When and how to move plants?

[Nizztos]

This will be my first season growing chilis, or anything for that matter. I have an aerogarden with chili seeds that is now two months old and got bit by a bug to grow more.
I'm trying to read up on as much as I can I have a couple of questions on a few things that are not clear to me.

I will germinate seeds before the outdoor season starts. I have a relatively short season and not that good weather during the growing season. I will be growing ornamentals and they will be in an ebb/flow system out in the open. I will probably also grow some indoors in self watering pots.

I will start the seeds in RockWool and then move them to a simple ebb/flow system. Not decided yet exactly what kind of light I will use but it will be relatively low wattage (i.e. no 200W CFL etc). From there I will move them the the larger ebb/flow system outdoors when the time is right. Does this sound reasonable?
How crowded can I let the initial ebb/flow system be? I want to save on space both for the sake of space and reducing the area I need to light.

My primary question that I have not seen an aswer to in all the discussions on when to germinate. When can I move the plants outdoors? I.e. what should the outdoor conditions be?

 

[muskymojo]

Find out when the last frost typically is for your area. They can go outside for good after that (some years are different). Also, make sure to harden off your plants to acclimate them to the outdoors.

Sorry. I can't help you with hydro questions.

 

[shigshwa]

Hmm... Outside? I'm concerned with the nutrient solution heating up. Don't know if this will pose a problem, but the heat might cause some issues..

As for the number of plants, I think you can put as many plants as you want, as long as they can grow comfortably. Keep in mind that as you add plants, the nutes will deplete quicker, which means that the solution will have to be changed more often.

 

[Nizztos]

Find out when the last frost typically is for your area. They can go outside for good after that (some years are different). Also, make sure to harden off your plants to acclimate them to the outdoors.

Sorry. I can't help you with hydro questions.

Thanks! That was the impression I got from other posts but it was never cleary stated.

Hmm... Outside? I'm concerned with the nutrient solution heating up. Don't know if this will pose a problem, but the heat might cause some issues..

As for the number of plants, I think you can put as many plants as you want, as long as they can grow comfortably. Keep in mind that as you add plants, the nutes will deplete quicker, which means that the solution will have to be changed more often.

I doubt the water temperature will be a problem as it never gets all that warm here. While we certanly do have weeks with higher temp the average high here is 68F/20C. I might want to put the "tank" in the shade just to be safe though.

 

[Prehensile]

Yep you do have a short growing season, looks like its safe to put plants outside around mid May......Our low temp here is higher than your high temps most of the year!!!!

 

[Nizztos]

Yep you do have a short growing season, looks like its safe to put plants outside around mid May......Our low temp here is higher than your high temps most of the year!!!!

Bah, now you made me all confused again
Mid May is what I consider early summer here. While we do not have warm summers we usually have fairly mild winters (my area is considered zone 7).
So, do I have to wait for temps to come up or do I just need to be guaranteed to have no frost? If the later mid April would be conservative most years. If temps need to come up, what do I need them to be?

 

[Siliman]

Everyone has their own planting strategies, so here are some of my thoughts:

Chile plants grow well when the night temp lows runs fairly consistently above 10-degrees C. For me that is ususually in May.

My target germination is around 12-weeks prior to average last frost date. So for me, I could start February 8th which is 12 weeks ahead of last frost May 8th. Then to adjust, around mid-April, start checking weather forecasts and soil temps, see if that 10 degree C night temp has arrived. Might be able to get out earlier than that May 8 target or need to stay inside longer.

Keep in mind, I'm talking about planting into the ground. Container plants have more flexibility because you can put them outside if you have nice weather in April, but pull them back in at night or if a cold spell comes along.

Good luck....

 

[Nizztos]

Everyone has their own planting strategies, so here are some of my thoughts:

Chile plants grow well when the night temp lows runs fairly consistently above 10-degrees C. For me that is ususually in May.

My target germination is around 12-weeks prior to average last frost date. So for me, I could start February 8th which is 12 weeks ahead of last frost May 8th. Then to adjust, around mid-April, start checking weather forecasts and soil temps, see if that 10 degree C night temp has arrived. Might be able to get out earlier than that May 8 target or need to stay inside longer.

Keep in mind, I'm talking about planting into the ground. Container plants have more flexibility because you can put them outside if you have nice weather in April, but pull them back in at night or if a cold spell comes along.

Good luck....

Ouch, those are numbers I did not want to see. That gives me June-Aug for night time temps of 10 or better (average). Peak night time averages in July/Aug is 12 .... Is three months enough to get a harvest provided the plants are started indoors?

While I will not plant in soil I will have a stationary system so moving the plants is unfortunately not an option.

 

[Siliman]

There must be several tricks you can use. Heck, the Canadians seem to do pretty well, maybe they'll check in.

Some ideas for your stationary system. Locate it in a sunny area: porch, sunny side of building. Consider using an enclosure during the cooler fringe months. Like one of those mini plastic greenhouses. Or you could build a custom frame using PVC pipe and plastic. An enclosure can gain a few weeks on both ends of the growing season.

Nizztos, here are some plans for an enclosure posted earlier by forum member Steiner. Some variation of this might work well for your outdoor system.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/ec/ec1627-e.pdf

 

[Nizztos]

There must be several tricks you can use. Heck, the Canadians seem to do pretty well, maybe they'll check in.

Some ideas for your stationary system. Locate it in a sunny area: porch, sunny side of building. Consider using an enclosure during the cooler fringe months. Like one of those mini plastic greenhouses. Or you could build a custom frame using PVC pipe and plastic. An enclosure can gain a few weeks on both ends of the growing season.

Nizztos, here are some plans for an enclosure posted earlier by forum member Steiner. Some variation of this might work well for your outdoor system.

http://extension.ore...ec/ec1627-e.pdf

Thanks for advice. My system will basically be a big balcony box fastened to the rail on my patio deck so I don't have the luxury of creating an enclosure. This is also why I'm going for ornamentals as that is the main focus.
Never having used a green house or anything like that I must confess that I'm a bit confused on its application in this case. I can see that it will heat up much better during day time but it seems to me that I will still get the same low temp during night. Possibly delayed a bit due to the warmed up air/growing media.

Anyways, appreciate the sugestions. Might spawn a few ideas in time.

 

[Siliman]

Well, don't give up. The little mini-greenhouses do lose heat gradually at night, but they also maximize temps during the day. In your climate, you could turn cool temps April and May into prime conditions--a 15C daytime outside could easily be 27C in a little greenhouse. Those extra weeks of growing would give you the edge you need. And when you get to nice temps in June, completely remove the cover and you're on the way to pods.

Also, it is really the soil temperature (in your case water temp in your proposed hydro setup) that is more important than air temp. Depending on your reservoir size, I would think it would take a long time to cool down. Also, the ocassional 4 or 5C night temp won't kill anything, peppers just grows slower. The nice growing during the day would more than offset this.

There are several that do balcony grows, and some in colder climates, so you might search around or post a specific question in the "Grow Tech" forum in regards to setup. Post a pic of your balcony over there and see what you get. Also, I don't know what you have in Europe, but there are several products that might work well for you. They can be pretty simple like this one:
mini+greenhouse+cover

Good luck spawning ideas! Start some seeds end of January and go from there....

 

[stc3248]

I'm trying a new setup with C9 Christmas lights and sheet of poly. I am using a thermocube thermal outlet (on at 2 c and off at 5c) to operate the lights under the poly and I keep the thermal outlet on the roof of my porch where it will reach that 2c way before the plants do under the plastic. You might try something like that for about a month while the weather might me questionable to get an early start...The thermocube cost about $10 US and the plastic and lights I had laying around...The whole thing would be under $20. They also sell small greenhouses that would fit on your balcony or maybe a 10' section of tunnel garden???

3

Well, don't give up. The little mini-greenhouses do lose heat gradually at night, but they also maximize temps during the day. In your climate, you could turn cool temps April and May into prime conditions--a 15C daytime outside could easily be 27C in a little greenhouse. Those extra weeks of growing would give you the edge you need. And when you get to nice temps in June, completely remove the cover and you're on the way to pods.

Also, it is really the soil temperature (in your case water temp in your proposed hydro setup) that is more important than air temp. Depending on your reservoir size, I would think it would take a long time to cool down. Also, the ocassional 4 or 5C night temp won't kill anything, peppers just grows slower. The nice growing during the day would more than offset this.

There are several that do balcony grows, and some in colder climates, so you might search around or post a specific question in the "Grow Tech" forum in regards to setup. Post a pic of your balcony over there and see what you get. Also, I don't know what you have in Europe, but there are several products that might work well for you. They can be pretty simple like this one:
mini+greenhouse+cover

Good luck spawning ideas! Start some seeds end of January and go from there....

Those greenhouses look nice! With a little supplemental heat on the cold nights they might be just the ticket!