Some chili sorts have resilient roots and don't mind what kind of soil their surrounded with
so they can be transplanted easily.
but many other exotic peppers like the bhut's are more picky, they can make scene at every phase
of transplanting
there are few methods to avoid transplanting shocks
the easiest is to decide a final location for the plant and move him there as soon as possible, when there are 7 or so sets of leaves.
that way if you grow the plant from seed in a 3.5" pot you can transplant him once when young
directly to final location.
if transplanting more than once than it is advisable to use the same soil or substrate type
so that the roots wont feel the difference
but using the same medium trough out the complete growing cycle can cause its own problems
Fine substrate can be good for small pots but cause problem of drainage in containers or big pots.
And Rough substrate in small pots will dry quickly and wont provide enough contact with young roots
system.
at the farm where i live in Israel, we have very fertile heavy clay soil
But that soil can be compacted very easy,
so growing peppers in that soil will develop drainage problems
Heavy clay soil will also suffer from high volume changes relative to water content
and those changes disturbing the roots of some peppers.
The support that heavy clay soil is offering to peppers is also less than impressive
When wet the consistency resemble that of toothpaste, that can cause plants to fall aside
And when dry it will contract creating hard crust that may injure the plants
so the delicate peppers here prefer to be grown in big pots, 10 liters are enough.
I have triad many growing mediums:
peat
coir
perlite (fine or rough)
vermiculite
crushed foamed lava rock (fine or rough)
and many other mixes.
Good results were obtained from mixed peat and perlite
and as fertilizer composted pigeon\duck\poultry manure was beneficial
how ever I've found that fibrous substrate made from Palm fronds
provided excellent conditions also for delicate picky peppers,
that fibrous substrate is providing homogeneous surrounding, providing lots of air
and holding water reasonably well
it interacts good with composted manure or composted alfalfa
and can last a year,
also those fibers are reducing transplanting problems
it surpasses everything else available for me here till now
the size of the fibers can be controlled with extra passes
trough mower.
so they can be transplanted easily.
but many other exotic peppers like the bhut's are more picky, they can make scene at every phase
of transplanting
there are few methods to avoid transplanting shocks
the easiest is to decide a final location for the plant and move him there as soon as possible, when there are 7 or so sets of leaves.
that way if you grow the plant from seed in a 3.5" pot you can transplant him once when young
directly to final location.
if transplanting more than once than it is advisable to use the same soil or substrate type
so that the roots wont feel the difference
but using the same medium trough out the complete growing cycle can cause its own problems
Fine substrate can be good for small pots but cause problem of drainage in containers or big pots.
And Rough substrate in small pots will dry quickly and wont provide enough contact with young roots
system.
at the farm where i live in Israel, we have very fertile heavy clay soil
But that soil can be compacted very easy,
so growing peppers in that soil will develop drainage problems
Heavy clay soil will also suffer from high volume changes relative to water content
and those changes disturbing the roots of some peppers.
The support that heavy clay soil is offering to peppers is also less than impressive
When wet the consistency resemble that of toothpaste, that can cause plants to fall aside
And when dry it will contract creating hard crust that may injure the plants
so the delicate peppers here prefer to be grown in big pots, 10 liters are enough.
I have triad many growing mediums:
peat
coir
perlite (fine or rough)
vermiculite
crushed foamed lava rock (fine or rough)
and many other mixes.
Good results were obtained from mixed peat and perlite
and as fertilizer composted pigeon\duck\poultry manure was beneficial
how ever I've found that fibrous substrate made from Palm fronds
provided excellent conditions also for delicate picky peppers,
that fibrous substrate is providing homogeneous surrounding, providing lots of air
and holding water reasonably well
it interacts good with composted manure or composted alfalfa
and can last a year,
also those fibers are reducing transplanting problems
it surpasses everything else available for me here till now
the size of the fibers can be controlled with extra passes
trough mower.
