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seeds New to growing peppers from seeds

Ok guys, it's been a week since I started my seeds and only one of my 72 pods has sprouted so far (surprisingly I think it's a bhut). Now my question is once they sprout do I move them immediately to a larger container (ie. red plastic Solo cup) with potting soil & under a light or should the potting soil only be used when transferring them to bigger pots and moving them outdoors?

Another thing that I'm kind of getting antsy about is what potting soil to purchase when I transplant. I only have the Lowes, Home Depot and Wal-Mart close by. I was going to purchase the Miracle Gro Moisture Control potting mix but read that people have had huge gnat problems.
 
I wouldn't worry too too much about it, since having one come up in a week is actually a good sign rather. Means you did something right, as the normal germination range starts at around a week after planting the seeds, so you should expect to have more coming up in the next couple of weeks. I remember for the better part of a week after I first saw a sprout, I was in the single digits, and then more came up liek crazy.

Also as far as the fungus gnats, get a packet of Mosquito Dunks, and either with your next watering, or using a sprayer, apply it to the soil, and that should take care of it, and the MG Moisture Control will be just fine :)

And as far as lighting and moving to bigger pots... Once you get several sprouts, putting them under a fluorescent light isn't a bad idea, but wait until each plants has a minimum of 4-6 leaves prior to transplanting them to a bigger pot. Also, from what others have recommended on here, when moving them outside, be sure to ease them into it.
 
Ok guys, I had my seed tray in a big plastic bin with the lid on it and now my seeds are slowly starting to sprout. From the images that I've seen online it looks like my seedlings are getting "leggy"?

Now, that some have sprouted and some haven't, am I supposed to uncover my bin and transfer the heatmat and seedtray to underneath my grow light? Or, should I transfer my sprouts to a larger container (ie. red Solo cup) and place only those under the light?

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definately uncover, or u will smother ur seedlings, also transfer the whole thing under the lights or ur seedlings wont be very happy. dont try to transfer the seedlings until they have their second set of true leaves, the cotyledons are the pointy leaves that first come up, then the second set of roundish leaves will be ur first set of true leaves, wait for the second set of true leaves before transfering to cups or pots. hope this has been helpful
 
Definitely helpful. Thanks for the info!

Now the seedlings that have sprouted, are they hopeless or will the light possible correct them?
 
the light should strengthen them right up, it aint over til the fat lady sings, ya know! never abandon hope til the plant or the seedlings in this case are lying dead last year was my first year growing and I did five rounds of germination for a total of 162 plants, I had some that I over or underwatered, sun scalded, let bugs feast on, etc. in the end some of the plants that were closest to death's door ended up keeping up w/ or even out producing some of the others. So really u cant count them out til they are OUT! Good luck with your season!
 
Ok, so I set my light up after work last night and it already seems like the seedlings have straightened out. Suprisingly alot of my Bhuts have sprouted which I wasn't expecting after reading around that it could take up to several weeks.

Now that my seed tray doesn't entirely sit directly under the light the seedlings on the edges are gravitating towards the center. Is this something that I should try and rectify by adjusting the tray so that the long seedlings are directly under? See photos below.

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i might suggest either taping some posterboard or thin cardboard lined w/ mylar or tin foil to the edges of the light fixture to reflect the light down onto your seedlings JMO
 
I was thinking about doing something along those lines. I have some excess Reflectix from the roll that I had bought that I can try and use.
 
So, something else that I was wondering about. When planting my seeds I put 3 seeds in each cell to maximize germination. Now that I have 2-3 seedlings sprouting out of each cell what do I do?
 
Well, you've got 3 or so choices, you can cull all but the strongest in each cell, or u can seperate them and repot the extras to go for urselves or give them to someone, or last choice which is the least desirable u can leave them together, this will however stunt the growth of all the seedlings and resulting plants most likely
 
Back again. Since i've moved my seedlings from my plastic container to underneath the light some of my seedlings have just fell over. I still have them on top of my heatmat since there's still a bunch of cells that haven't sprouted.

Should I remove the tray from the heat? Do you think this might be causing the seedlings to drop?

BTW, chile_freak, you've been very helpful with the last couple posts. Appreciate it man.
 
no worries like i said last year was my first year growing anything and the guys and gals here were very helpful, just trying to pay it forward
if they have fallen over is is most likely from overheating or underwatering <the heating mat will jump start germination yes but u have remove the heat once u start getting seedlings or else u will fry the roots! good luck hope they recover! worse comes to worst and you need to start over and are low on seeds give me a holler Im sure I can find some fun things for u to grow in my bucket of love
 
Once question about removing the heating mat - what room temperature would be detrimental to the seedlings growth?
 
Hey guys, just wanted to post an update. A bunch of my seedlings are just starting to get their true leaves.

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Since I have 2-3 seedlings in cell. How would I go about moving them or getting rid of the weaker looking ones? Is there a safe way to separate them with damaging any of them?
 
looking good so far man, looks like they have recovered nicely, the safest way to do this is just to GENTLY pull the very bottom of the stem of the one u want to remove it should come up w/o too much problem as the rrot system should only be a single feeder root @ this point. I was just too troubled to cull all my extra seedlings so i just replanted the nicest 18, to do this just be very gentle pulling the seedlings up, then put them into a cell or other pot w/ medium, gently holding seedling between thumb and forefinger, set the root down on the top of the medium and with your other hand sprinkle enough medium over the roots and bottom of the stem until it can stand on its own, this is a good chance to correct your leggy seedlings, just cover them til a half inch under the cotyledons and this will give them a sturdy foundation in their soil, hope this has been helpful
 
I separated two Dorset Nagas last night using a butter knife like a mini trowel. I worked really slowly like I was playing a game of Operation. After the split I watered them both well...they both look good this morning. I separated mine just after the second seedling poked it's head up...yours look a lot more developed. My seedlings have been so slow to come up that I'm separating any Siamese seedlings.
 
Chile_freak, so I tried splitting a few seedlings up that we're growing in the single cells. When I was gently pulling on the base of the stem I felt some ripping. Some of the roots were actually pretty big when I pulled them out. I cleared out the cells that didn't have any growth so I transplanted the seedlings into the newly emptied cells. I didn't try splitting anymore tonight since I was a little nervous that I might damage the plants. Is that ripping feeling normal?
 
yes a slight tugging sensation that kind of tenses then releases is the microfine roots just starting from the feeder root this should not be a problem, keep an eye on the one u transplanted and if it is still kosher tomorrow try some more that is the best advice anyone has given me on here, always hedge ur bets try all different types and amounts of fertilizers, soil mixes, lighting times and intensities, but if ur trying something new or out of ur comfort zone, ease into it try it w/ one plant @ a time, try and stand on the shoulders of giants and reach new heights, do what has worked for many seasoned veterans, and tweak it to ur own tastes and circumstances, peppers are amazingly resilient and will grow in an amazingly diversified array of mileus so try many things out but put ur toe in the water before u dive in!
 
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