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growth question
- Thread starter walky85
- Start date
IMO they're behind what you should expect.
I germinate in paper towels then move into a starter flat. When they're big enough and start to show the third set of true leaves move into 3" pot like yours. Each plant is different, but I'd say 2-3 weeks from germination into 3" pot. That leaves 5-6 weeks of growing in the 3" pot to get to 8 weeks (where you're at). At that point I'd expect at least 8-10 cm in height and many leaves. (Taller if they're not getting a lot of light.) Most of yours have neither the height nor the leaves that I'd expect.
What growing medium are you using?
I germinate in paper towels then move into a starter flat. When they're big enough and start to show the third set of true leaves move into 3" pot like yours. Each plant is different, but I'd say 2-3 weeks from germination into 3" pot. That leaves 5-6 weeks of growing in the 3" pot to get to 8 weeks (where you're at). At that point I'd expect at least 8-10 cm in height and many leaves. (Taller if they're not getting a lot of light.) Most of yours have neither the height nor the leaves that I'd expect.
What growing medium are you using?
This crew was planted from seeds around mid to late August. So they are about 8 weeks old, about the same as your plants. Some are even beginning to flower. They are in a good, general purpose potting soil from the local nursery; it is nothing special so I wouldn't think the potting soil is your problem, as long as it is of good quality (has good drainage and nutrients). Maybe you are over watering them a bit? Or maybe the soil you have retains a little too much water, causing them to get a bit waterlogged? Or perhaps your seedlings are not getting enough light? Those would be my best guesses as to why your seedlings are lagging.
walky85 said:
Some are better than others, but any good potting mix should be fine. Does it have a time release fertilizer?
Please describe your grow environment. Amount of light, temperatures, etc. Have you fertilized at all? The more info the easier it will be to recommend something.
Also, try popping one or two out of the pot and look at the roots. At 8 weeks you should see nice white roots all the way to the bottom and curling around the sides. What do you see?
holy geebuz man they are way bigger then mine. i could be guilty of over watering them. i water them once a day in the mornings and they have saucers on them holding the water so that may be it. they do get a bit of sun, from bout 7am to 5pm. its a quite harsh sun in QLD aswell so i have them under some shadecloth to stop them from burning.BlackFatalii said:
This crew was planted from seeds around mid to late August. So they are about 8 weeks old, about the same as your plants. Some are even beginning to flower. They are in a good, general purpose potting soil from the local nursery; it is nothing special so I wouldn't think the potting soil is your problem, as long as it is of good quality (has good drainage and nutrients). Maybe you are over watering them a bit? Or maybe the soil you have retains a little too much water, causing them to get a bit waterlogged? Or perhaps your seedlings are not getting enough light? Those would be my best guesses as to why your seedlings are lagging.
should i cut back the watering and remove the saucers?
the little area on the left is the chillies. they get a good amount of light now. from 7am to around 5ish. coming into summer soon so it will be fairly hot but its hovering in the mid 20c to 30 deg c. maybe like ol mate said it could be from over watering them.
ive used a little bit of "Chilli Focus" on them but thats about it.
I would take a look at the roots but i work on the other side of the country and wont be back for another 2 weeks. so will def have a look then.
DMF said:
walky85 said:
Yep. Overwatering will do it. When you check the roots you will see no or few roots at the bottom of the pot where the water is standing. In pots, DO NOT WATER ON A SCHEDULE. Figure out some way to determine when the plants need water and give them what they need. Don't be afarid to let them wilt. It's their way of telling you that they're thirsty. Lose the saucers. An undertray might be useful in high summer, but not now.
Once a pepper plant is "hardened off" (has gotten used to the sun) it will eat up all the sun it can get. With a very hard sun a shade cloth is not a bad idea. But that looks more like a tarp than a shade cloth. True shade cloth allows quite a lot of sunlight through, somehwat like a layer of gauze. If they've been in that much shade, they may not be fully hardened off yet, so when you get home try giving them an hour of morning sun over a couple of days and see how they do. Sunburn is possible, but it won't really retard the plant. If they don't mind, give them more and more, until they can take full sun.
Also be aware that while peppers don't mind high temperatures, they like their roots to be relatively cool. So check that the sun isn't heating the pots. This will become less of an issue as the pots get bigger and the increasing foliage starts to shade the pot.
I totally agree with the last few above posts, I used to over water my plants too but have learned to just pick them up and feel if they need it. I only use saucers when I need to catch the runoff so it doesn't make a mess in my indoor set up. Everything else is saucer free.
It is perfectly fine to let the plants wilt to let you know when to water. But with small plants, once they wilt you need to act right away, don't put it off another day or there could be damage. Big plants can handle a little more, but again, once I see them wilt, it is time to act.
Some bigger pots are tough to tell, so I like to pick out one plant (usually my least favorite grower) and let it go to wilt. Then pick up that pot to get an idea of how heavy it is dry. That will help me with all other plants in similar sized pots.
Example: I have 7 medical pants growing in a tent in 7 gallon fabric bags. 2 of them are male and I only want to see what they do before the flowers open. Since I plan to cull those anyways, I don't mind using them as testers. Let them dry to wilt and then pick them up to see how heavy they are.
Another example: When I want one plant of a certain variety, I germinate at least 3 seeds. If all 3 pop, then I will pick the best one and keep it watered while I let the other two go to see how far they can go until they NEED water.
It is perfectly fine to let the plants wilt to let you know when to water. But with small plants, once they wilt you need to act right away, don't put it off another day or there could be damage. Big plants can handle a little more, but again, once I see them wilt, it is time to act.
Some bigger pots are tough to tell, so I like to pick out one plant (usually my least favorite grower) and let it go to wilt. Then pick up that pot to get an idea of how heavy it is dry. That will help me with all other plants in similar sized pots.
Example: I have 7 medical pants growing in a tent in 7 gallon fabric bags. 2 of them are male and I only want to see what they do before the flowers open. Since I plan to cull those anyways, I don't mind using them as testers. Let them dry to wilt and then pick them up to see how heavy they are.
Another example: When I want one plant of a certain variety, I germinate at least 3 seeds. If all 3 pop, then I will pick the best one and keep it watered while I let the other two go to see how far they can go until they NEED water.
well after a little bit of proper watering they have been smashing it. some of my plants are now 50cms high. im hoping they will flower soon
BlackFatalii said:
This crew was planted from seeds around mid to late August. So they are about 8 weeks old, about the same as your plants. Some are even beginning to flower. They are in a good, general purpose potting soil from the local nursery; it is nothing special so I wouldn't think the potting soil is your problem, as long as it is of good quality (has good drainage and nutrients). Maybe you are over watering them a bit? Or maybe the soil you have retains a little too much water, causing them to get a bit waterlogged? Or perhaps your seedlings are not getting enough light? Those would be my best guesses as to why your seedlings are lagging.
