Do these pepper plants look okay? (pics)

[kbrown1337]

I planted 11 pepper plants about 5 weeks ago, and they seem like they're still pretty small and weak. A lot of them have leaves that are drooping and some are kinda leaning over. I'm really new to gardening so I don't know if this is normal or not!

Here's a link to some pictures of them: https://imgur.com/a/UKvn7

I gave them a tiny bit of fertilizer about a week ago, and I have been watering every other day, sometimes every day, depending on how dry they look.

I'm just wondering if these seedlings are normal size for their age, and if the drooping stems and leaves are normal. Thanks!

[GardenThrive]

Looks like they may have become spindly due to a lack of light. If the grow lights aren't close enough to the seedlings they will try to grow towards the lights and end up with really thin stems that can't support the weight of the leaves. I keep my grow lights about an inch or so away from the seedlings and raise them up slightly as they grow. The cotyledon leaves (starter leaves) will eventually fall off on their own and is normal. If the true leaves are falling off then you may be overwatering. It's best to let peppers dry out a bit in between waterings. That size pot and seedlings should only need water every 3 to 4 days if you are bottom watering. You may be able to put some small stakes in the pots and tie the seedlings to that to keep them from falling over.

[ButterflyLady29]

If you can't get enough light on them you can keep them from getting so leggy by having a fan blow lightly on them.

Are they planted in potting soil or seed starter? If planted in potting soil don't give them any more fertilizer until you can start to harden them off or give them more light.

[kbrown1337]

If you can't get enough light on them you can keep them from getting so leggy by having a fan blow lightly on them.

Are they planted in potting soil or seed starter. If planted in potting soil don't give them any more fertilizer until you can start to harden them off or give them more light.

They were planted in seed starting pods, and that's when I fertilized them. I moved them to the bigger pots a few days ago, and used potting soil to fill them.

[kbrown1337]

Looks like they may have become spindly due to a lack of light. If the grow lights aren't close enough to the seedlings they will try to grow towards the lights and end up with really thin stems that can't support the weight of the leaves. I keep my grow lights about an inch or so away from the seedlings and raise them up slightly as they grow. The cotyledon leaves (starter leaves) will eventually fall off on their own and is normal. If the true leaves are falling off then you may be overwatering. It's best to let peppers dry out a bit in between waterings. That size pot and seedlings should only need water every 3 to 4 days if you are bottom watering. You may be able to put some small stakes in the pots and tie the seedlings to that to keep them from falling over.

It looks like the true leaves are the ones that are sagging. They're not falling off though.

I had been keeping my grow light about 3 inches away from them, so I'll move it closer now. Do you think they'll be alright after getting enough light or are they shot?

[kbrown1337]

Looks like they may have become spindly due to a lack of light. If the grow lights aren't close enough to the seedlings they will try to grow towards the lights and end up with really thin stems that can't support the weight of the leaves. I keep my grow lights about an inch or so away from the seedlings and raise them up slightly as they grow. The cotyledon leaves (starter leaves) will eventually fall off on their own and is normal. If the true leaves are falling off then you may be overwatering. It's best to let peppers dry out a bit in between waterings. That size pot and seedlings should only need water every 3 to 4 days if you are bottom watering. You may be able to put some small stakes in the pots and tie the seedlings to that to keep them from falling over.

Also, would putting them outside in natural sunlight help at all?

[pepperhead212]

Just be careful when you put things outside. Wind can ruin things faster than you can imagine, esp. with weak stems. Maybe if you have one of those high domes you can put it on a tray and weight it down, opening the vents.

[imafan26]

They need to be transitioned slowly to outside and get either in the ground or in pots soon.

[applestar]

They do look a bit weak. Stronger light will help and if you don't have sufficient light set up, you can put them outside -- but they need close watching especially at first. Peppers can go outside when temperature IN THE SUN is 60°F or above -- this means official temp taken in shade could be still in the 50's or even 40's.

But when you first put them outside, they need to be in a sheltered (from wind) shady spot, so don't put them outside unless the temperature in the shade is in the 60's. Remote sensor thermometer is really great to have, and placing inexpensive direct read thermometers with the seedling is a good practice. Sitting out with them so you can feel the sun yourself is a good way too. I sometimes move seedlings in or out of the sun because it feels too cold or too hot.

I sometimes put them in a large translucent storage tote as an easy way to give them protection -- but you need to be careful about using the lid. Different situations call for different uses. I posted all that once before a couple of years ago....

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, your peppers will be better off outside at this point, weather permitting. What people have been telling you is that they need to be hardened off. Little seedlings that have been indoors are tender and can be easily burned by sun and wind.

I do hardening just by increasing the amount of exposure, by location not time. Since until recently I had to go to work all day, I couldn't be messing with moving things around every couple hours. So I just brought the plants out and put them in a location with no direct sun and left them there. Only brought back in if it would be too cold or windy for them (wind is very hard on tender seedlings). After a couple days of that, moved them to a location with just a few hours of morning sun and left them there. If they are ok after a few days of that, moved them to a location with a few more hours of sun. So weather conditions cooperating within a week to ten days I would move them to their final location, but let them sit there for a day or two still in the pot, before planting.