Nick's 2025 Glog

I am very excited to start from seed this year.
I don't have a lot of experience with (hot) peppers so I decided to do a trial for a several varieties of one specimen.
Initial plan is to have chinenses in unheated greenhouse (and maybe in pots?), while annuums/baccatums outside (again, maybe in pots).

Current list to grow:
Carolina Reaper
Habanero Chocolate
Habanero, Golden
Naga Morich
7pot Primo
Moruga Green
Yolo Wonder
Jalapeno Ruben
Anaheim
Shishito
Sweet Apple Kampe
Jalapeno
Black Cobra
Jalapeno, Mucho Nacho
Wild Purple Guatemala
Zebrange
Champion
Habanero, Mellow

I planted the chinenses on Feb 3rd to give them a head start. I was a bit too excited, so I decided to also start a few more:
Carolina Reaper
Habanero Chocolate
Habanero, Golden
Naga Morich
7pot Primo
Moruga Green
Habanero, Mellow
Black Cobra
Zebrange
Champion
Wild Purple Guatemala

Last four already germinated after 5days (28 celsius with heatmat) and I am starting to worry I will run out of under-LED space after potting up
Now I am torn whether to reduce temperature or wait until all chinenses have germinated.

 

[MarcV]

That's quite a list, you must have plenty of room .
I grow all my plants outside in pots in open air and can't complain about productivity. Actually I have better results with chinenses than I have with the annuums. Some annuum varieties take ages to ripen...

 

[Doctor Scoville]

Looking good Nick. Best of luck setting your world aflame

 

[nickde]

That's quite a list, you must have plenty of room .
I grow all my plants outside in pots in open air and can't complain about productivity. Actually I have better results with chinenses than I have with the annuums. Some annuum varieties take ages to ripen...

Thanks for the comment, Marc. This gives me some hope. I am glad to know this should be doable
I have a community garden allotment of ~100 sqm, with a 3x2m greenhouse!

What size pots would you recommend? I was thinking of ~15-20L. I wouldn't mind going smaller to fit more plants in under cover but I prefer to have a few healthy plants than many root-bound ones.

Looking good Nick. Best of luck setting your world aflame

Thank you!

In the meantime, I also see loops in the Mellow Habanero / Fatalii cell!

 

[nickde]

Some more info on my seed starting setup.



I have two shelfs with LEDs. One has a Viparspectra XS1000 fitted on top, the other Barrina T5's.
I must say the XS1000 is quite powerful. At the lowest setting @~25%, my phone shows a PPFD reading of 250 (distance ~30cm).
I will keep a 12 h cycle until seedlings grow a bit bigger and keep an eye out for issues of too much light, as the theoretical DLI is already on the high side (~10) from what I read. Comments/tips/advice of course appreciated!

 

[MarcV]

Thanks for the comment, Marc. This gives me some hope. I am glad to know this should be doable
I have a community garden allotment of ~100 sqm, with a 3x2m greenhouse!

What size pots would you recommend? I was thinking of ~15-20L. I wouldn't mind going smaller to fit more plants in under cover but I prefer to have a few healthy plants than many root-bound ones.

So you do have a nice grow spot!
I would certainly not go any lower that a pot size of 15l. I sometimes grow in 12l pots but only for varieties that stay small or that I started late in the season. I grow mainly scotch bonnets and I put them in 18l pots, which I consider a minimum as these plants can become quite large, and that is not only above soil level. The root ball gets quite large also. Also take into account that a large plant in a smaller pot can easily tip over, which might cause damage to the plant...

Here's a nice video from Pepper Guru that also talks about container size...

 

[Englander]

Hi Nick

Pot size is an interesting subject...............

I'm assuming your weather will be better than mine in Scotland ???

Personally I find it's often a mistake to grow "trial " varieties in bigger pots.....I've ended up with piles of pod's that I don't like the flavour of and end up giving away kind of pointless ! And a waste of valuable space my buddy spicemad down in Wales tends to grow in 5 litre, 7,litre and 10 litre to promote early fruiting have a look at his website spicemad.com some interesting stuff.

Also check out chilli chumps video "worst chilli season Ever?" Chilli grow updatw july 2024 He grew alot in 3 litre pots to encourage early fruiting as he know the 2024 seasons weather was goingbto be rubbish !

Once I know I like/love a variety then I'll go larger kratky or bigger pots

One down size for growing "trials" in smaller pot's means you can end up with fewer pod's of something you adore

I'm planning on growing my "trials" this season in mini kratky and 3 litre pots while my favourites will be in bigger kratky or larger pots.

 

[SadisticPeppers]

So you do have a nice grow spot!
I would certainly not go any lower that a pot size of 15l. I sometimes grow in 12l pots but only for varieties that stay small or that I started late in the season. I grow mainly scotch bonnets and I put them in 18l pots, which I consider a minimum as these plants can become quite large, and that is not only above soil level. The root ball gets quite large also. Also take into account that a large plant in a smaller pot can easily tip over, which might cause damage to the plant...

Here's a nice video from Pepper Guru that also talks about container size...

Definitely good info. It's why my last go 'round I did 5 gallon buckets, which allowed the plants to grow to a nice size and produce a lot of good pods.

 

[MarcV]

Of course what Stephen says is true also... if you're growing a plant of which you don't know you will like the pods, it's better to grow it in a smaller pot...

 

[ahayastani]

Of course what Stephen says is true also... if you're growing a plant of which you don't know you will like the pods, it's better to grow it in a smaller pot...

Big pepper plants in small pots require frequent watering in hot weather.

 

[Englander]

What's hot weather

Depends where you live

 

[nickde]

Big thank you to everyone taking time to reply.

I am glad I decided to join the forum!

It seems that deciding pot size needs some more consideration.

Ideally I wouldn't want to babysit the plants as the garden is not in my house, so small 3L pots would be extreme. Based on the info you provided and what I've read, I am thinking ~10L would be a good compromise. Still a looong time since end of April/start of May though

 

[MarcV]

You can always start with a smaller pot and repot to a larger one if you happen to like the plant

 

[nickde]

Golden habanero and 7 pot primo (top and bottom left respectively) germinated today!

I am keeping temperature 25-28 until all cells germinate. It is harder to keep higher temps without the plastic dome on top!

Also, more seeds arrived today

Big Black Mama
Big Mustard Mama
Serrano Tampiqueno
CC Piri Piri
KS Lemon Starburst

Heard good things about all of them, but I am (or I will be) out of space Maybe a piri piri and serrano plant..

As you can see in the picture, the cells on the right are more dehydrated. I am still trying to get a feel for when to (bottom) water.
I also will eventually start feeding with 7-3-6 fertilizer, maybe half strength at first!

 

[nickde]

A small update:

All cells except Carolina Reaper have germinated or I see loops! 7pot primo is the one so far with the worst germination (1/3 per cell).

I noticed that Wild Purple Guatemala seedlings have more and more purple/anthocyanins to their cotyledons. If it would be light stress shouldn't I expect the adjacent seedlings to have a similar response? Fatalii's description could explain that maybe "The plant itself features lovely dark foliage,.." https://fataliiseeds.net/product/wild-purple-guatemala/ .
I will wait and see other symptoms and maybe dial back down the hours of exposure if needed. Currently ~250 PPFD for 15/9 photoperiod. So DLI >13.

I was also debating whether to start more seeds sooner rather than later. After reading here at the forum I saw that topping is also an option to keep the plants in desirable size indoors before moving outside. Would you suggest to just start seedlings later without topping or give them a 3-4 week head-start and top them? The final amount of plants will be the same.

 

[CaneDog]

Hey, nickde. Happy to see you're getting sprouts. I don't see indications of lighting stress and wouldn't be concerned about the coloration. It's normal that some might and some might not show it. For what it's worth, despite that I've considered ways to give a new plant the biggest head start possible on moving it outside and some ideas might work, I generally try to time them so as to keep them on their natural timetable for development. If I were trying to squeeze out some extra time, I'd likely be considering potting them up again ahead of time to get the roots bigger and support faster growth once they're outside, either with or without topping.

 

[NJChilehead]

@nickde great looking list and results so far Nick! Looking forward to seeing how your season progresses!

 

[nickde]

Hey, nickde. Happy to see you're getting sprouts. I don't see indications of lighting stress and wouldn't be concerned about the coloration. It's normal that some might and some might not show it. For what it's worth, despite that I've considered ways to give a new plant the biggest head start possible on moving it outside and some ideas might work, I generally try to time them so as to keep them on their natural timetable for development. If I were trying to squeeze out some extra time, I'd likely be considering potting them up again ahead of time to get the roots bigger and support faster growth once they're outside, either with or without topping.

Thanks for the input, CaneDog! I agree with you about trying to time it as close as possible and I will have a space issue if I need to transplant. I was thinking to top the plant to keep it within the shelf space but didn't consider root growth.
I have 2 50x30cm trays and I plan to transplant to 9x9 square cm pots. Max I can fit in two trays is therefore 30 pots, and a few of them I have reserved for cherry tomatoes and eggplants.

Then I think the best course of action is.. to be patient And start annuums later. I am still torn whether to start the new chinenses I got... three more plants will be okay! Right??

@nickde great looking list and results so far Nick! Looking forward to seeing how your season progresses!

Thank you so much! I really enjoy the process so far!!

On another note, I also want to get soil moisture sensors, maybe the ones from Ecowitt to monitor relative humidity in the soil. I am leaving for Easter a almost two weeks so I have to find a way to automate bottom watering my two trays without drowning the plants, so I thought better to buy a sensor early on to get a feeling for the readings and when I usually water. Then I will set up a bucket + water pump hooked to a smart plug, so I can remotely turn it on for enough time to bottom water, which I will test beforehand ofc. And also maybe add water wicking fabric in the bottom to retain excess water.

 

[tsurrie]

Hey Nick, nice grow list.

In my opinion, 15 - 20l pots are enough for a nice sized plant, but they'll fill it with roots if they grow well.
Do not go under 15l.

Will follow your grow.
Good luck!

 

[nickde]

Hey Nick, nice grow list.

In my opinion, 15 - 20l pots are enough for a nice sized plant, but they'll fill it with roots if they grow well.
Do not go under 15l.

Will follow your grow.
Good luck!

Thanks for the input, tsurrie!

As of yesterday all cells have germinated seeds! So I am pretty happy so far. I am trying to keep the cells hydrated but not overwatered, watering every ~3 days. After reading @Marturo 's glog, I also was interested in the B. subtilis based biostimulants. I ended up buying a bag of TNC Bactorr S13 . I'd really love to do a A-B experiment and see its effect but no space to have a proper population size I watered today with this powdered diluted in the water, and I also plan to mix it in my soil when potting up!