Standard growth pattern for peppers - input needed

[background=transparent]Hello all, I am in need some pepper expertise and this forum seems like about the best place to get some reputable input on the web.[/background]

[background=transparent]A little background. I work at a company that develops LED grow lights. Generally they are priced a bit too high for people growing for a hobby. That being said we test our lights with numerous crops. Generally this ends up being tomatos but anyone who has grown indeterminate tomatoes indoors knows it is a challenge and the plants quickly get too large to keep for R&D. We wanted something that we could grow and bear fruit for long periods. Somehow we settled on peppers so we bought a bunch of different seeds and off we went.[/background]

[background=transparent]Now that we have plants bearing fruit we realized peppers are not our specific area of expertise. They look great but we have numerous questions which brings me to this post....[/background]

[background=transparent]I would like to ask a few questions regarding images I will attach to this post. I am not looking to promote our company in this post as that is not the purpose and would violate the policies on this forum. What I would like are some honest opinions and observations on the plants by people who know about growing peppers and even more specifically growing peppers under artificial light.[/background]

[background=transparent]1. We believe that tight internodal spacing indicates a healthier light source when growing indoors versus a plant grown indoors that has "stretched" and has increased internodal spacing. Is this considered when growing peppers? Does the internodal spacing in our plants look tighter or looser than other similar peppers grown indoors or outdoors?[/background]

[background=transparent]2. We are new to fruit set on pepper plants. These plants were grown from seed indoors and have spent all of their time maturing and fruiting in a 4’x4’ tent with some other plants such as tomatoes. Is the fruit set appropriate for these plants when compared to indoor and/or outdoor peppers?[/background]

[background=transparent]3. We would appreciate any feedback on the plants or fruit such as they are too small/large, colors seem off, etc. We are still learning about proper fertilization for peppers so anything you see that is an indication we are doing something wrong would be appreciated. Please do not hesitate to be honest, we are in need of pepper knowledge.[/background]



[background=transparent]For your reference/scale the pots the peppers are in are 7” tall by 5” wide.[/background]

[background=transparent]Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to review these pictures and provide feedback.[/background]

[background=transparent]Cheers,[/background]
[background=transparent]Noah[/background]

What variety of peppers are they? They look nice and tight to me, in reference to node spacing.

AlabamaJack uses LEDs inside to start his season and may have some great insight on this thread.

Welcome to this site,
Tight spacing is always a plus when growing indoors. I agree Ind. tomatoes can be grown indoors, but their vinelike growth pattern can overwhelm in a small area. The need for severe pruning and laterial training would be highly recommended. As far as the peppers,
It appears that you're growing some annuum types, possibly a Jalpapeno and a Cayenetta or Cayenne variety. The plants appear to be growing well in such small containers. Were the lower leaves pruned off? The upper leaf canopy is dense, which is a sign of a strong light source of a cooler color temperature. How many hrs per day do you run your LED's.
I don't use LED's but my lighting consists of T8 and MH fixtures. I have had luck with either type lighting with producing shorter nodes on plants. I typically run the lights 16/8 when the grow rooms are running full steam. Certain species such as the c.chinense can produce large plants indoors. Although each variety can vary. The amount of pods your plants are producing is a plus for the indoor grow. Although I'm still amazed about the size of the containers. Just think if you had pots 3 gal up. The plants will flower and set fruit indoors without a dark period. I use a couple of strong vortex fans to move the air around and it also helps the plants become sturdy based. Some folks believe the fans help contribute when the pollen is being released.
Good luck with your testing......we've been replacing our 1000w Halogen outdoor lights with LED fixtures at the airport terminals.....also taxiways and runways, its an ongoing project. Pilots refer to them as Disco Lights, at night you can see them from miles away.

Looking good to me. Most hydro shops can't even produce node spacing or fruit set like yours. Although, Im not positive they try very hard. Good start

1. Yes tight spacing indicates a more productive plant due to better light causing more energy being put into leaf, bloom, and pod growth instead of stem growth for height. Spacing looks typical of indoor or outdoor growth with good light, but not great light which would have resulted in plants with a lower ratio of height to main stem diameter.

2. Yes they are fruiting fine, but comparisons to other indoor or outdoor plants would depend on nutrients supplied or available in the soil, overall environment such as hours of light as well as intensity, temperature, and the age of the plant.

3. You need a control group grown at the same time from the same seed (all else equal except for the lighting) to make the best comparison, but generally speaking they look good except that they may be a bit stunted in size due to the small pots they are in. This variable should be removed by use of larger pots.