seeds Jiffy discs.... and germination

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Hey all,

So I am slowly learning the pepper world... I have a question: I chose to germinate in the larger size Jiffy disc. Am I going to need to trans plant into larger containers before say 2 and a half months ? Less time really, I just started the germination process two days ago. Any insight into this ?

 

[hooda]

Depends on your time to sprout and growing situation. I transplanted mine at less than a month from sprouting to 3 inch pots, but that is just me. You probably could stretch it out longer if you needed. What I found with my pellets was that the seedlings started using up a lot of water through the day, combined with the temps in my growbox( 83 - 85F ), they were starting to dry out faster than I was comfortable with and even had one of my seedling start to kill over by the time I had gotten home. That was the day I decided to transplant.

 

[Pash]

I'm also new at starting peppers from seed, and am using small Jiffy pellets. I'm transplanting fairly early because my pellets tend to dry out and there will be weekends when I will have to leave them unattended. I'm taking the 'wrappers' off before I transplant as well. I think you can keep them in the Jiffys until you start seeing roots come out the bottom.

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Hey all,

Any ideas on how to get the heat down in the Jiffy trays with lids ? I have mine on heat mats and dog gone it my temp keeps going above 90. I really don't want to fry 60 seeds. Any suggestions; besides buying thermostats, I simply can't afford another 60 dollars right now.

- Mega

 

[Dulac]

Yeah, you will have to transplant them. Some say to wait until they get their true leaves, but I think as soon as they sprout so that they don't get leggy. If they are leggy, don't worry you can just bury the stem.

Hey all,

Any ideas on how to get the heat down in the Jiffy trays with lids ? I have mine on heat mats and dog gone it my temp keeps going above 90. I really don't want to fry 60 seeds. Any suggestions; besides buying thermostats, I simply can't afford another 60 dollars right now.

- Mega

Going above 90 is risky. Maybe you don't need the mat. What is the temperature like without the mat? I didn't use a mat for mine, but I did use indirect sun to heat em up.

 

[Pash]

Hey all,

Any ideas on how to get the heat down in the Jiffy trays with lids ? I have mine on heat mats and dog gone it my temp keeps going above 90. I really don't want to fry 60 seeds. Any suggestions; besides buying thermostats, I simply can't afford another 60 dollars right now.

- Mega

If you can afford $15 and live near a Kohl's, I love this thermometer. What I had to do is put cardboard between my mat and my tray to get the temps out of the 90 degree range. In my case I take the lid off during the day, because window light can overheat the tray. I've also put the lid on slightly askew to create more ventilation. Keep in mind different parts of your tray can have different temps. The edges of my tray are 7 degrees cooler than the center.

Also, if this is helpful to anyone, I left my house for three days at the start of germination, and when I returned, my tray was at 90 degrees. The seeds are germinating after multiple days in the 90 degree range. So if this happens to you, don't give up, there may still be hope for your seeds.

 

[midwestchilehead]

A cheap solution is to put some towels between your heat mats and the bottom of your flats. I haven't done any scientific studies, but it seems like each towel drops the heat in the flat about 6 degrees F or so.

 

[Beehunter]

You can wait on first true leaves to move them i think. This is also my first year but i used these pellets waited on true leaves and had no problems. But that only took between 1 to 1.5 months depending on veriety. Also yea i second using a towel inbetween the mat and the flats. or put a couple of small shives or something between them so there is a bit of airflow and there should be no problem i think. But as i said this is also my first type so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[theghostpepperstore]

I have used a few different sizes of jiffy disks, IMO you are going to need to transplant them around the same time as you would had you used the standard 30mm. Once the seedlings start sucking up water the jiffy disks are pretty useless for keeping the roots hydrated. If you are concerned about potting up and the investment in 60 small pots, look into the Solo cup method, its tried and true.

I use jiffy 7's by the case, I have a love/hate relationship with them.

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

So I am looking at Jiffy 7 in a solo cup back filled with a potting mix ?

This being that I have't fried my seeds trying to get the temp right. I tried propping them up with pencils, got to cold... I am now using dishrags, hopefully the results will be favorable...

 

[MegaSpokaneMan]

Success !!! Tried pencils... fail. Tried wood blocks....fail. Tried cardboard.... fail.... tried dishrags.... 85 degrees after 10 hours. Thank you all for the imput... now the wait beginnings.