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newbie needs some help

P

perom

Hi, this is my first year at growing peppers and I need some help.

I have planted bhut/bhut yellow/bhut chocolate, congo black and habanero mustard seeds in starting potting mix. They are in mini greenhouse which I heat from the bottom with 60W incandescent bulb. Temperature is between 28-30C. Few seeds have sprouted after 6 days.

Do I have to remove sprouts immediately from greehouse, or can I leave them inside until other seeds have sprouted?
Seeds are in fairly thick plastic cell tray which I can`t cut easily without disturbing other seeds, so if I have to move them what is the best way to do it? (I was thinking of using spoon to grab sprout and as much dirt as I can.)

Is there any chance that I will see some fruit this season if I plant them outside? (I live on an island in Croatia, and we have very mild climate. First frost usually hits mid/end of November)
 
Leave them there. It is best to wait until they get their first true leaves before disturbing them. You think first frost in November is bad? I get mine late September.......You will do fine, lots of peppers are gonna grow for you! (sending positive vibes)
 
You can leave them for a little bit but generally once they've sprouted you want to move them to something in the 70-80 F range. If you keep them under artificial light 24/7 then you can most likely get a good harvest. You probably want to allow 120 days from transplant for a chinense crop, though it can be as low as 90. Say you get them out there in a month then that would be mid-October, plenty of time before your first frost hits. Even if it's 2 months from now that would put you right on the borderline.
 
If they're in a mini greenhouse, you need to get the sprouts out. The moisture in the enclosed house will kill the seedlings without proper air flow.
 
Thank you all for the answers!

I will remove the top cover from the greenhouse and see how it goes from there. Temperature drops to about 24C without the top cover. There are 30 seeds in total, 4 have sprouted, and 5-6 are about to sprout. If I get 2-3 plants of each variety I will be happy.
 
Thats why I personally use peat pellets. In their mini greenhouse, when one or two plants sprout and I'm expecting 20 or more plants to sprout, I just take the little peat pellet out, put the sprouts under light and close back the lid. That way you can keep the heat, moisture etc all still going and at the same time get your sprouts out. When I used to do it with just starting soil, like you, I would just take the sprouts out and put them in a small plastic cup. I didnt even use a spoon, just take my finger and dig into the soil and pick up the sprout. The roots will be very small, and the seedlings are very delicate, but it was always worth it.
 
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