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"Growing" Frustration

C

Cobrargc

Hello to all.  I planted many varieties of peppers and tomatoes on 3-12-14.  Tomatoes sprouted quickly, followed by some of the peppers.  Most peppers had sprouted after 3 weeks.  I used a heat mat and small greenhouse during germination.  I did make the mistake of leaving the heating mat on too long though.  The seeds were planted in a Jiffy Organic seed starting mix in small plastic pods perhaps 1 1/2" square.  On 4-14-14 I transplanted the peppers into larger fiber pots using Schultz Seed Starter Plus (0.7-0.5-0.4).  At the time of transplanting I fertilized the plants using a 16-19-29 fertilizer.  It calls for 1 tsp per gallon.  I reduced this to 1/2 tsp in 2 gallons to make sure it wasn't too strong.  I water the plants, which are in a plastic tray, every few days.  The water tends to run off the top of the soil, so I fill the bottom of the tray with water and allow the pots to wick up the water. I don't believe I am over watering the plants because the pots don't stand in water for any length of time.  I have the plants under grow lights.  One tray uses a Hydra Farm grow light and the others use another grow light I've had for years.  The lights are on from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM. 
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[SIZE=10.5pt]Now my problem!  The peppers just seem to have stopped growing over the last 2 1/2 weeks.  I even made an effort 5 days ago to move them and the lights into a small room in my shop.  I ran a small heater to keep the room at 75-80 degrees.  I also placed a shallow container of water on top of the heater to get some humidity into the room.  A fan was placed in the room as well to circulate air.  I'd hoped this would snap them out of it. Yesterday I took them outdoors for our first sunny and 80 degree day.  The Carolina Reapers are the ones I'm most concerned about.  They are small like the others, but have yellow colored leaves.  At least the other varieties have a little better green to them.  I need to some advice.  I think they will do better once planted in my garden, but I'm not sure what condition they will be in when I'm able to move them after the last frost.  [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=10.5pt]I NEED SOME HELP. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=10.5pt]I have a few photo I wanted to attach but am unable to see any button to attach or upload.  [/SIZE]
 
Patience is what's needed here. Plants, especially young ones, only really focus on one thing at a time - either roots, stems/shoots/leaves, or pod production. You just moved them to bigger containers so their legs (roots) have more room to grow. Even if you hadn't moved them, they would be working primarily on their roots now as they need strong support for what's going to happen up top once it refocuses its attention that way. This is normal. If nothing else is going on, just be patient. They will especially start to grow up top once you get them outside.
 
Use a photo sharing site like Flickr or photobucket. Stalled plants can mean a while lot or nothing. Pics help with that.
 
I have had the same issue before it seems like some times they can stall out for a while. the big thing is patience like geeme said.
 
They look fine to me. Many of mine started this way, especially the super hots and most especially the reapers. In my case I was over caring for them. I backed off a bit, stopped moving them around, gave them the basics and they took off eventually. My plants are still a little small for their age but they look healthy. Some yellow leaves have dropped here and there, some curled leaves have uncurled etc. The way I figure it...they know more about growing than I do!
 
Good luck but I think you'll do fine with these guys.
 
geeme said:
Patience is what's needed here. Plants, especially young ones, only really focus on one thing at a time - either roots, stems/shoots/leaves, or pod production. You just moved them to bigger containers so their legs (roots) have more room to grow. Even if you hadn't moved them, they would be working primarily on their roots now as they need strong support for what's going to happen up top once it refocuses its attention that way. This is normal. If nothing else is going on, just be patient. They will especially start to grow up top once you get them outside.
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This^
 
All of the sugars made by the leaves are feuling root production, just wait until they get settled and you'll see 2-3 new leaf pairs all cluster at the apical node (top). Mine do the same thing more or less, then go through a grouth spurt where they could potentially become 'leggy'.
 
before you go to bed, give them a misting with epsom salt(1 quart water, add tablespoon of epsom salt).
in the morning, they will have perk up a bit.
 
Here's a link that will hopefully help you feel better. The link is to my 2011 glog, to some pics of the plants I had that year when I brought them outside. Go to the top of page 3 after that, and you'll see how much growth they attained in just one month of being outdoors. Consider that some started from seed in January, while others were ordered as young plants from Cross Country Nurseries and just arrived in May. I had a TON of pods that year.
 
Thanks to everyone for their input.  I will just be patient and heed your advice.  I'll check back in a few weeks.  By then I should be close to moving them outdoors.
 
The cocotek pots work great.  I'd used them in the past.  No worries about overwatering when they are used and it's great to just bury them in the ground when it's time to plant outdoors.
 
I had the same problem with the Jiffy starting soil. Plants just STOPPED growing. When I went to transplant them I found VERY little root development - the pepper plants DO NOT like that soil.
 
My solution was to let them dry (mostly) to get the soil to mostly fall off, then transplant to Shults trying to get as little of the jiffy stuff as possible in the new pot.
 
The plants I started in Jiffy starting mix are now a good 4 weeks BEHIND the ones I started in 100% peat pods, even though they were started *2 weeks* before the others.
 
Further, about 80% of the Jiffy started ones DIED on me before I could transplant them.
 
Note the small plants on the right? Jiffy started.... the 3rd one from the back is a 7-Pot long in 3" peat cups:-
 
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Compare to peat started (note, this is in a *6* inch pot and was started 2 full weeks AFTER the one in the previous photo)
 
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I'll *never* use that jiffy starting mix again. My tomatoes did OK in it but the peppers absolutely HATED it.
 
Another 7-pot long also started in peat and transplanted to Shults
 
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I would assume the Jiffy mix is deficient in a particular nutrient or too much of another.  I just wish I knew what it was. 
 
Cobrargc - no, I think it was the crushed seashell looking crap in the mix pruning roots as they tried to form. WAY too much of that crap. The taproots themselves wouldn't branch out in the soil; but once they hit the peat floor of the starter pods I was using, they'd start tunneling through and branch off. 
 
It was very reflective and very dominant in the soil; at least 50% of the volume in the mix was that crushed seashell reflective looking crap. 
 
Not sure what it was, exactly, threw the bag away a long time ago, but it sure as heck didn't work.
 
"Jiffy Seed Starting Mix" is a 50/50 mix of pH buffered peat and vermiculite (the shiney seashells).
 
 
It has almost no nutrients. I think the "Organic" brand just uses a different wetting agent.
 
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