• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

Will these go spindly?

UK_Markle

UK_Markle

Hi everybody, ive been away for a couple months due to England having such rubbish weather i havent been doing much with the chilli world. BUT a couple weeks ago i planted my first batch of seeds i aquired from a few lovely THP members which i am truely grateful for. Now the ones that have come thru so far are (hopefully) Fatalii Yellow, Red and white, Datil, Trindad seasoning, Primo and Brainstrain yellow. Now in the picture below do the seedlings look as if there heading towards being all spindly or are the looking as if there about right for young seedlings? I have only today taken them out of the dark and now placed on a "sunny" window seal.
Any help grately appreciated.
 
20140213_170219_zps8ccb78ef.jpg
 
     Those definitely look pretty leggy. When it comes time to transplant, bury them an inch or two deeper. In the mean time give them lots of light. Maybe put a gentle fan on them, or at least brush them with your hand a couple of times a day - that will help strengthen their stems and maybe keep them from tipping over until you can transplant them.
     Next time you germinate, remember to get lights on them as soon as they break the soil. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the quick response guys, feel quite embarressed now lol, hopefully theyre make it! ill just plant some more seeds at the weekend just incase. I think im going to find it difficult in the climate i am in and without the use of proper lights. Any sugestions how i might be able to help myself?
 
UK_Markle said:
Thanks for the quick response guys, feel quite embarressed now lol, hopefully theyre make it! ill just plant some more seeds at the weekend just incase. I think im going to find it difficult in the climate i am in and without the use of proper lights. Any sugestions how i might be able to help myself?
Click to expand...
 
The UK probably has cheap shop light fixtures like we do at a store similar to Lowe's or Home Depot. I think it cost me 25 bucks for my light fixture and 2 fluorescent light bulbs. It's a good and cheap way for starting up plants.
 
I would be tempted to get some plastic cups and transplant them carefully now, and like everyone else said, plant them nice and deep. :)

When i first started out a few years ago, I didn't have any grow lights, and like OkGrowin said, used a desk lamp, and fairly cheap to buy. ;)
 
Oh ok so i can use a normal lamps!cool will look into that this weekend. The window seal theyre on gets the sunlight most of the day but right now its mostly clouds all day everyday. Also Dulac, are fluorescent lights cheap to run then? i thought they use a lot of electricity!?

OKGrowin said:
yeah those are very spindly, they need more light.

here is a pic of mine for reference.
IMG_20140129_112658.jpg

 
Was this how yours came up or have you transplanted them?
Click to expand...
 
4ft t8 fluorescent are 32w each bulb, u get usually 2 bulb fixture for 20$ us, 64 watts aka the same as a normal incandescent bulb. These 2x 4ft t8 bulb can be used for about 30-40 plants (using cups / 3 in pots)

You can get a CFL bulb for 10$ that is 30-40w and that will be good for like 10-20 (not sure how big your tray is). (see here) or here  plus this
 
UK_Markle said:
Oh ok so i can use a normal lamps!cool will look into that this weekend. The window seal theyre on gets the sunlight most of the day but right now its mostly clouds all day everyday. Also Dulac, are fluorescent lights cheap to run then? i thought they use a lot of electricity!?
Click to expand...
 
Nah, way cheaper than regular light bubs (non-fluorescent). 40 watts for 4 foot long ones. Regular light bulbs are typically 60 watts. You probably use another system for measuring that stuff though. We use fluorescent light bubs to cut down on electricity bills. Obama (I think it was him) was talking about switching over to CFL bulbs for this reason. The CFL bulbs are better for growing if you go that route. Check how many lumens they produce for either the CFL or fluorescent tubes and buy the one with the most.

OKGrowin said:
4ft t8 fluorescent are 32w each bulb, u get usually 2 bulb fixture for 20$ us, 64 watts aka the same as a normal incandescent bulb. These 2x 4ft t8 bulb can be used for about 30-40 plants (using cups / 3 in pots)

You can get a CFL bulb for 10$ that is 30-40w and that will be good for like 10-20 (not sure how big your tray is). (see here) or here  plus this
Click to expand...
 
I agree that's a good price, but I got 4ft long fluorescent tubes for cheaper. If he has the room, he could get better cover on his plants with a shop light fixture that holds 2 or 4 fluorescent tubes. Less wattage if you need to cover a wider area. 2 in a fixture is only 80 watts or less. Trust me, if you have room, this is a great way to grow lots of plants.
 
I say just stake them up with toothpicks or some thin stick0like thing and get some lights close to the leaves ASAP...  Transplanting thewm at this stagee could be dangerous.  And they would be more at risk of rotting or snapping during the transplanting process than any other concern you might have for them being just a little bit tall to start.  Prop them up and apply powerul lights.
 
Thanks everyone for you input i will def be looking into a light set up just gotta find where, and for those in the picture i think ill try noah yates idea with the picks.. Gotta love this forum and the people on it, so helpful :) will update how they get on over time.
 
The phenomenon you are experiencing is technically known as etiolation. Once you apply stronger lights, because the stem itself is photosynthetic, they will sturdy up, turning green/purple, while the leaves will begin to develop some serious chloroplasts, thereby turning green.
 
Dulac said:
 
Nah, way cheaper than regular light bubs (non-fluorescent). 40 watts for 4 foot long ones. Regular light bulbs are typically 60 watts. You probably use another system for measuring that stuff though. We use fluorescent light bubs to cut down on electricity bills. Obama (I think it was him) was talking about switching over to CFL bulbs for this reason. The CFL bulbs are better for growing if you go that route. Check how many lumens they produce for either the CFL or fluorescent tubes and buy the one with the most.

 
I agree that's a good price, but I got 4ft long fluorescent tubes for cheaper. If he has the room, he could get better cover on his plants with a shop light fixture that holds 2 or 4 fluorescent tubes. Less wattage if you need to cover a wider area. 2 in a fixture is only 80 watts or less. Trust me, if you have room, this is a great way to grow lots of plants.
Click to expand...
That's how I do it. 4ft Shop light fixture 10 bucks, two 4 ft florescent tubes 2900 lumens, two for 8 bucks. I have 10 running right now. Works great.
 
SL3 said:
That's how I do it. 4ft Shop light fixture 10 bucks, two 4 ft florescent tubes 2900 lumens, two for 8 bucks. I have 10 running right now. Works great.
Click to expand...
 
That's exactly what I paid, lol. Works great for me too! This my 3rd year using it and the bulbs are fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top