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newbie question

mvinson

mvinson

ok - so I have decided to try and raise some heat this next season

I am trying to get prepared for starting out - I have a few seeds and am wanting to put together everything so that when it's time I am ready to go

In all my reading here I am getting information overload I think - maybe it's that it isn't easy for me to understand some of the things being talked about not having done them or even seen them before or maybe it's just that my two remaining living brain cells can't process everything, I dunno

I know that the search function is your friend, but I tried searching and really couldn't come up with what I was looking for -

What I was wondering is - is there a reliable book or site somewhere that has a guide to help me get set up and started in a "place tab A into slot B" format so that I will at least have an outside chance of actually growing something more than a pot full of dirt?

Maybe there is already a thread here that I have overlooked being that I can be pretty dense at times (ok - so it's most of the time)

any suggestion at all would be greatly appreciated

thanks
 
mvinson,

1) Get good seeds
2) Put in good potting mix, add no more than 1/4" of mix over the seed
3) Soak the mix, then cover
4) Keep 80-85 degrees until seeds germinate
5) Once they do, keep under lights
6) Transplant to larger containers when there are a couple sets of leaves
7) Don't under or over water
8) Know where to get Safer Soap and Neem Oil - you will probably need it for aphids unless you are real lucky (I think they hibernate in pepper seeds!)

Mike
 
I'm a newbie as well, but am happy to share the present plans on what I'm going to do starting the second weekend of January. Hopefully, others will chime in on my plans, and we can both learn from it.

I've got seeds for Choc Habs, Red Savina, Bhut Jolokia, and a couple others in hand, and am working on additional seeds as well. My goal is to make very hot sauce, so I'm sticking with a certain group of varieties, and shooting for multiple plants of each variety.

I'll be on vacation until January 3/4, so I'll be starting my germination process on January 9/10 or 16/17. I'm starting that early because of the long germination window for the superhots, and am seeking to get good growth on the plants before they go outdoors in May.

I'm going to gemrinate in the little peat starter plugs, in the starter trays with a heater mat underneath. I'm going to have multiple trays going, so that I can move the starter plugs around as they start to become seedlings. I'll be using a temperature controller in each tray, and will be using a second soil thermometer in order to calibrate the temperature controllers.

For light, I've found that there are lots of pros and cons to many different light sources, so I'm intending to use a combination of lights: T5HOs, CFLs, and 3W LEDs. The great thing about using these lights in combination is that they are all energy efficient, and I'm not going to be killing myself on my electric bill.

I'm planning on doing this in a box with styrofoam lining the box, and mylar covering the styrofoam. I'm taking this step because the lights I'm using are all energy efficient, so I want to make sure I take a step to insulate the box. I'll be keeping the heater mats going after the seedlings are growing to keep the temperature up, and will have shallow water trays in use for evaporation, in order to provide humidity.

I'm still looking for a couple of low power fans to put inside the box to provide air circulation, in order to avoid any dampening effects and to strengthen the stalks.

From a soil standpoint, I'm still working out what I'm going to use. My plans are to create my own mix, combining sand, peat, soil, wood chips, perlite, and vermiculite. After the seedlings get to their second/third set of leaves, I'll be moving them into styro cups. Once those are full of roots, I'll be moving them into 10" pots. I'm hoping they'll be ready for 5/7 gallon pots when I put them outside.

For nutrients, I'll be using Canna Terra Vega, diluted by a factor of one, and when it comes time for flowering, I'll be mixing Vega and Flora. I'm also intending to use Canna Grow as a foliar spray once a week, and am researching other potential additives (I'm hearing a lot about adding silica). I'm also planning to add bone meal and epsom on a weekly basis.

Thoughts anyone?
 
Mike - I am about 300 miles from Prescott


and NoVa, sounds like you have got things planned out!

I may not get quite that elaborate starting out - mainly because I want to make sure I don't have a brown thumb instead of a green one and kill everything I touch

But there are a number of things in your post that I will definitely use! Thanks!
 
There are lots of books out there but chile forums or an internet search will probably answer your questions much better. Just post your questions, people are always eager to help out, or
Check out thechileman's guides, he's got lots of newbie info
http://www.thechileman.org/guide_home.php
Personally I think the number 1 thing to know is to use a high quality well drained soil or soilless mixture and avoid straight peat products like peat pellets. Also don't overwater
 
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