My pepper plants used to get leggy every spring until I put a cheap shop light 2 inches above them

For three years in a row my jalapenos would stretch out to 6 inches tall and fall over, but after I moved the light closer like that Austin gardener told me, they stayed short and bushy and I got fruit by early June. Anyone else fight with weak seedlings before figuring out the light distance trick?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_gibson437h ago

Hold on a second. I have the exact same setup and my peppers did worse when I jammed the light that close. Some of the leaves got that light green bleached look and started curling at the edges. I moved my shop light back to about 5 or 6 inches and they grew way better, still stayed short without getting stretched out. Leggy seedlings are more about not having enough total light hours or using a weak bulb, not just distance. A cheap light 2 inches away can burn the new growth just as easy as it can fix the stretching problem.

morgan_lewis189h ago

Honestly, "cheap shop light 2 inches above them" is the exact hack I needed too. I had the same issue with my jalapenos getting all leggy and weak every spring. Once I moved my light closer, like right up in their faces, they finally stopped stretching and got nice and sturdy. It's wild how much of a difference that little distance makes, right?