 
I agree with the others, replant them deeper and point a fan at them for a couple of hours each day. Also, does that pot have drainage holes in the bottom? If not, use pots that do or you'll likely end up overwatering them. Otherwise they look pretty healthy and should do Just fine.
 
I'll play devil's advocate here…. The pictures don't give us a good look at the very base of the stems or the surface of the soil, due to a lack of light there. I hope all that's going on is that they need to be buried a little deeper, but….
 
If you look closely at the base of the stems, especially at the soil line, do the stems look weak/watery, or are they thinner than the rest of the stems? If so, they likely have been hit with the damping off fungus, and you might as well start over. Damping off is most often caused by keeping the soil too wet for too long. You can help prevent damping off by bottom-watering (are there drain holes in the bottoms of those pots?) and by getting a breeze on the plants to help dry out the surface. Keep in mind that pepper plants like it moist, but not wet.  If the stems at the soil line look just like the rest of the stem, then planting deeper should do the trick.
 
You mentioned tomatoe fertilizer, and yes, that is good for pepper plants. However, your plants are too young to need that yet. Your plants still have their cotyledons (a.k.a. "seed leaf"), which has the purpose of feeding the developing plant. Fertilizer isn't needed until these fall off, and even then, only about 1/10 strength at first. I like to use a starter fertilizer that promotes root growth early on, then switch to a fertilizer that helps promote foliage, then switch to tomatoe/pepper food once production starts. The tomatoe/pepper ferts contain a good amount of calcium, which is necessary to prevent blossom-end rot (BER.) 
 
Best wishes with your grow!
 
Ok, so today's plan is add more soil. In the pic it looks like there in a dark place but I only put them there for ease of photo.
Where they sit is at the front of a bay window which has direct light for most of day.
I have ordered a fan off eBay which should be here by end if week,

How deep should the seeds be buried for future reference?
The site i was using as a guide the first time round said not to bury them too deep as they could use all there energy trying to break the surface and then just die off. It reccomended just 2-3mm under surface.
 
Ok, so job done..........kinda

I took my 3 plants out side, took the sticks out, put compost in and they stood up by themselves.

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When it came to the 3rd plant, which was the biggest something happened. I'm not sure how, but I kinda mighta killed it :(

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If I replant it will it grow? Is there enough of some root there for any salvage? Am I a murdering bastard?
I've moved the plants outside as the morning sun is currently beating down in my back garden
 
            Try to save it,there is still root on it.Be careful putting them in the sun,if not hardened or they will fold like a cheap tent.
 
Sun beating down in England isn't exactly hot, it's about 14c today :)
But yep, I will return them to my bay window
 
Stufat said:
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Click to expand...
 
     That's a textbook example of what damping-off looks like. Your other plants look good though. And when you get your fan, don't aim it directly at the plant right away, just aim it at a nearby wall. Experiment with the position so it just causes your plants to wave a bit, that's all it takes to toughen up a stem. You don't want them to really whip around much. Good luck, it looks like you're on the right track - it's always good to see the training wheels (stakes) come off!
 
I have a couple of plants that look like this, cayennes and peter peppers. There's no reason either, they've had the same light as the others. I'm not worried - they'll sort themselves out, or I'll stake them. 
 
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