Give it a shot and they could still spring back

Rather than tossing them, I would just bury them deeper in the soil on the re-plant. I have seen videos on YouTube that show pepper seedlings setting out roots from the main stem when buried deeper - worth a shot if you were just thinking of trashing them anyways.

In addition, you could also try lowering the temperature in the grow area, if possible. Pepper plants grow slower in cool temperatures, which can reduce the inter-nodal gap between leaf sets.

Just a thought.

Rick

Leggy seedlings happen to the best of us ;-) Don't toss them.

I was out of town for two weeks mid January. I seeded my starter trays in what I thought was dry starter mix and was going to drop them off at friends place so they could get them started while I was away. Just before I left their heat pump went in their barn/grow area so I put domes on the trays and left them in our dark cool basement. To my surprise I guess there was enough dampness and moisture in the mix that around a dozen varieties sprouted and were a leggy 2 inches high.

I just deeply transplanted them into three inch pots, only leaving around a centimeter of stem and leaves above the mix. Most hadn't developed true leaves yet. Every one of them is doing fine now. Peppers aren't as fragile as people think.

If you're not comfortable transplanting them now, Rick's suggestion is a good one.

Bill

This post was edited by ottawapepper on Mon, Feb 3, 14 at 15:02