Major leaf curl

[mushroommunk]

Howdy y'all.

So I recently germinated some seeds. It's made me realize all the things I've grown before I've grown from established plants. This is my first time from seed and it's a lot harder than I expected. I geminated 10 or so Habaneros and 10 or so Jalapenos. Planted the three best sprouts of each for six plants.

I'm down to one of each and losing the Habanero fast.

In the attached picture you can see it's falling over and the leaves are curried up quite a bit and I'm at a loss to the cause. A few days ago it was a strong looking sprout. So I dunno if when I watered it something happened or temps or what.

Looking around for leaf curl I see aphids and insects as a cause but that doesn't seem right here.

I keep my house at 65 which I know is on the cold side so I run a heater and LEDs for them. Heater runs 24/7, and lamp about 12 hours. You can see the spacing in the third pic, not trying to cook them, just keep them warm. Should I switch to a heating pad under the cups instead?

 

[CaneDog]

Sorry to hear about your losses.  To answer your question, yes.  You don't want the heater blowing hot air toward the plants at all.  A heat mat under them would be much better. You can even put the heat mat in a box approximately the height of the containers with a small/thin towel or rag between it and the containers and create a pocket area that retains the heat better than just an exposed mat under them.
 
If you don't have a heat mat right now, you can temporarily put a 2-liter style plastic cola bottle with the bottom cut off over the top of the plant and keep the heater going in the meantime, creating a warmer mini-environment around the plant that will also retain moisture and decrease the transpiration demands on the plant while it develops its root system.
 
Also, I'm curious what your lighting system is and how it's set up?  I don't see your LED's in the picture - unless it's the lighting fixture on the ceiling.

 

[mushroommunk]

Thank you! I started with readily available seeds figuring it would be a learning experience.

Yes the ceiling light is all I have right now. No actual lux or ppfd measurement sadly but it's quite bright and only about 2.5 ft above plants. I figure once I can actually get a sprout to not die I'll invest in a spider farmer and set up in a room in the basement.

 

[Inoks]

You can also Look into More affordable options than expensive leds. For example high power fluorescent tubes or so.

 

[CaneDog]

Thank you! I started with readily available seeds figuring it would be a learning experience.

Yes the ceiling light is all I have right now. No actual lux or ppfd measurement sadly but it's quite bright and only about 2.5 ft above plants. I figure once I can actually get a sprout to not die I'll invest in a spider farmer and set up in a room in the basement.

 
You bet!  It's a fairly quick learning curve though; I'm sure you'll soon have a handle on a system that works for you.  I do suspect you'll need lighting more tailored to growing plants (adjustable height to control distance from plant, perhaps optimal color temperature), but totally understand getting a feel for things first. Perhaps after the sprout recovers you might find elevating it somewhat on a box or what-not might help if it starts to show signs of stretching for light.
 
Good luck!

 

[solid7]

You can also Look into More affordable options than expensive leds. For example high power fluorescent tubes or so.

 
Define expensive.  LED lights have never been cheaper.  It's pretty hard to get more output in the proper spectrum(s), for a lower cost, than with LED.
.
You can certainly buy expensive LED, but you don't have to.  Lots of options.

 

[Inoks]

Define expensive.  LED lights have never been cheaper.  It's pretty hard to get more output in the proper spectrum(s), for a lower cost, than with LED.
.
You can certainly buy expensive LED, but you don't have to.  Lots of options.

Well, he was talking about spiderfarmer, its not The cheapest option.

 

[mushroommunk]

Sorry, yeah, I said "spider farmer" but I should have said "like a spider farmer". Right now I'm leaning towards ultimately rolling my own. Some bridgelux led strips and a few supplies. Details TBD. I've got a plastic shed in the backyard (like THIS but not as fancy and a little smaller) that I'd ultimately like to either insulate or move to the basement and let the peppers grow year round with lights. Michigan is not the friendliest of climates with our 8 inches of snow.
 
Also, update. I used a few clear panera cups I had to create the mini greenhouse. It seems to be working for the Jalapeno but that habanero from the first post has just withered more.
 
I'm calling it: Time of death: 9:12 AM 1/20/2020.
 
The Jalapeno is showing no signs of leaf curl but is getting quite tall so I'll raise it like CaneDog suggested and see where that gets me.