Fast root growth and a few questions

A

A Spicy English Cheapskate

Hello everyone.
 
I have these small seedlings growing in a two cup setup. The intention was to start adding nutrient solution to the outer cup once the roots started poking out of the cup, however this happened in some cups faster than I had anticipated.
 
I have a few questions.
  • If I added nutrient solution in the cup now(currently using half strength) would it be too much for the seedlings?
  • There are 2 seedling in each cup but only one root. If I put solution in will 1 plant overtake the other?
  • My coco coir doesn't drain very well, would it do the plants any harm if i teased it of the roots added some perlite and planted them back in the same coir?
 
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1 no, its ok
2 it's possible, you can leave it or cull. if you leave it but might get 2 smaller plants vs 1 bigger plant.
3 yeah, that's fine.
 
2 you shouldn't grow 2 plants that close, it doesn't work, they would get tall and produce way less pods than 1 plant alone, either u keep 1 or separate them before roots gets tied
 
juanitos said:
 
 if you leave it but might get 2 smaller plants vs 1 bigger plant.
Click to expand...
not according to my experience, i separated what i care for, and did some experiment on the rest, i planted 10 plants in a 2-3 gallon pots (not precise measurement) the results where, that the plants gets tall and thick, like trees in the forest, but with minimal pods
 
Do you plan to plant into the ground, or container?
 
If you plant in the ground, then two plants growing closely together should not adversely affect each other.
 
In a container (unless it is a very large one) I would believe you should only have one plant.
 
alkhall said:
Do you plan to plant into the ground, or container?
 
If you plant in the ground, then two plants growing closely together should not adversely affect each other.
 
In a container (unless it is a very large one) I would believe you should only have one plant.
Click to expand...
I wanted to separate them into there own containers when they go outside. The last frost date around here tends to be the second week of April however the weather here is variable and can still be too cool till may. i don't have all that much space inside and I still want to add Brazilian starfish and aji lemon varieties to my grow.
 
A Spicy English Cheapskate said:
I wanted to separate them into there own containers when they go outside. The last frost date around here tends to be the second week of April however the weather here is variable and can still be too cool till may. i don't have all that much space inside and I still want to add Brazilian starfish and aji lemon varieties to my grow.
Click to expand...
 
How large are the containers?
 
Great start so far.

My comments would be that I'd guess that you planted a variety of chili plants all at the same time, but didn't consider the 'days to harvest' for each. Some varieties such as the Chinense grow much slower than a capsicum like a Cayenne. Not really a big issue, but you will have to have to adjust the lights as you grow.

To your questions:

1. If you're already adding half strength nutrient solution to the plants and they look like they do now, I wouldn't worry. The nice thing about coco is that if you give them too strong a nutrient solution you'll see it really quickly. Keep and eye on the tips of the leaves. Nutrient burn will show itself in the form of brown tips. If you see this you can rinse the pots with a diluted nutrient solution.

2. You don't want 2 plants in the same pot. They'll compete for nutrients and never reach the potential they would if they were in their own pot.

3. Yes you can pull the plants and put them in better draining coco. Though instead of adding perlite, I'd go to the dollar store and pick up a metal strainer and sift the coco you have (just don't get anything too fine). I've had much better luck growing in a coarse grain coir after the coco had been sifted. The root in the last shot looks absolutely fantastic! Very white and lots of fine hairs all over it.

This is the strainer (collendar) I use to sift my coco. Some coir simply has too much fine ground coco in it. I've had much better luck after I've run it through the strainer. Basically just put an handfull into the strainer, bang it against the palm of my other hand until most of the fine ground coir is removed. I throw the fine pith on my lawn.



The fine ground coco is on the top. The coarse remaining coco is on the bottom. Once I've done this drainage is almost immediate and the roots love it.



Potting up a red jolokia that had been planted in sifted coco.



Neil
 
Leave them alone. Once they get bigger, either transplant into two separate larger containers, OR discard all but one plant per cup. It does not need to be done now, better to wait a little longer, say another week, to see which one dominates the other(s).

If your soil doesn't drain good this is not a problem. It just means you can't over water them. Many people only realize their soil doesn't drain well because they were over-watering. Don't do that. It's not a problem in a controlled environment where they're not subject to things out of your control like excessive rain.

Half strength fertilizer is not a bad idea but it doesn't need to be done often as it will accumulate in the soil faster than plants that size can absorb it, so once a week is plenty for now.
 
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