Internodal spacing.

alkhall

alkhall

For those who have plants started under lights; typically, what are your internodal spacing measurements like?
 
I always seem to have very short, broad plants while under the lights.
 
I wonder if this in any way generally affects how tall the plants will be once they are outdoors and in the ground.
 
Pics are appreciated.
 
 
I think it's gonna depend a lot of variety too. I have some varieties in my grow room that grow so short and bushy that the leaves are almost flush with the soil and other varieties want to stretch out under the exact same conditions.
 
PexPeppers said:
what spectrum is your lighting? are they LED? if so they may have too much blue. from what I recall red causes stretching.
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I have a six lamp T5HO fixture. Four of the lamps are Spectralux 6500K, the other two are Eye Hortilux Power Veg FS+UV.
 
Height is about 12 inches above the plants.
 
Edmick said:
I think it's gonna depend a lot of variety too. I have some varieties in my grow room that grow so short and bushy that the leaves are almost flush with the soil and other varieties want to stretch out under the exact same conditions.
Click to expand...
 
I have noticed the annums, Jalapenos and Bells, are taller and have longer internodal spaces. The Chinense are the squat, broad ones.
 
 
alkhall said:
 
Thanks, any info on the what ratios produce what effect?
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All i can say, that the best fertilizer for chili growing i have had is with a NPK ration of 6-2-6, but it will change a little bit towards more K than N when it is time to start flowering..Say something like 7-3-8 would be pretty good overall NPK ration for growing chilis, but  chilis overall are not too difficult regarding the perfect NPK rations to make good harvest in the end.
 
Chinense are definitely a more compact plant. I have a t5 with 3 4100k bulbs that came in it. And a 6700k from the pet store(he only had one) then a 4 bulb t8 with 6500k, and my homemade led strip thing(combination of cool white, warm white, and rgb+cw. The LEDs aren't as bright(I should have bought better quality strips instead of the cheapest Amazon had to offer). I haven't noticed any difference. But I keep the LEDs about an inch or two above the canopy and the t8 at about 12" t5 about 18".

I also always heard that the blue spectrum kept plants from getting too leggy.
 
I have a bunch of 2 month old chinense and annums, they're all pretty compact.  I've kept the lights 6 inches or less from the plants (T5s 5400K).  Using 12-4-8.
 
Compact is a lot better than leggy, can a plant be too compact?  The only issue I can think of is the reduced airflow.
 
Doelman said:
I have a bunch of 2 month old chinense and annums, they're all pretty compact.  I've kept the lights 6 inches or less from the plants (T5s 5400K).  Using 12-4-8.
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Like i said, chilis are not so special, that they need anything really special with the NPK rations... But try not to fertilize them with something that have much higher Nitrogen ration compared to the Potassium value when they start to flower.
 
Doelman said:
<SNIP>
Compact is a lot better than leggy, can a plant be too compact?  The only issue I can think of is the reduced airflow.
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I have no issue with airflow, but I notice the lower leaves on the squat plants are getting shaded by the larger upper leaves being so close.
 
Chilidude said:
 
All i can say, that the best fertilizer for chili growing i have had is with a NPK ration of 6-2-6, but it will change a little bit towards more K than N when it is time to start flowering..Say something like 7-3-8 would be pretty good overall NPK ration for growing chilis, but  chilis overall are not too difficult regarding the perfect NPK rations to make good harvest in the end.
Click to expand...

I have always used Alaska fish (5-1-1) and Neptune's Harvest Seaweed (0-0-1) after they are in the ground. I pot up in Ocean Forest, but never fertilize before plant out.
 
 
EDIT:
 
One of the 'average' chinense; Apocalypse Chocolate.
 
ONya6op.jpg

 
~3-1/2 inches tall, just forming seventh set of true leaves.
 
uD1zqhs.jpg

 
~ 7-1/2 inches across.
 
mc4TMlJ.jpg

 
Starting to get a lot of growth out of the nodes.
 
 
alkhall said:
I have always used Alaska fish (5-1-1) and Neptune's Harvest Seaweed (0-0-1) after they are in the ground. I pot up in Ocean Forest, but never fertilize before plant out.
 
 
EDIT:
 
One of the 'average' chinense; Apocalypse Chocolate.
 
ONya6op.jpg

 
~3-1/2 inches tall, just forming seventh set of true leaves.
 
uD1zqhs.jpg

 
~ 7-1/2 inches across.
 
mc4TMlJ.jpg

 
Starting to get a lot of growth out of the nodes.
 
Click to expand...
 
     Your plants are gorgeous! :drooling: Those are a textbook example of a what a chinense seedling should look like.
 
 
Here in New England, it's best to keep your plants short at transplant time since it's usually so cool and windy and short plants can hug the soil surface for warmth and some protection from the wind. In my experience, the Chinense varieties may be short initially, but they'll stretch out when the season warms up enough. Your plants look stellar! Nice job!
 
stickman said:
Here in New England, it's best to keep your plants short at transplant time since it's usually so cool and windy and short plants can hug the soil surface for warmth and some protection from the wind. In my experience, the Chinense varieties may be short initially, but they'll stretch out when the season warms up enough. Your plants look stellar! Nice job!
Click to expand...
Quoted for Truth.

Thanks.

Five weeks until plant-out.
 
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