How early is too early?

[Roo]

I want to start some seeds, see if I can get them to sprout, and successfully keep them alive. I know it's kind of early to think about starting (isn't it?) but I love having a project and since I've never planted from seed before, I feel like a little (a lot?) early is better than too late - especially if my first attempt fails miserably and I have to start over. Anyway, I have a bunch of seeds from a couple of the plants in my garden and I started thinking it might be fun to pick up some Solo cups and potting soil and see how it goes. Is it ridiculous to think that I could sprout seeds now and keep the baby plants alive (inside, with hopefully proper care and proper lighting) until it's time to put them in the ground next year? 
 
Along the same lines, I tried to find indoor greenhouse ideas but didn't have much luck. It did occur to me, though, that I still have a terrarium or two in the attic from my reptile/amphibian-owning days. Depending on the size of the ones I have left (I don't remember!), I could fit maybe one or two plants in each. If I did this, would I need to have something in the bottom to soak up excess water? The terrariums don't have drainage (there's a hole, but I'd need to plug that before filling or I'd lose all my soil) and I saw on one site that the person put pumice stone (or something similar) on the floor of the terrarium (or was it tupperware?) and put soil on top. Would that work?
 
I'm also really open to suggestions of better ways to grow inside. I have a room that gets nice, steady light almost all day, as well as an unheated (but insulated) sunroom. I was going to bring in a couple of this year's plants for the winter, but I found aphids on them yesterday. There is no way I could let ladybugs loose in my house to eat the aphids (they creep me out!) so it looks like I'll be starting fresh next year. Basically I keep reading all the awesome glogs and I'm just really excited to try my hand at growing from seed! 

 

[MiChris]

From my limited experience (1 year) I would wait if you could, depending on the space you have available. This season is my first season of growing super-hots to this degree. I wanted to do things right. I had some left over seeds from last year as well as a few seeds I collected from plants I had. As a trial of my methods I started about 5 varieties early (Mid-Novemeber), testing things before I started my main plants in January. Fast forward to now. My January started plants are all flourishing and I am getting lots of full-sized pods on them but the November started plants are all lagging behind the ones I started later. They are smaller and the pods are all smaller. They are finally starting to catch up some. I figured that maybe they got root bound and I am sure there are ways around this but it all depends on the space you have available and the light you provide. I am sure other growers have had good experiences with early starting and can probably give you a way to do it.
 
As for the terrarium, I can't help much there. I would think space might be an issue, plus you would want to make sure there is ample air supplied and that the soil doesn't stay too wet.
 
As for other options, I built a grow-tent out of pvc, visqueen, an emergency blanket, and 4 banks of light all for around $100 or so. It worked out great for what I needed. If you are interested PM me and I can give you the rough plans for it.

 

[jb_orchidguy]

Those cheap greenhouses fr big lots and roses work well for indoor greenhouses. I know several carnivorous plant growers use them inside.

 

[juanitos]

I would start in December or January.
Solo cups and potting soil is good.

 

[magicpepper]

Roo, you have some great ideas and pretty much gave your self your own answer.  i find that the only reason to have a greenhouse is to control the temperature, you can start growing from seed at any point you want, just depends on space, warmth, sunlight and watering.  it takes roughly 3 to 5 months for a pepper plant to be mature enough to start producing pods, you could start them now but by january you will start to see buds starting to form. and you could end up with a large amount of pods before you can move your plants outside. 
personally i start all my seeds in december, that way if some dont germinate i still have enough time to get them germinated and growing.  the biggest problem most people have growing indoors is light, but if you can take care of that then the rest is easy. 

 

[cruzzfish]

I start ~9 months before I want pods. 

 

[geeme]

IMO your outdoor grow season length, space, available light, and your goals of growing are the four main considerations. I see you are in NC, so you've got a longer outdoor grow season than we have here in N.E. Ohio, but also a shorter one than, say, people in Florida or Texas. This should give you an idea of how many months of growth your plants will have inside, which gets to the space question - how big are your plants likely to get during their indoor time? You need to plan for that size, and not for Solo cup size. Likely that most of us can handle 4-5 larger plants inside, but if your goal is to start, say, 40+ you might not have space for that many once they start getting large. Possibly you could start a handful now then more later on, if your goal is a large number. Another goal to consider is whether you simply want to get them growing and keep them alive vs. if you want to see if you can get production from them while indoors. If you want production, you will likely need to not only put them in the sunniest room in the house, but also supplement with artificial light, so cost can be a factor. If all you want is to keep them alive so you can get a head start on growth before taking them indoors, simply putting them in a sunny place will suffice. NOTE: You need to ensure they have good air circulation regardless, so plan on having a fan on them. 

 

[dlsolo]

IMO your outdoor grow season length, space, available light, and your goals of growing are the four main considerations. I see you are in NC, so you've got a longer outdoor grow season than we have here in N.E. Ohio, but also a shorter one than, say, people in Florida or Texas. This should give you an idea of how many months of growth your plants will have inside, which gets to the space question - how big are your plants likely to get during their indoor time? You need to plan for that size, and not for Solo cup size. Likely that most of us can handle 4-5 larger plants inside, but if your goal is to start, say, 40+ you might not have space for that many once they start getting large. Possibly you could start a handful now then more later on, if your goal is a large number. Another goal to consider is whether you simply want to get them growing and keep them alive vs. if you want to see if you can get production from them while indoors. If you want production, you will likely need to not only put them in the sunniest room in the house, but also supplement with artificial light, so cost can be a factor. If all you want is to keep them alive so you can get a head start on growth before taking them indoors, simply putting them in a sunny place will suffice. NOTE: You need to ensure they have good air circulation regardless, so plan on having a fan on them. 

 
And there you have it! ~~ geeme drops the mic and walks away ~~

 

[Dave2000]

I second the power bill factor.  One year I crunched the numbers and determined that my highest seasonal cost was the first couple months of electricity for grow lights and that's with a pretty low $0.09/KWH rate. 
 
Without lights they get pretty leggy and the extra size from an earlier start becomes as much of a burden as a benefit.  Around the beginning of August we usually have a windy storm or two roll through and thin stemmed plants don't survive that very well unless carefully staked and tied for support.

 

[Mallory]

I feel like a little (a lot?) early is better than too late - especially if my first attempt fails miserably and I have to start over.
 
Is it ridiculous to think that I could sprout seeds now and keep the baby plants alive (inside, with hopefully proper care and proper lighting) until it's time to put them in the ground next year? 
 
Along the same lines, I tried to find indoor greenhouse ideas but didn't have much luck. It did occur to me, though, that I still have a terrarium or two in the attic from my reptile/amphibian-owning days. Depending on the size of the ones I have left (I don't remember!), I could fit maybe one or two plants in each.
 
I'm also really open to suggestions of better ways to grow inside. I have a room that gets nice, steady light almost all day, as well as an unheated (but insulated) sunroom. 

 
Too early can actually end up worse than being a little late. I started seeds indoors late January this past year. The room they were in did stay warm most of the time, about 75F so I am sure they grew faster than in cooler temps, but by the time I could set them outside in late May, I had plants in 1 gallon pots that had already been root bound for a long time. The only ones that were not quite root bound yet were in 5 gallon containers, and 3 feet tall! Your growing zone is similar to mine so I would say do not start now unless you have the space and lighting to handle giant plants in giant pots. If you want to grow inside for that length of time I would not be surprised if you end up needing 'real' grow lights as opposed to sunlight through a window or basic shop lights just to keep the plants healthy. If you are interested in that check out the 'grow tech' section of this forum. 
 
I do not think you will be ok using the sunroom if it is not heated. How cold does it get? The heated room sounds best for seedlings, and then you can move them out to the sunroom a few weeks before going outside as the weather warms. You will probably need to buy at least one basic shoplight even if the room is sunny, or the seedlings will develop weak stems. 

 

[Ragnar]

I agree with what others have said with a winter start... but if you really want to get going, I'm sure starting one or two won't hurt. And you'll learn a thing or two for your winter starts.

 

[geeme]

And there you have it! ~~ geeme drops the mic and walks away ~~

I'm not quite sure what to make of this…. 
 
IMO seedlings develop weak stems more from lack of good air circulation rather than insufficient light. Keep in mind that even shade plants develop strong stems. If you keep an oscillating fan on the plants, you both simulate the wind (thereby strengthening the stems) and also help keep the soil surface dry (which helps prevent damping-off fungus from developing.) This is not to say that sufficient light is not important (it is), but the definition of "sufficient light" varies according to your goals. 
 
Something else to keep in mind when deciding how early to start seeds - You can slow the growth of your plants if you see they are getting too big for your space limitations by reducing light, temperature and/or nutes. With seedlings you don't want to back off on watering much, but the plants will be less susceptible to changes in the other elements. Also, in case you're not already aware, the first "leaves" to come out of the seed aren't technically leaves at all, but are cotyledons (aka "seed leaves.") The purpose of these is to feed the developing plant. Like an umbilical cord, the cotyledons ultimately wither and fall off - you don't want to give nutrients until this happens. When you do start using nutes, only give at maybe 1/10 of the amount that is given on the instructions, maybe even less. They don't need full-strength until they are significantly mature. Over-fertilizing will burn the plants, so it's better to go light on seedlings.

 

[nzchili]

I think you should do it, and you have nothing to loose, especially if your planting seeds from your own pods!
You don't need artificial light to grow peppers indoors if you have a spot that gets solid sunlight.
 
I think its wrong to put a blank statement and say that window plants will get leggy. I for one have windowsill plants that are way stumpier then much of what I see grown under lights.
Some pics of my windowsill plants for credibility  
 
I have been growing the below indoors on my windowsill over winter.
 
Jonah - I move it onto the floor at night so I can shut my curtains..

 
The one that is lacking leaves got sick..I have since cut those branches off..

 

[LS929]

I think you should do it, and you have nothing to loose, especially if your planting seeds from your own pods!
You don't need artificial light to grow peppers indoors if you have a spot that gets solid sunlight.
 
I think its wrong to put a blank statement and say that window plants will get leggy. I for one have windowsill plants that are way stumpier then much of what I see grown under lights.
Some pics of my windowsill plants for credibility
 
I have been growing the below indoors on my windowsill over winter.
 
Jonah - I move it onto the floor at night so I can shut my curtains..
 

 
 
I like it. How big are your pots?

 

[nzchili]

 
 
I like it. How big are your pots?

Most of the pots pictured are 12.5cm wide x 12cm deep.
The larger pots with the Jonah's in them are about 18cm wide x 15cm deep.  (i actually keep those on my bedside table next to the window because the plants are too big/wide for the windowsill)
 
The plant in the first pic - i actually only potted that up to the bigger pot yesterday (from the smaller 12.5cm one) ferrtttz!
cheers 

 

[Roo]

I hadn't even thought about the cost of electricity! Perhaps I'll wait a while I want to grow something, though. Hm...

 

[LS929]

Most of the pots pictured are 12.5cm wide x 12cm deep.
The larger pots with the Jonah's in them are about 18cm wide x 15cm deep.  (i actually keep those on my bedside table next to the window because the plants are too big/wide for the windowsill)
 
The plant in the first pic - i actually only potted that up to the bigger pot yesterday (from the smaller 12.5cm one) ferrtttz!
cheers 

 
 
Metric system... all these sensible measurement type of people these days... 

 

[Dave2000]

I think you should do it, and you have nothing to loose, especially if your planting seeds from your own pods!
You don't need artificial light to grow peppers indoors if you have a spot that gets solid sunlight.
 
I think its wrong to put a blank statement and say that window plants will get leggy. I for one have windowsill plants that are way stumpier then much of what I see grown under lights.
Some pics of my windowsill plants for credibility
 
I have been growing the below indoors on my windowsill over winter.

 

 
While I feel that's a good result for windowsill growing, I also feel the 3 on the right are leggy.  However, inside you don't have the wind resistance issue to deal with.  If those were outside here they wouldn't be standing after a week unless staked and tied or caged.

 

[nzchili]

 
While I feel that's a good result for windowsill growing, I also feel the 3 on the right are leggy.  However, inside you don't have the wind resistance issue to deal with.  If those were outside here they wouldn't be standing after a week unless staked and tied or caged.

 
Thanks
The Butch T may be a little leggy, ill give you that one. There is almost an inch between the widest spaced nodes.
The two on the left, im not so sure. They are wild chilis from fiji..im not even sure what species they are yet. They are not c. chinense though. Pretty decent if they are an annum or something if you ask me..
Anyway, the plants will go outside in a month or so, and they will be staked, and some will be in a little greenhouse type thing.
They are only inside because im getting a head start on the season (its the end of winter here now). Im not advocating that its best way to grow anything. Im just trying to show that its possible to get reasonable results without using electricity. And sometimes there's just no point in using electricity.
 
I made an LED grow panel with 60 led's on it. I dont bother using it. (one reason is because I have come to the realisation that there is no point making them grow faster so they will take up more room indoors when they cant go out for another month or so.)

 
It may not be perfect, but my headstart is a good one and power was not needed.
cheers