Hello!
This spring marks my first attempt at a serious grow. I've been reading and studying on Caspicums and hoping to grow a large patch of plants.
I am actually 4 monthes into the grow, I started back in January. I think I will post a few pictures of the process so far and hopefully each picture is worth 1000 words.
Back in January I ordered seeds from Pepper Joe's, mostly a mix of Jalapeno, Habanero and a few exotics (Bhut Jolokia, Fatalii).
I picked a mix of 15 varieties to grow, with a total of 127 seeds.
January 21st was the start, where I soaked seeds overnight before putting them in rockwool blocks. I tried adjusting the pH with lemon as suggested but since I used the liquid pH test I'm sure it wasnt very accurate. I wanted to buy a pH meter stick but they're $$$.
The first batch of soaks:
Eventually all seeds got soaked overnight.
Closed them up, set the heating pad to 81degs F, left a space heater to keep it warm, and closed the closet.
I did peek every once in a while to check. And realized I had made my first mistake, not turning on the light once they started germinating. Derp! Notice how yellow the leaves are and how long the hypocotyls grew as the plant searched for light. They turned green the following day after the light went on. I used a 4-bulb T5 light hanging from above, with two more T5s on the sides.
By February 5th, I counted 72 seeds that had fully developed cotyledons.
When a seed had roots past the bottom of the rockwool cube, it was transplanted into a 4" pot:
I've lost some pictures in this time span, but on March 6th I had moved 32 seeds into 4" pots, and a number of germinated plants started dying. I suspect my use of regular tap water and poor management of pH did it. I also had issues with a white mold growing across the cubes.
By March 15th, 37 seeds in 4" pots. At this point some of the plants in the 4" pots where showing roots coming out the bottom and that's when I transplanted them into #5 pots. I used a mix of 1:1 FoxFarm OceanForest and Coir.
In april I noticed a number of plants were dying off when the stem down near the rockwool narrowed. It's weird to explain without a picture but I'm wondering if moving them around too much has caused rockwool fibers to irritate and kill the stem. The stem just above the rockwool was thicker.
Eventually, I was left with 21 plants and one more in a 4" pot. I added a quick&dirty drip system as I had to leave for a week.
The latest shot, as of today:
The Giant Jalapeno are doing well:
As are the fresno:
There are 4 Fresnos, 2 early jalapeno, 1 giant jalapeno, 6 tazmanian habanero, 3 chocolate habs, 2 bhut jolokias, 1 fatalii, 2 unknown habs, and one white hab still in a 4" pot.
I've been fighting aphids, but I usually see a ladybug or two so they're not taking over.
I just noticed some of the fresnos are tilting dangerously, it's been windy lately. Time to get some cages.
I suspect another reason so many sprouts died is due to the use of rockwool and not feeding them fertilizer soon enough. I saw that they'd only need feeding once the cotyledons were fully developed and started feeding them a weak fertilizer but I'm wondering if it was too weak. I didnt want to burn them.
testing
This spring marks my first attempt at a serious grow. I've been reading and studying on Caspicums and hoping to grow a large patch of plants.
I am actually 4 monthes into the grow, I started back in January. I think I will post a few pictures of the process so far and hopefully each picture is worth 1000 words.
Back in January I ordered seeds from Pepper Joe's, mostly a mix of Jalapeno, Habanero and a few exotics (Bhut Jolokia, Fatalii).
I picked a mix of 15 varieties to grow, with a total of 127 seeds.
January 21st was the start, where I soaked seeds overnight before putting them in rockwool blocks. I tried adjusting the pH with lemon as suggested but since I used the liquid pH test I'm sure it wasnt very accurate. I wanted to buy a pH meter stick but they're $$$.
The first batch of soaks:
Eventually all seeds got soaked overnight.
Closed them up, set the heating pad to 81degs F, left a space heater to keep it warm, and closed the closet.
I did peek every once in a while to check. And realized I had made my first mistake, not turning on the light once they started germinating. Derp! Notice how yellow the leaves are and how long the hypocotyls grew as the plant searched for light. They turned green the following day after the light went on. I used a 4-bulb T5 light hanging from above, with two more T5s on the sides.
By February 5th, I counted 72 seeds that had fully developed cotyledons.
When a seed had roots past the bottom of the rockwool cube, it was transplanted into a 4" pot:
I've lost some pictures in this time span, but on March 6th I had moved 32 seeds into 4" pots, and a number of germinated plants started dying. I suspect my use of regular tap water and poor management of pH did it. I also had issues with a white mold growing across the cubes.
By March 15th, 37 seeds in 4" pots. At this point some of the plants in the 4" pots where showing roots coming out the bottom and that's when I transplanted them into #5 pots. I used a mix of 1:1 FoxFarm OceanForest and Coir.
In april I noticed a number of plants were dying off when the stem down near the rockwool narrowed. It's weird to explain without a picture but I'm wondering if moving them around too much has caused rockwool fibers to irritate and kill the stem. The stem just above the rockwool was thicker.
Eventually, I was left with 21 plants and one more in a 4" pot. I added a quick&dirty drip system as I had to leave for a week.
The latest shot, as of today:
The Giant Jalapeno are doing well:
As are the fresno:
There are 4 Fresnos, 2 early jalapeno, 1 giant jalapeno, 6 tazmanian habanero, 3 chocolate habs, 2 bhut jolokias, 1 fatalii, 2 unknown habs, and one white hab still in a 4" pot.
I've been fighting aphids, but I usually see a ladybug or two so they're not taking over.
I just noticed some of the fresnos are tilting dangerously, it's been windy lately. Time to get some cages.
I suspect another reason so many sprouts died is due to the use of rockwool and not feeding them fertilizer soon enough. I saw that they'd only need feeding once the cotyledons were fully developed and started feeding them a weak fertilizer but I'm wondering if it was too weak. I didnt want to burn them.
testing
I can easily see doing that.
