beginner need help

72cell starter tray for germinating
solo cup / 3.5in pot for seedling
3-10 gal for mature
 
any soil you find at nursery or lowes / depot will work. Or you can make your own.
 
keep damp / wet all the time when germinating
water every day or every other day when seedling
can water every 2-4 days when mature (depends on soil, container size, heat, etc)
 
maybe this helps some:
 
        Make sure you use 1 per pot.They look like you can get away with 2 but you soon see they need their own.I learned this the hard way having to replant in the middle of the season.The less you have to transplant the better your plants will thrive.Good luck.
 
rdsxfn524 said:
so i just got my peppers 5 moruga's and 5 ghost scorps. need to know what size pot, what soil, and watering info
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I'd read the glog of a grower in your area. You have a good pepper climate -more forgiving than most of the US. 
 
I've not had good experience with soils from big box stores except Miracle Gro Moisture Control  (the other stuff not so good I hear).
Bringing a plant to mature fruit is pretty demanding of your average potting soil these days which seems to be about getting something that looks like rich soil cheaply into a plastic bag.
 
The top of my list so far is Fox Farms Ocean Forest (can usually be found at a hydro store), it's organic and works like a charm, but a bit  pricey because eventually people will pay anything for something that actually works. 20 bucks for 1.5 cu ft.(1.5 = ~11gal) I'd use 5 gal pots to mature the plants. or 19 gal totes for a show plant. A 3gal pot and excellent soil works for some people I hear.
 
Making you own good soil is way more challenging than I use to think.
I've made plenty of bad ones though.
 
Peppers like to have their soil on the dry side and don't  perform well if over-watered regularly which makes it harder to say exactly how often to water.
 
Good luck, you've picked some hot ones.
 
JJJessee said:
I'd read the glog of a grower in your area. You have a good pepper climate -more forgiving than most of the US. 
 
I've not had good experience with soils from big box stores except Miracle Gro Moisture Control  (the other stuff not so good I hear).
Bringing a plant to mature fruit is pretty demanding of your average potting soil these days which seems to be about getting something that looks like rich soil cheaply into a plastic bag.
 
The top of my list so far is Fox Farms Ocean Forest (can usually be found at a hydro store), it's organic and works like a charm, but a bit  pricey because eventually people will pay anything for something that actually works. 20 bucks for 1.5 cu ft.(1.5 = ~11gal) I'd use 5 gal pots to mature the plants. or 19 gal totes for a show plant. A 3gal pot and excellent soil works for some people I hear.
 
Making you own good soil is way more challenging than I use to think.
I've made plenty of bad ones though.
 
Peppers like to have their soil on the dry side and don't  perform well if over-watered regularly which makes it harder to say exactly how often to water.
 
Good luck, you've picked some hot ones.
Click to expand...
Where do I find the "glog"
 
OKGrowin said:
keep damp / wet all the time when germinating
water every day or every other day when seedling
Click to expand...
 
This is one of those "yes and no" things. Yes, keep damp while germinating. Also, keep damp but not wet thereafter - think more humid than wet. As 7potquezada said "don't overwater."
 
While they're still very young - cotyledons and maybe up to 3-4 leaves, it can be difficult to judge when to water. Beginners especially tend to overwater. The first sign of overwatering is the leaves start to get more yellow than green. If you find your plants doing this, back off on your watering schedule. Every day is not usually good. Wet soil tends to get the damping off fungus, which can kill your plants. So in the very beginning there's kind of a fine line to walk. After the plant gets 4 or so sets of true leaves, use the drooping approach - don't water until the leaves droop just a tad. Don't let the pot get bone-dry, but let each plant tell you when it wants water based on the leaves.
 
geeme said:
 
This is one of those "yes and no" things. Yes, keep damp while germinating. Also, keep damp but not wet thereafter - think more humid than wet. As 7potquezada said "don't overwater."
 
While they're still very young - cotyledons and maybe up to 3-4 leaves, it can be difficult to judge when to water. Beginners especially tend to overwater. The first sign of overwatering is the leaves start to get more yellow than green. If you find your plants doing this, back off on your watering schedule. Every day is not usually good. Wet soil tends to get the damping off fungus, which can kill your plants. So in the very beginning there's kind of a fine line to walk. After the plant gets 4 or so sets of true leaves, use the drooping approach - don't water until the leaves droop just a tad. Don't let the pot get bone-dry, but let each plant tell you when it wants water based on the leaves.
Click to expand...
what pot do you suggest though?
 
     I use 4" square plastic pots for seedlings. For mature plants, I use either 5 gallon buckets (I used a 3/4" hole saw to put drainage holes in the bottom) and equivalent size plastic flower pots. I have better results with the flower pots that are wider on the top. Peppers tend to have a broad, shallow root system so a narrow, deep container like a 5 gallon bucket kind of seems like a waste of soil. 
 
"West Palm" sounds likely to be a warm place - Florida? Cali? If so, you likely don't need to start small and move up, you can just start in the containers you want them to end up in if you've got them outside already. Size - I'd recommend a 5-gallon pot and, like dash 2 said, ensure you have sufficient drain holes.
 
Is a 5-gallon pot a waste of soil? Depends on the variety of peppers you grow. Some, like jalapenos, have only small root systems. Others, like douglahs, like to spread their roots out. Every year I repot my douglahs - pull them out and remove as much soil as possible, then trim both roots and stems well before giving them fresh soil. I assure you they're in pots larger than 5-gallons and they are just about root-bound by the end of the season. Morugas and scorps can get pretty big, so I'd recommend going with good-sized pots.
 
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