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

Do My Plants Look Too Leggy

O

obchili

Hi there.  I was just wondering from you experts out there if my plants main stem is too skinny/leggy?  I have seen this word mentioned a lot earlier and was just curious if my plants are doing alright. 
 
As noted earlier, I am a first year grower without any experience.  I thought I was doing good by germinating early January so I have a head start as I have a short growing season here due to our lovely winter, and have read that superhots tend to take a long time to produce.  They are all in a greenhouse inside our house in a south facing window.  I have just recently seen why grow lights and fan are so important and will get both for next growing season.  So anyways, I was just wondering if I may still get a crop this year with what I have.  I am posting a picture of my Caribbean Reds, although the others are in a very similar state of size.  Thank you.
 
peppersmar1820141.jpg
 
those look great, they are leaning toward the light i see, but that's fine and normal, you can just rotate them every week or something.
 
You might want to put a fan on them so they will thicken up their stems.
 
Great, thanks. Yes they are looking to the light. They were on a jail pass from the greenhouse for the picture. I try to rotate the trays daily so as to not give them a permanent look in one direction.
 
Great job with the plants, especially for your first year.  They don't look leggy, but may have to be staked when planted.
I stake all of mine because of the wind issues.  Better to support the plants than lose them.
 
Thank you all for the encouraging words.  It was just after reading and seeing about leggy plants quite frequently, I was getting worried about mine.  I think I will definitely stake them, as they do seem fairly flimsy. 
 
ultravista said:
 Add soil to the top or bottom? Can you cover part of the stem w/dirt like tomatoes?
Click to expand...
I saw a video from a guy on youtube. He added more soil at the stem like you'd do to tomato plants and they sprouted roots. Just fyi.
 
     It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't stake a pepper plant. If you do, your plants will have to rely on that crutch for the rest of their lives. With added support, they'll have no reason to strengthen their stems and may be prone to breakage at the point where they're tied to the stake (especially when it's windy and they're covered in fruit).
     You can encourage them to support themselves if you give them a reason to. You could put a fan on them (as OKGrowin recommended), also I've seen results just from brushing my hand over the plants several times a day. All that bending around tells the stem cells to become woody, instead of vine-like. I've never had a problem with small-fruited peppers tipping over, even during thunderstorms.
     Also, if you only bottom water, you can fill the pots up to the rim with soil. They're still young enough that they'll shoot out adventitious roots in no time. Just don't let he new soil dry out completely for a week or two.
     Good luck! Caribbean reds are awesome.
 
I will try to fill the rest of the pots up as I do bottom water.  Yes they are nice peppers.  Except when you add a pinch to your ground beef before making burgers and not telling the better half.  I am lucky I am still here.  Damn, she tasted it immediately and asked what I put in the burgers,  so I told her 'pepper'.  That's when she bit into a hot spot!  Oops.  I guess next time I will just have to be more honest about my ingredients.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top