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What Mistakes Have You Made This Season?

I would like to know what mistakes you have made and maybe us new growers can learn from them.
For instance when i first got a sprout in my germ tray i figured wow now they need light. Thats not so bad right? Well dont put them in the sun with the top on and a heat pad underneath while you are at work lol. All were fried and never got another sprout from that tray. $25 mistake right there. :( So what have you done that has caused a face palm or Doh!!! moment
 
Like you, I got too excited about getting my sprouts outside. Even though most had at least their second set of leaves, I put them in direct sunlight instead of partial sun/shade. Big mistake. Most of them were fried. Definitely have to look out for that sun burn!
 
No mistakes this season. Last yr I made a few, such as over fertilizing on one particular plant, as well as waiting to long to pot up a few plants. What's nice about the plants is that for the most part, they bounce back nicely from human error and certain pests. Our responsability as growers is to document and learn from our mistakes not to make them again and to just give our plants what they need. Nothing more and nothing less.This forum is a great place to learn and share experiences with others.
 
Could have had better lights and the ferts I need already on standby.
Still, not doing bad for first try!
 
I planted my first round of peppers in individual, small cells that dired out quickly and planted them in 2-year-old miracle grow potting mix that I acquired for free (it was too coarse{woody and probably had bad microorganisms}). That was mistake number 1. Mistake number 2 was purchasing a heat mat, which got too* hot for proper germination. Another mistake was composting away the "tops" of my peppers that I topped (I could have cloned and sold them). And lastly... and perhaps worstly, I had my first death due to dehydration recently :mope:



Edit: lol... I had posted this and then remembered that that plant didnt die!!!!! :P It lost all of its leaves except for the very, very newest pair that were microscopic at the time... At one point... it looked like a stick in a pot. Now it has quarter sized leaves again. This is a good lesson for new growers... never give up on plants. Let them try to survive. You can assist them by removing most of their foliage, so that they can focus their energy into new, healthy growth and repair of internal damage.
 
underwatered till most leaves falling off.lost 2. had to go out of town and no one to watch. looks like the rest are going to make it
 
Used "Miracle Rot" as that was the only available locally in January.
Though mold, moss, and other volunteers didn't seem to harm the peppers, and are finally under control, that brand is now banned.

Planted early in too small pots.
They all fit nicely under a 6 tube T5HO, but will be seriously root bound by Mothers day-- the earliest I can dirt them with a 50/50 chance of no more frost.
And as they are in small pots and getting big, they suck a lot of water and can dry out really fast.

Bought new flats and 3.5" pots off ebay.
Weak, flimsy, and got holes easily which meant an emergency water removal from the carpet and rush to find something else to put them in.
 
I bought 40 bags of Pro-Mix (1cu ft), stored them in the garage. I'd bring a bag or two in the night before to air/dry the mix before using. The last few bags that were on the bottom of the pile were pretty wet. I needed them at the time and didn't let them dry...long story short I've got a few fungal gnats flying around in my lower level grow. I should have layered the upper inch of medium with some dry peat. The humidity in the sub basement is high and the temperature is low compared to the main grow room. I backed off of the bottom watering to let the soil dry out. Lost a couple plants due to the gnats...but I do have a few extras...
 
Nothing this year yet. Two years ago I had some problems over watering which led to damping off. Last year I ignored them for too long before potting them up and got seriously root bound. It took quite a while for them to kick into gear and start producing.
 
Didn't label everything. Starting my pubes too late. Next time start at the end of September. In Phoenix the heat kills them not the cold.

I had a very productive hab plant. My wife, the main cook, didn't like the habs so I let them die and didn't plant any. My wife discovers that dried habs are her favorite cooking pepper. I ran to the local nursery and planted 5.

I turned on the heater but not the thermostat for two days. Still got some sprouts
 
Hmmm not sure if/what I have done wrong this year as it is my first year growing.
I started with a flood light for my light source, but changed that with in 3 days
germinated some in a paper towel and might have planted to early, not sure as about 50% sprouted
had a helmut on one and when i tried to take it off I took half of each cot with it, plant is alive and doing well working on its true leaves

reading Frosty's post, I had to re- pot a few plants into larger pots and forgot to label 3 of them. Should be easy to figure out as 1 is a ghost, 1 is a 7 pot and the other is a Carib red hab.
 
Squeezed 16 plants under one bulb for over 5 months. Also overwatered and over fertilized for about 3 weeks to make up for the fact that I only visit my grow weekly. Come to think of it, I wish I'd brought my overwinters under the light a couple weeks earlier too. I've got 25 plants currently, just hoping to keep at least 20 after they go outside this weekend.
 
#1.Using coco fiber as a "legit" potting soil. They started producing indoors and I potted up with coco, PH went down and stopped producing and got yellow leaves, but I didn't kill them.

#2. Using "miracle" gro potting soil.... Lots of yellow leaves and stunted growth. Pro~Mix is the cure.

#3. As we all do. Overwatering.


Have a green day, stay warm :D.

, Vegas
 
#2. Using "miracle" gro potting soil.... Lots of yellow leaves and stunted growth. Pro~Mix is the cure.

I used the miracle grow seed starting mix for fast root development and have not had any issues with stunted growth or yellow leaves. I do have one Thai Fire that has some purpling around the edges of the leaves, but that has faded since I have been letting the tap water sit out for a few hrs.
 
I used the miracle grow seed starting mix for fast root development and have not had any issues with stunted growth or yellow leaves. I do have one Thai Fire that has some purpling around the edges of the leaves, but that has faded since I have been letting the tap water sit out for a few hrs.

I never used the seed starting mix. I'd say that roots would grow more freely in light mixes. I say it's the fertilizer in the potting soil that makes the yellowing.

I tried what I did with the MG with the Pro~Mix and I didn't have the same issue. Even so they're growing a lot faster with the Pro~Mix than with the MG. Again I never used the seeding mix, so I can't really say anything.

, Vegas
 
I never used the seed starting mix. I'd say that roots would grow more freely in light mixes. I say it's the fertilizer in the potting soil that makes the yellowing.

I tried what I did with the MG with the Pro~Mix and I didn't have the same issue. Even so they're growing a lot faster with the Pro~Mix than with the MG. Again I never used the seeding mix, so I can't really say anything.

, Vegas

Will have to get some of the Pro-mix and sow 2 seeds to see what happens, if there is any difff.
Thanks Vegas I said I was done sowing seeds this year LOL
 
Let's see...

-Stuck a 60W incandescent bulb next to my grow tray for additional heat (in my unheated garage). Warped the plastic seed tray, cooked a couple seedlings
-Backed off watering to avoid the overwatering I was doing, and dried out some seedlings
-Dropped a seed tray full of water, which cracked it and rendered it incapable of holding liquid (right after I JUST planted new seeds...that was another trip to lowes)
-Bought a seed tray (just the tray, no inserts) off of amazon, only to discover that it had drainage holes large enough that I couldn't use it because the water and dirt would just run right through
-I still need to figure out how to reduce the helmet heads in my rapid rooters - they germ great, but I lost quite a few seedlings because of stuck seed caps
-Buying a battery operated fan to blow on my plants. It was small enough to fit, but batteries died fast. Replaced it with some AC powered ventilation (muffin) fans. Still need to get those in my greenhouse...

#1 Mistake...

Thinking that I was "just" going to plant maybe a dozen plants....I'm looking at at LEAST 70!
 
-Bought a seed tray (just the tray, no inserts) off of amazon, only to discover that it had drainage holes large enough that I couldn't use it because the water and dirt would just run right through

Try a layer of Garden fabric at the bottom of the tray.... it'll hold the dirt in and still let the water out.

My biggest mistake was sowing a 72 cell tray full of seeds and successfully germinating them, then bringing them outside for some sun to start hardening them off after they started getting their first true leaves... They were doing great until I decided to spritz them down with a weak epsom salt/water mixture from my spray bottle and let them continue to sit in the sun. When all was said and done, only 9 survived and I had to resow almost everything. Those are sprouting now.
 
Try a layer of Garden fabric at the bottom of the tray.... it'll hold the dirt in and still let the water out.

Good idea, I'll keep that in mind. I wanted to keep the water in, too, but if I use it for something else, I'll use that idea.
 
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