I am starting peppers indoors (a little late, I know) and the leaves on maybe half of my seedlings are pointing up. These are the first leaves that come from the plant. Some are just starting on there second sets of leaves, so I was thinking the lighting was effective (new to starting indoors with LED lights).
I have a cheap LED light that was right above my plants until I noticed a cucumber plant's leaves looking almost burning so I placed that light as high as I could given the shelf above it, probably 12 inches. My pea plants didn't seem to mind the distance as they quickly grew right up to it and I really need to get it outside. But something about a large percentage of my pepper plants doing the same thing alarms me.
Another detail is I very recently place a low speed fan near the plants as well as a fan not directly facing the area but indirectly moving air toward the plants. I only had maybe a maximum of 1 hour of fan activity, and it was the first time I've done it. Does that sound like something that would provoke the leaves to point up? Even my most promising looking seedlings (Cali Wonder) are doing the thing.
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applestar
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What part of your house are you using for seed starting? I assume it’s already pretty hot outside. Are you running A/C? An A/C inspector told me that the system is considered functioning correctly when the air coming out at the vents is 10°F lower than the temperature set by the thermostat.
Eggplants/Tomatoes/Peppers — they all tend to hold their leaves upward when temperature is cooler than they like, and also, I notice they do this at nightfall.
In fact, when using lights that can burn, you have to be particularly mindful that they might turn their leaves upwards during the night so they are touching the light bulbs, And then when the lights turn on in the morning, they might get burned before they react to lower their leaves.
Eggplants/Tomatoes/Peppers — they all tend to hold their leaves upward when temperature is cooler than they like, and also, I notice they do this at nightfall.
In fact, when using lights that can burn, you have to be particularly mindful that they might turn their leaves upwards during the night so they are touching the light bulbs, And then when the lights turn on in the morning, they might get burned before they react to lower their leaves.
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pepperhead212
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I'm wondering why these are still inside - isn't it warm enough outside for the peppers?
You say it's a cheap LED - I have some cheap LEDs that actually work better for the plants than one, more expensive model I used this season, which some plants seemed to get leggy under; they seem to be reaching for the lights, even though it seemed very bright, while under the T8s, or those cheap 60 w LEDs (those are almost as bright as T5s), they don't get leggy. Is that what is happening with yours under the LED?
You say it's a cheap LED - I have some cheap LEDs that actually work better for the plants than one, more expensive model I used this season, which some plants seemed to get leggy under; they seem to be reaching for the lights, even though it seemed very bright, while under the T8s, or those cheap 60 w LEDs (those are almost as bright as T5s), they don't get leggy. Is that what is happening with yours under the LED?
The pepper seedlings are in a non-air conditioned part of my house. And yes, they should be outside but I started later than I wanted to mostly cause I'm taking my time making space for a new garden in what is now a kudzu field. Most of the plants are back to normal stance with a few stragglers. I'm now assuming that when I pointed the fan at them it made it cooler and that's why they reacted that way. I don't have the lights close enough where it would touch them when their leaves point up, should they be? And it happens to be that all my plants except my peppers are all leggier than I'd like to be honest but not enough that I'm worried about them.
I got a shelf that has 30$ amazon LED 1'X1' square (directions recommended a foot over the plants as the closest and 2 cheap, long 10$ wally world LED lights. I have room for another light as 1 shelf is lightless so far, any recommendations of lights that have worked well from experience? My preference is cheap, long and LED.
I got a shelf that has 30$ amazon LED 1'X1' square (directions recommended a foot over the plants as the closest and 2 cheap, long 10$ wally world LED lights. I have room for another light as 1 shelf is lightless so far, any recommendations of lights that have worked well from experience? My preference is cheap, long and LED.