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Spindly TS stalks

SadisticPeppers

eXtreme Business
Since I put my TS plants into pots, several have spindly stalks that are barely able to hold up the leaves. I've taken to putting impromptu stakes in the pots to prop them up. I know this is usually indicative of too much nitrogen, so my question is, what is the best method of strengthening the stalks and making them not so spindly.
 
Putting a fan on the plants for a few hours a day can help to strengthen the stems, but it sounds like your growth is leggy to me. How much light are they getting?
 
16 on/8 off from a 6500k 125W CFL bulb. And I do think leggy is a better adjective now that I think about it.
 
A well balance diet of a good fert blend!!
  • Lots of good natural light
  • Sandy loam soil (in-ground) or potting mix (pots) w/proper drainage
  • Irrigation, try not to over water the them
  • Keep it simple, don't love them to death!!

You will find many links under "growing peppers" that will help to tweak your methods
Good luck
 
They are ~2 feet from the light currently. The soil is sphagnum moss, and I have only given 1 fert treatment of bonemeal the day I transplanted. I have watered 2x a week. I have the same number of ghost peppers in identical conditions, and not a one is showing leggy stalks. Quite the opposite. The leaves are coming left & right, and are growing HUGE.
 
Leggy generally=too far from lights. I would say move them closer and monitor. Maybe somewhere between 12 and 18 inches and keep monitoring them. If they are doing good and don't look like they are getting too much light then keep it there. Maybe someone running a 125w CFL will chime in and let ya know what they think, but I would say that they are way too far away from the light.

Also, some photos would help out a bit.
 
I would've loved to have already posted pics, were it not for my camera being on the fritz. The only catch to the light situation is that I did have several plants close to them (under 6 inches) prior to them being transplanted, and several looked like they were starting to show signs of sunburn on the leaves. Didn't help that the current shelving I have isn't adjustable so what I ended up having to do is take out one shelf in between the light and the transplanted pots, since the plants by now would otherwise be getting dangerously close to the light, if not touching it by now.

I read in one of the other posts, that adding a bit of soil as a topping layer to the pot would help, so as a precaution, I added a layer of MG potting mix to the top layer, and that added reinforcement seemed to do the trick. I will most definitely monitor them very closely, to make sure this takes. I'm not looking to do the same to the ghosts, as they are all just fine at the present moment.

Thank you all for the advice :) Much appreciated. Spice on!
 
Dude your farther S. than me what are ya doin under lights...?

Several reasons for that. I live in an apartment with no balcony whatsoever, and putting them right outside my front door is gonna be impossible due to the fact there is virtually no room in front of it on account of the hallway to other apartments in my building. That also leads into there being no shortage of kids in my apartment complex who love to run around & play around outside (read: run about at full speed & horse around with no regard for people's potted plants, many of which have been knocked over & destroyed despite the many and varied protests from people to keep the kids in line and not destroy said potted plants), not to mention the way my windows are configured, all three are east-facing, and I would have to completely move my furniture around in order to accomadate my plants. My apartment complex also heavily frowns upon the growing of anything except flowering plants outside, and even then, there are rescrictions. So anything that bears fruit of any description, anything non-native, etc., strictly speaking, is a no-no. As long as we keep the plants inside, though, they tend not to ask too many questions.

So yeah, figured it'd be cheaper & easier to use grow lights. Just following my grandpa's rule #18: Work smarter, not harder. Were I living in a house right now instead of an apartment, none of these would even be a consideration, and I'd have more than one full-on greenhouse in the backyard, with plenty of room, sun, and windage for these guys :)
 
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