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First time growing outdoors (IL): HELP!

Pita

Pita

Hey all! I'm really excited! Been growing orange habs indoors for right around three years now, and I think it is time to kick things up a notch. More plants, more types, and outdoors!! I am not sure if I will grow in pots, a raised bed, greenhouse, or other method yet, but it will be outside.

This brings me a whole new set of things to worry about! I'm planning on buying seeds within the week to start off indoors in prep for plant out this season. With the temperatures being what they are in Illinois, are there any varieties that would be ideal, or not work at all? The main reason I bring this up is because of this snip-it I read on The Hippy Seed Company's website: "Scientific studies conclude that Naga Seeds need a Constant soil temp of between 28—32 C(80—90F) and can take up to 5 weeks to sprout.. " I can tell you already, it ain't stayin that temperature all season here :lol:

I'd love to stick with the superhots like the yellow 7pot, bhut, naga morich, the o-habs I already have, and any suggestions on any tasty varieties to balance/compliment those nicely.

There is the possibility of me building a wide-but-really-short greenhouse on the side of our house, but I'm not sure of the sun coverage there.

Any suggestions/comments/concerns/ideas/beer that you guys have? I really appreciate any input on this. I'm completely stoked to be doing this! It'll be great to have you all along for the ride!

:hell:
Pita
 
I'm not giving you my beer - I need it!

You can start plants inside now - no need to worry about soil temps outside. For superhots, it is time. It took about a week for my Bhuts to germinate last year, but I kept the temps at about 85 degrees and the potting mix moist the entire time.

As far as ground, containers, raised beds - whatever floats your boat. Given good soil, I would pick ground. If you have bad soil, then raised beds or containers. Not many people have heartily endorsed the idea, but if you go with containers, I would bury them in dirt. Keeps the sides cooler and the roots at a more constant temp, as well as means less watering in summer.

Mike
 
I will add that the fatalli is widely recommended here. I will be trying it for the first time this year so can't comment on my own experience yet but sounds like a winner.

I will be starting all my seeds in the next week or so and will keep them under shoplights in the garage until around the middle of April. I had better luck last year in containers as opposed to in ground, but I have lousy heavy clay soil that will take many years to amend. Plus, with containers, you can move them inside to finish ripening in the fall when the temps start to drop. Wordwiz has a good idea about burying the pots, but I would also recomment mulching the plants whether in containers or in ground. This will help reduce disease and conserve moisture.

I hope you have a great upcoming season!
jacob
 
Great point about burying the pots mike. If I go with pots, it will be for use in a greenhouse, not outside.

Jacob, I will be sure to use a bit of mulch, I know it's supposed to help tons.

REALLY want to stay away from growing directly in the ground; don't want chemicals leaching and whatnot.

Now to figure out if a greenhouse is worth the work/cost in this environment. :shocked:
 
Pita said:
Naga Seeds need a Constant soil temp of between 28—32 C(80—90F) and can take up to 5 weeks to sprout..
Click to expand...

You don't need that all season, just until the seeds sprout. May you have a great season.
 
Also, don't set the plants out until the nighttime temp is consistantly over 50. This could set the plants back several weeks. Sometimes you get pods quicker when you don't try to rush the season. Of course, I still try every year and regret it.

jacob
 
Pita said:
Now to figure out if a greenhouse is worth the work/cost in this environment. :shocked:
Click to expand...

I love my GH but it is a PITA at times. I've had the temps go from 52 to 113 in just a couple of hours. I will use it to harden off plants, simply because I have it but I would never build one to do nothing but raise seedlings, especially since I can do everything except harden them upstairs. Not to mention, if you get a few days in a row without sun, your plants can get a bit on the leggy side, you will lose some, maybe a significant amount of light intensity depending on what you have for a top or sides.

Mike
 
As others already mentioned, the time to start seeding has come. I use a styrofoam container, filled with basic potting soil, put the seeds about 1 1/2 inch apart, spray the soil till humid, and cover the container with a plastic bag. I then place it close to one of our heaters. The last couple of years I experimented with storing the seeds warm (next to heater) for a couple of days before seeding, and this seems to work great for me, as all seeds start sprouting within 1-2 days. I leave the container in place till the plants have 2 leaves, then move the container close to a window, still covered by the plastic. After about a week, I remove this plastic.
I leave the plants in the same container till end of April (replanting holds a risk as most chiles don't enjoy changing their socks), when the soil temperature outside is constant and above about 55 F, then replant, or in pots or in solid ground. Both do well, but my plants in solid ground get twice the size, with at least 3x the number of pods. The pots, I place against a wall, on a stone floor, and directed towards the South. The advantage is that the stones absorbs heat during the day and release this heat at night when it cools down.
For the plants in solid ground, I make a simple PMPS (poor man's pepper shelter), 4 stakes in the ground, cross stakes tied across the top, and covered with clear plastic. For the plastic I usually go to a mattress store and ask them if they have any left over bags that contain mattresses. The plastic is thick, is unthreated (lets UV through), and it hold up nicely, even through bad weather.
This year, I kept my scotch bonnets in this shelter till end of November, and a few other, more resistant, till a couple of weeks ago, and they kept forming pods without problem.
In the heat of summer, at temps in the 90ies, I would recommend to lift the plastic like an inch from the soil, such that there is air circulation in the greenhouse.
What I described is what works for me, being about 150 miles North of the Mediterranean in France, but you may have to experiment a bit.
Good luck ... !!!
 
Got my seeds in the mail a couple days ago!!

fatali
morouga red (bonus! :) )
yellow 7 pod
trinidad scorpion
naga moric
chocolate bhut
bhut jolokia

Can I germ all of these at naga temps?
 
Pita, i am across the river from you in Iowa and had no problem sprouting my Bhut's with a grow media temp of 68-70 degrees, they all popped up in less than 2 weeks, some were up in 8 days! I wouldnt worry too much about chemical leeching, unless you are planting next to a corn/bean field.
 
I'm in IL too...the key is starting the seeds early...like now early:-) I waited way too long last year, I think March/April and ended up tossing 70% or more of my crop last year because it was still on the plants when the temps started dropping below freezing. Everything else went fine even though as I'm sure you recall we didn't exactly have a blazing hot summer in IL last year. I started my seeds this year on Jan 2 and the first just started showing last night. Germinating n my basement this year (and last) so never above 70ish and surely not 80+ degrees at any point.
 
Just a little update. Three morouga reds, and two yellow 7pods have sprouted! I'm kind of worried about the lack of sprouting by the others though.. :/ Hope all goes well.
 
*bump*

I know you're not supposed to, but I dug up two cells carefully and the seeds haven't sprouted. What gives? A couple more of the same two sprouted last night.
 
I've had seeds take a month to sprout. Temp seems to play a huge role. Sometimes you just get some duds too. my giant jolokis this took 20+ days this year before the first sprout and some still have not sprouted and I planted on the 2nd of Jan.
 
Chinense can take up to 4-5 weeks or even more before they spout. That's normal even though you sometimes might get some that germinates in just a few days.They are SLOW and that is the reason you should start early. Don't let the soil dry out!
 
I’m also a first time seed starter. I started the following on 1/14/10:
Caribbean Red (8 seeds)
Jamaican Choc. (8)
Fatalli (4)
Scotch Bonnet TFM (8)
Bhut Jolokia-CPI (4)
Dorsett Naga (2)
Trinidad Douglah (4)
7 Pot (8)
Yellow Recoto (4)
I have the following sprouted - Car. Red (2), Bhut Jolokia (1), Rocoto (1). Each day seems to bring a new seedling to the tray. I water with a mister everyday, the heat mat seems to dry the starter mix rather quickly. I plan on starting my Aji seeds in a week or so with the annums to follow around 3/1. I have a small germination setup and must proceed in stages.

(Props to Chris from Michigan for some of these seeds!)
 
Well, the two seeds I dug up look healthy atleast. It's unfortunate they take so long to germ :( When do I take the top off? I normally dont use a germ-ing greenhouse setup.
 
Are you using peat pucks? If so, you can move the ones that have come up to a tuperwear bowl and leave the lid on the other tray til they germinate. I am not sure how bad being under the humid dome can be for them, I have heard of damping off, but never experienced it myself.
 
Patience my friend...patience...
 
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