Hey!! am I on the right track?

[Papaturk]

Hey everyone, this is my first time growing really hot peppers..I know they like the heat and humidity so i bought an electric propagator and was wondering if im doing this right..inside the temperate is a constant 30 celsius ..i couldn't find and small plastic cups, so i found some glass containers that have air tight lids on them. I was thinking of putting some tissue paper in the bottom and having the seeds on top. Will the glass be ok? if not ill switch to ziplock bags. This is what my propagator looks like

I also just knocked together a small box, for after the seeds germinate, i was wondering what type of bulbs i should use. So far i've read that I need CFLs. I found some energy saving bulbs and was wondering how plants get along with those? the bulbs in the picture were 60w reflective incandescent lights that i was going to use for heat, but they put out a bit too much..got to 45 degrees in 10 minutes.

This box will eventually be wrapped in aluminum foil or something reflective, so should be able to get the plants growing until its warm and sunny enough outside.

please let me know if everything looks ok, or if i should scrap it and start again..im going to be soaking the seeds overnight in water and hopefully get started tomorrow.

(by the way the seeds are bhut jolokia, chocolate and orange habanero, naga viper, naga morich, fatalii and ring of fire.)

 

[Maxsack331]

just drop the incandescent lights, don't need them at all, just use like 3 CFL lights and you will be fine, and it will be warm enough in there also once you wrap it.. tinfoil can work, but I would just order emergency blankets if you have a walmart around there, you can have them shipped to the store for free, and they are only like $3 a piece or something.. easier to use overall and just watch the temps in there. and once they have a few true leaves, I would just put a tiny 6" oscillating fan on them every once and a while.. can get a cheap timer for it too if you want, or just stick it on for 30min a few times a day when you are around.. doesn't really mater too much

and as far as the germinating, I don't see why that wouldn't work, I personally stick them in soil, but people have plenty of success with that method as well.. I'd just watch the humidity so the seeds are not soaking, but at damp/moist.. and I have seen a few people use a few layers of damp paper towels not just one

 

[3/5King]

You're seed starting technique seems sound. The box is good, (If you do wrap it in tinfoil make sure it isn't all crinkled because it will cause hot spots and burn your plants) I would use some type of reflective material. You can get a 25X4 foot roll of mylar for around 18 bucks. You can get emergency blankets which are made with mylar for like 55"x48" for like 4 bucks a piece online.

I wouldn't use the lights for heat, it is so extremely hard to control the temperature that way. Go to walmart and get a really small heater..I think they had a 6" heater for like 11 bucks. and a timer for 5.85. That way you can have your heater and FAN [edit] come one and go off at the same time and then get another timer for the lights. This way you can set up a light schedule once they pop and also control the heat and air movement. If you go with the mylar emergency blanket, I think it will help keep the heat levels better.

Lights=6500k and as close to 3000 lumens as you can get. Technically you want a minimum of 3000 lumens a square foot for optimal growth (more is even better but this is minimum) If you are only growing them out until spring, then you can get away with less than 3000. Basically the more light the healthier and faster your plants will grow. With the CFL's (Most at least) you can keep them around 1-3 inches from the tops of your plants and move them up as the plants grow.

Good luck

I would just put a tiny 6" oscillating fan on them every once and a while.. can get a cheap timer for it too if you want, or just stick it on for 30min a few times a day when you are around.. doesn't really mater too much

This does matter, having a fan on it at all is better than not, but making sure your seedlings have some stress on them from the breeze of the fan is important for a strong sturdy stem structure. So actually it is very important. If you didn't use a fan at all, you're stem would be weak...and a weak stem=less of an ability for your plant to hold pods and it will decrease the size of your pods. So you want good air flow through out the entire life of the plant.

Yes you can put it on a cycle or turn it on a couple times a day for 20 minutes or so but it is important.

 

[Papaturk]

thanks for the info! had no idea that a fan would be so important for strong stems..im going to go out tomorrow and pick up the things i need to get my box in better shape, if i cant find anything with mylar, do you think that a reflective shield that you put in cars windsheids would work? im in Turkey so finding some of the materials is going to be a bit harder than in would be in the states.
Ill start germination them tomorrow, that will give me some time to have a good box ready by the time they need to get moved.

 

[3/5King]

NP. Ive heard of people using a car window shield cover. Im sure it would work fine. Most of all have patience with your plants, dont try to do too much. Let them tell you what they need..as Alabama Jack would say. But always feel free to ask quesions. Everyone here is eager to help.

 

[Dulac]

I didn't realize the fan was this important either (used to growing outside). Being near the beach, where I'm located, sure gets windy! I need to give my plants a fan workout so they can withstand the windy weather here!

 

[TastyPeps]

Merhaba Papaturk and welcome to THP! Good luck with your grow.

 

[Maxsack331]

This does matter, having a fan on it at all is better than not, but making sure your seedlings have some stress on them from the breeze of the fan is important for a strong sturdy stem structure. So actually it is very important. If you didn't use a fan at all, you're stem would be weak...and a weak stem=less of an ability for your plant to hold pods and it will decrease the size of your pods. So you want good air flow through out the entire life of the plant.

Yes you can put it on a cycle or turn it on a couple times a day for 20 minutes or so but it is important.

yeah I just meant that it doesn't really mater which option you have for the fan, as long as he had some breeze/fan movement on them. but yeah the fan helps out a lot, and as long as they get the time it is fine, if you didn't want to get a timer or something like that.. depending on your budget

 

[Papaturk]

thanks for the warm welcome and all the advice..ill be keeping you guys updated and im sure I will have many more questions for you all!

 

[indoChilli]

Your doing great, keep it up, cant wait for an update on this.

 

[Papaturk]

mini update:

i went out and bought a light based off of 3/5 Kings info, still looking for a good reflective material. Havent had any luck finding mylar or an emergency blanket...my seeds are in little cups inside a heated propagator, the temperature is around 27-30 degrees and im checking them to make sure the paper tissue doesn't get dry.
My question is how wet should i keep the inside of the cups? wet enough that there is visible condensation coming off the top? wet so that the paper tissue is waterlogged? or just damp? heres some pictures, let me know if you see anything that needs changing..

Before i took the caps off..

After i put the caps back on, didnt put in any more water because they seemed damp enough.

does this light look good to you?

The new light is the one on the right (crazy twisty one), it will be eventually mounted sideways on something that can move up and down, so it can move with the plants..should i buy a second light?

sorry about the different sizing of the pictures, still figuring out photobucket

 

[Siliman]

PapaT, things looking better all the time. That's a great bulb, 6500K with 2850 lumens. That is enough for .1 sq-meters, so get additional bulbs if needed for size of your grow box:

Like 3/5 King said, shoot for 3000 lumens / sq foot or .1 square meter. You can get by with fewer lumens if you move plan to move outside in the Spring. Also, If you can't find mylar, use the car windshield reflector material--it is actually nice to work with, cut as needed, helps hold in heat (and distribute light) in your grow box.

Great to see a thermometer inside your dome! Use it everywhere. So many growers neglect this. For moisture in a cup, don't go by condensation alone. The paper can actually dry out below! I open the lid once a day just for fresh air, tip the cup sideways--I like to see a single droplet of water roll around freely on the edge of paper as you tip it, and no dry spots on the paper.

One other tip, instead of tissue paper consider using coffee filter paper. The weave of tissue might allow roots to grow in. Not a huge deal, but can be tedious when time to transplant. The coffee weave is tighter-- I use 3 or 4 layers--fold the coffee filter a couple of times, use the bottom of your cup as template, draw and cut some circles, put in the bottom of cup.

Overall looking good there, good luck...

 

[Papaturk]

thanks siliman, good to know im doing things right... and i thought about using coffee filters but couldn't find any at home and got impatient and just used the tissue paper..

one more question on the lights for my grow box, im going to need more lights if mine is only good for 1 sq foot, so should i buy another of the same bulb, or find something that is in the 4000k range?

I plan on moving them outside when the time is right, but were having unusually cold weather right now, so not sure when its going to be good ime to transplant..anyways thats along ways away so im going to get back to building this box will post pictures later!

 

[Maxsack331]

I would stick with the 6,500k, some people will tell you it's good to mix them up, but I personally like staying with 6,500k lights while they are growing, it keeps they really nice and compact.. maybe next year I will test it out by having 1 set with all 6,500k lights and 1 set with a mix batch of 6,500k and 2,700k.. but not this year..

 

[Siliman]

...I would stick with the 6,500k, some people will tell you it's good to mix them up, but I personally like staying with 6,500k lights while they are growing, it keeps they really nice and compact..

I agree. If you are planning a really long term indoor grow, you might like to mix them up.

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

If your still looking for mylar, they are in the camping section of any big box store, wal-mart, sports authority, even army surplus has them. A little over a dollar a piece.

 

[Papaturk]

Im not planning on keeping them inside for long, the weather should be nice enough within 6-8 weeks, for the moment im going to stick to the bulb that i have(6500k 2800lm) seeing as my grow box is only around a square foot. Not sure how big these plants will get in the time that it takes the weather to heat up, but ill just build something bigger if i need to.

All i need now is a small fan and my seeds to germinate...

i've almost given up looking for mylar or even emergency blankets here (a lot of things that are easy to get in the states can be trouble to find here)....im going to use car windshield sun reflector thing, going out to get some tomorrow..i should have some pictures of of the completed box soon

growing from seeds is making me realize how impatient i am..

 

[Maxsack331]

Im not planning on keeping them inside for long, the weather should be nice enough within 6-8 weeks, for the moment im going to stick to the bulb that i have(6500k 2800lm) seeing as my grow box is only around a square foot. Not sure how big these plants will get in the time that it takes the weather to heat up, but ill just build something bigger if i need to.

All i need now is a small fan and my seeds to germinate...

i've almost given up looking for mylar or even emergency blankets here (a lot of things that are easy to get in the states can be trouble to find here)....im going to use car windshield sun reflector thing, going out to get some tomorrow..i should have some pictures of of the completed box soon

growing from seeds is making me realize how impatient i am..

lol, same here.. I have a few sets of plants at different stages, 1 set of 60 just went into their 1 gallon pots.. I have 14 that I started earlier that has been in 1 gallon pots for a while, and on the Bulgarian Carrots (at least one of them) I have about 40 peppers, and the other set I just planted a week or so ago.. and I planted a few extra, like 18 yesterday haha.. it's fun though

and yeah, I would say you are fine, I have 1 of the CFL lights that I think is the 150w equivalent with that I have set up with a 3 way switch (I had 3 way bulbs and didn't realize I needed a 3 way switch for them to maximize their light) but I have it over 5 plants that were a little slow, before I put them with the others that just went into 6 gallon pots.. I had 2 lights over them but it was a little too much light it seemed.. and they are really happy with the 1 now, and it is a few inches above them.... and with the seedlings I have 4 CFL lights, but that is mainly because the seed tray is big and I don't want them to lean to try to reach the light.. on those I have the light up.. I dono, 5" or something

and to give you an idea.. it took I think a month for them to be put into party cups, (or less I think I don't remember that well,) and that is after I had stunted them really badly with too much light and fried a few of them (literally) and then another month and they were in 1 gallon containers.. so if you keep them with a little less light, and a little cooler temps like 70-75 after they are established and are doing well in party cups, then you could probably get away with leaving them in there until you plant outside if you don't have room for 1 gallon containers

 

[Papaturk]

ok so i was a little hung over this morning and decided to finish off my grow box, didn't feel like going out and picking anything up so just used what i had lying around the house..the walls are covered in aluminium foil the box is just big enough to get the bottom half of my heated propagator in and i have my 6500k 2800lm light bang in the middle...ill be adding a small fan to have a small breeze going and theres a thermometer in the back.. let me know what you guys think..(and yes i know its tiny, like i said... was a little hung over)

this pics are just to show how things fit, will be taking seeds out and getting them in soil when the time is right..

is this going to work for around a month? or am i going to have to build something bigger?
oh and 4 days into germination i've got my first signs of life from some naga king and ring of fire seeds

 

[Siliman]

Looks good to me. I think the box will hold 7 plants for 6-8 weeks. The plants will let you know in about a month if it is too crowded. The varieties you have tend to grow lower and wider, which is okay.

So begin to put them in cups in a soil mix as they sprout. On to phase two., nice going PapaT...