Spindly Lettuce

[jackalope]

Gotta question for the gardeners here ..... we have started some lettuce in a terrarium next to the window 2 weeks ago, the starts are all tall and spindly (2 1/2" - 3 1/2"), even though they have a lot of natural light during the daytime and a red/blue light on them at night. They just keep growing taller and taller, rather than bushing out with more leaves ..... two leaves, that's it! After they get too tall for the stalk to hold up the leaves, they lay down and die from the moisture in the peat pellets. This is the same thing that happened to my lettuce in the AP system last year. These starts are all in peat pellets if that makes any difference. Any ideas, or am I just being too anxious?

[badflash]

They are not getting enough light. Windows are over rated when it comes to light and rarely give you enough. Leggy plants are always lack of light. Ligth actually retards growth in plants. That is how they seek the sun. The side with less light grows slower. The longer side being in the dark leans the plant towards the sun.

[davidstcldfl]

Indoor and greenhouse plants will have stronger stalks, if you run a fan to simulate the wind mother nature provides. Hook one up to a timer, it doesn't have to run all the time.

[jackalope]

Indoor and greenhouse plants will have stronger stalks, if you run a fan to simulate the wind mother nature provides. Hook one up to a timer, it doesn't have to run all the time.

These are indoors ... and the terrarium is only about 12"x12", so no room for a fan.