Kevin I didn't know they needed light to form buds! Thank you for this. In my situation the light came with the area they are planted in. BTW, I planted a lot of freezias I got from a Big Box at 75% off. I plant them above hyacinths in urn like pots outside. After I planted, we got 10 inches of snow. There was no way to move them inside and the snow was such a surprise here near Dallas, TX that I forgot about them and didn't cover the pots. I thought these "delicate" bulbs would be lost but this weekend I saw signs of green foliage and the hyacinths are leaping out now, so they pushed several bulbs out too. They are firm and healthy. Guess they are tougher than I thought. Thanks again c

Try other varieties, especially ones noted in seed catalogs as slower to bolt. I've had some lettuce bolt about as quickly as it has for you, and some lasts a bit longer. The best thing you can do is succession planting -- plant a new crop ever 10 days to 2 weeks, and you'll always have a supply. That's trickier indoors under lights but certainly not impossible. I would also cut back the light to more like 10 to 11 hours a day after the seedlings are well established, if you are growing for indoor production. It may also help to cut out as much ambient light when the growing lights are off, in order to give them real darkness.

I have the same shelf as zenman, but I don't use a heat mat. I buy the mylar blankets from the sports dept at Walmart. They are in a small box hanging on a rack and the cost is about $3. I drape this small blanket over the top shelf and attach it with clothes pins to cover down to the next shelf. I don't use any lights on the top shelf, and because heat rises, the heat from the lights on the second shelf heat the area above that shelf. The blanket holds the heat in and the tray with the dome cover holds the moisture in the tray. At the first sign of germination, I remove the dome and move the tray down under the lights and drop the lights down until they almost touch the plants. I grow in a building that is well insulated and will only add heat if the outside temp is below freezing. The lights create some heat, but I intentional grow tomatoes on a cooler shelf. Peppers, on the other hand, need to be on one of the open shelves that has a light under it as they will benefit from the extra heat that rises from that light. I also have my light fixtures plugged into surge protectors so that I can control all of the lights by just flipping a switch rather than plugging and unplugging cords. The sports blankets that I use look a little like aluminum foil, but are soft and almost transparent. When I first start the plants I use another blanket to wrap around the shelves because the silver color tends to reflect more light onto the plants (I think). Sometimes I remove it from the lower shelves and some years I just add a small fan to make sure there is some air movement on the plants. Later in the season, I remove it because I don't want the plants to be too hot, but I leave the top part covered and continue to use it as a germination chamber. I am attaching a picture, but the light wasn't on in the room when I took the picture so you have to look closely to see the top shelf which has no lights. I have watered from the bottom, from the top, and misted and I never have had damping off, so I can't say which is best. I would never mist if I wasn't running a fan though. Here is a link that might be useful: My shelf

Hi John, I'm glad you found GW... I think most of us here are starting things from seed that we transition to outdoors rather than growing to maturity under lights - you may not find anyone who has tried what you are attempting with your peppers. There is an active group with considerable experience on the Growing Under Lights forum, maybe you could find a grower there who could better answer your questions