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First time seed starting... I have green and orange peppers. I went out of town for 3 days so I put my plants in a dish and watered them well and put them in front of brightest window I have. When I returned home some were leaned over and some also have this... what's wrong?

It is roots. It is probably planted shallow or the media was very dense. Add more media to cover and support the plant. Don't overwater, your mix looks heavy. I prefer a light mix for seedlings, it is finer and not so coarse or heavy.

I agree, just don't add too much, just enough to cover the roots is all I would add. Or you could just transplant it and make sure the exposed roots are covered.

Agreed -- those are normal roots. I usually plant the pepper seedlings deeper. Not quite as liberally as tomato seedlings but a little bit deeper. In the pictured seedlings, the bottom of the stem where it first sprouted, and where it transitions to roots is obvious (there is usually a little kink) so the root-producing cells were exposed. Luckily you did water well so this part wasn't dried out.

Bury to about 1/4" to 1/2" above where the roots are growing since the potting mix will settle. I'm a bit concerned about all those woody, mulch-y stuff. If your potting mix looks like that, it's not a very good one and may cause nitrogen lock up. Especially for starting seeds and little seedlings, I might even screen those out.

I usually add a little sand to the mix for burying pepper stems.

I don't use a composty seed starting mix. I like a fine mix of 50/50 peat lite. It makes it easy for the roots to penetrate and it dries quickly so I have fewer issues with damping off.