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First timer pepper grow! Planted Feb. 17th, 2013- Pods Multiplying!

I just started my first jalapeno plant. put in the seeds yesterday. using general purpose vegetable miracle grow and seed starting store-bought potting soil in a 4" wide plastic pot with bottom-feed tray. any advice? remember i am new at all this, just starting to look into hydroponics, and plan on starting a hydro system. any fertilizer/ph/watering schedule/ temp/ nutrient/food advice would be greatly appreciated. im very excited to see how my first yeild turns out. i am thinking i might start my next few seeds on a wet tissue to let the seeds burst, and then plant the successful sprouters, and i will be keeping the seeds/plants growing in the same room as my reptiles, which is kept at approx 70-85*F ambient temperature, then moving them into the window sill or outdoors (not sure yet) onto my front balcony. again, any advice would be greatly appreciated.p
 
Yes...that 115w equivalent will work...very well. You may need more than one, but I wouldn't go overboard at this point. Almost time to plant out!!!
 
question. i took the plants outside to start introducing them to the texas sun for about an hour, and the jal close to blew over, so i brought them back in. i noticed that it seems to be leaning a little more than usual (24 hours later). is this bad? also, i changed the flourescent bulb back to a heat/incandescent bulb (same one i used before) until my new 115w daylight bulb comes in, but i noticed last night that the true leaves seemed to shy away from the bulb. they werent wilted or darker or anything, just tucked down close to the stem. i thought this meant that the bulb was too close and they could be getting a little too hot, so i moved it 4" away, and it seems to be doing a little better, but not sure if im doing it right. advice?
 
its looking a little better now, but i am pretty sure its over watering, and if the problem isnt fixed by tonight im thinking im going to transfer it to some new dry soil and let it recover for a while.

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if your wondering i put a bamboo stick in the dirt to help support it while it recovers from its first experience outdoors
 
Typed this up earlier...and looks like you're already moving the right direction. Now that I see the pic I don't see anything to really sweat going on...but here is the post I thought went up earlier.

(An incandescent isn't giving them any light they need...so the leaves may be turning toward another source that is producing something closer to the spectrum they're looking for or it could also be the heat I suppose...but usually hot or not when the bulb is the right spectrum the plants will grow themselves right into it and burn themselves up. You may have to stake your Jal if its leaning too bad. When small ones get bent I usually use a bamboo kebab skewer to prop them up. Do you keep a fan on them? I use an oscillating fan and each shelf has a clip on fan to promote strong stems and help prepare them for the real world.)

That being said...small doses of wind and sun at first is in order. If it is a really breezy day find a somewhat sheltered spot for them or leave them in until the weather is a bit better. I rotate my fans and trays around so that they get pushed different directions too.
 
So far they are looking MUCH better. didnt have to change the soil, just put on some light air to help dry up the soil, and kept them under the light as usual. got a nice suprise from a germ cup i had all but given up on! CHOCOLATE HABANERO'S are officially in the list!!!
Heres the update pics from this morning!
Jalapeno
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SuperChilli
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7 pot
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Ghost
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Chocolate Habanero
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i did have another question. is there anything you can do to maximize pepper growth in a soil plant other than to use the right concentrations of nutrients and changing the bulb to a flowering color temp bulb?
 
i did have another question. is there anything you can do to maximize pepper growth in a soil plant other than to use the right concentrations of nutrients and changing the bulb to a flowering color temp bulb?
Color temp of the bulbs is very important...different plants require different spectrums. I use only 5000k and 6500k CFL and T8 bulbs to grow, but I'm not looking for production just growth. Works very well. Once you ask the light question you'll get page after page of different answers...I took what I could from all the topics about lights on here and put together my setup based on the tidbits I found. So my aim was to put as many lumens as I could in that spectrum onto my plants.
 
walked in this morning to find SEVERAL more hooks!!!! there are now 7x- 7 pots growing in the same cup!!! cant wait to seperate them in a week or so!!!!! the chocolate hab is turning out to be a VERY slow grow... wonder if somethings up with it? the first seed leaves are still not flattened out after 36 hours! but it is still getting slowly taller... ideas?
 
yep! 2 out of 3 so far!!! i labeled them as ghost, even if its a 'street' name lol thank you again soooooo much! every day i come home from work after i kiss my girl they are the first thing i check on! i didnt realize just how addicting this stuff is~!
 
yep! 2 out of 3 so far!!! i labeled them as ghost, even if its a 'street' name lol thank you again soooooo much! every day i come home from work after i kiss my girl they are the first thing i check on! i didnt realize just how addicting this stuff is~!

Ghost is fine, that's the name the average non-chilehead knows them by. The addiction only grows. :P

PS - You're most welcome.
 
6 Bhut Jolokia sprouts last night! i had to draw the line at 14 plants though, so i seperated the 7 7pot sprouts into 7 different cups, and seperated the bhut's into 3 different cups and unfortunately had to nix the rest :( but on the bright side, i have the list for the season complete! here it is:
1- Jalapeno
2-SuperChilli's
3-Bhut Jolokia
7-7pot
1-Chocolate Habanero
 
i think i got a problem. the seed leaves on three of my plants are turning bright yellow. i have been using a very weak nitrogen addition to my water, and this is the first time i have seen them like this. ideas?
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The surface of the mix doesn't look too wet, but if it's soggy in the bottom of the cups, that could be it. Do the cups have drainage holes in them? The plants are leggy, too. They need more light.
 
i have a few drainage holes in the bottom, but i was definitely guilty of over watering them, and i will be adding a few more drainage holes to help them out. im also thinking i might put them on a heat mat/rheostat soon to keep their soil temp exactly where i want it. i also just got a 115W 5500K CFL bulb that i will be putting them on tonight. any other ideas let me know!

i have also heard that when the cotyledons start drying out or turning yellow its natural, and that if they at all look like they will fall off, that i should 'pinch them off to help prevent rotting or bacteria from getting too close to the stalk". is this accurate?
 
Cotyledons provide food to the new plant until leaves can form and the plant can start producing its own food. It is true that it is natural for the cotyledons to yellow and fall off as the plant develops, but it's also true that they will persist for a long time in ideal conditions. As long as the rest of the plant is healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about the cotyledons, but neither would I pinch them off. Let nature take its course.
 
got the new bulb in and already the plants seem to be responding better! Any tips for getting light closer to the shorter plants as well as still adequately lighting the tall Jal?
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