Disaster and recovery (hopefully)

So back in October I planted a huge number of seeds of 10 different varieties of chilli.  I knew that spring would be busy so if I could get a head start with half of the varieties I planned to grow it would make life easier.  Things went well and within a couple of weeks I had some seedlings showing.

October 1st 2011

October 16th 2011

Then disaster struck.  I went away for a weekend and foolishly overwatered them in anticipation of them drying out.  When I got back there was a very sorry sight awaiting me, most of the seedlings had fallen foul of damping off, a fungal infection which is made worse by overly damp conditions and not enough air circulation. I managed to rescue a few of the poor, drooping seedlings but many died and those that were left were weak, spindly and lacking leaves.  With winter drawing and shorter days, their growth was hampered further by the lack of sunlight.

So, in an attempt to repair the damage I've invested in an LED grow-light and am now subjecting the remaining seedlings to 18 hours of light a day. I opted for the LED light because firstly it was cheap to buy and very economical to run.  Secondly it's cool running so I've been able to bolt it underneath a table, close to the plants without fear of scorching them or setting fire to the house.  I've made some reflective walls for their little grow-room with some kitchen foil and card to reduce  any spillage of the light and where possible will get them as much natural daylight as I can (not easy with how crowded my windowsills currently are!)

The miniature grow-room in action.

Admittedly the light isn't particularly powerful (14W) but with only 8 hours of sunlight on a good day at the moment I'm hoping it will do the trick in promoting a growth spurt.

So far the plants have been under the light for nearly a week and it certainly doesn't seem to have done them any harm.  It'll take a while longer to see if there are any huge benefits but certainly the seedlings are looking healthy even if they haven't grown significantly yet.