For the first time in my life I've decided to try and grow something, and since I like spicy food and especially chilis, the choice was simple. Chilis for the win!
Since my previous experience with growing anything is practically non-existant(I helped mom plant carrot seeds when I was a kid) I started with basic research. What did I need? How does it work? What's the process like? Can it even be done purely inside, only relying on sunlight?
My, very patient, sister got several(read: tons of) questions, and still do. She's a saint
All said and done, I ordered seeds, soil, pots, fertilizer, etc... everything I could come up with that I would need for the first two months of my adventure.
The seeds I decided to grow were:
3x Elephant Trunk
4x White Habanero
3x Hawai
3x Bulgarian Carrot
4x Hot Palette
3x Hot Lemon
Anyway, my adventure started in late february, 27nd of february to be exact.
The seeds went straight into the soil in my miniature greenhouse, added some water and then came the anxious wait.
Sorry for the few images, I hadn't planned to share this journey, but I've reconsidered.
This image is from the 27th of february:
6th of march. Who knew that something so tiny could make you so happy?
The Elephant trunk and Hawai were the first to sprout, but the others soon decided to show their determination as well.
10th of march, all seeds but 5 had sprouted:
Two weeks later came the next scary moment, repotting. The first plants were a disaster, but towards the end I sort of got the hang of it, but I was so scared that I had harmed my precious little plants.
21st of march:
16 out of 20 planted seeds were repotted that day. Two seeds refused to sprout, I accidentally killed a plant when I tried to remove a seed capsule, but I had a glimmer of hope for the final plant, it had germinated but not quite sprouted yet.
8th of april. Am I growing sticks or am I growing chilis? I find this image funny for some reason... the sticks probably are overkill but to me it seemed that several plants were leaning too much so I tried to straighten them with the sticks:
Fast forward a couple of weeks and we arrive at the 27th of april. My little plants are slowly becoming a little jungle of plants and I'm getting my first buds on a few plants. Since I don't really know what I'm doing I freak out a bit since the buds are at the top of the stem and I start to think the buds could be of the 'terminal' variety. I get friendly and great advice here on THP though and I've since calmed down a bit about it.
The observant reader will notice that my little late-sprouter has joined it's siblings now. So out of 20 planted seeds, I¨ve gotten 17 healthy plants. Not bad for a first-timer in my opinion.
The plant on the right side, closest to the camera, has very droopy, flimsy leaves and I'm thinking about pruning it, but I'm not sure it's necessary(or that it will help the plant).
I'll update in the next few days with better images(not taken with a mobile phone like these), and I'm getting close to the next repotting window, which of course will be documented and shared with you all.
Since my previous experience with growing anything is practically non-existant(I helped mom plant carrot seeds when I was a kid) I started with basic research. What did I need? How does it work? What's the process like? Can it even be done purely inside, only relying on sunlight?
My, very patient, sister got several(read: tons of) questions, and still do. She's a saint
All said and done, I ordered seeds, soil, pots, fertilizer, etc... everything I could come up with that I would need for the first two months of my adventure.
The seeds I decided to grow were:
3x Elephant Trunk
4x White Habanero
3x Hawai
3x Bulgarian Carrot
4x Hot Palette
3x Hot Lemon
Anyway, my adventure started in late february, 27nd of february to be exact.
The seeds went straight into the soil in my miniature greenhouse, added some water and then came the anxious wait.
Sorry for the few images, I hadn't planned to share this journey, but I've reconsidered.
This image is from the 27th of february:
6th of march. Who knew that something so tiny could make you so happy?
The Elephant trunk and Hawai were the first to sprout, but the others soon decided to show their determination as well.
10th of march, all seeds but 5 had sprouted:
Two weeks later came the next scary moment, repotting. The first plants were a disaster, but towards the end I sort of got the hang of it, but I was so scared that I had harmed my precious little plants.
21st of march:
16 out of 20 planted seeds were repotted that day. Two seeds refused to sprout, I accidentally killed a plant when I tried to remove a seed capsule, but I had a glimmer of hope for the final plant, it had germinated but not quite sprouted yet.
8th of april. Am I growing sticks or am I growing chilis? I find this image funny for some reason... the sticks probably are overkill but to me it seemed that several plants were leaning too much so I tried to straighten them with the sticks:
Fast forward a couple of weeks and we arrive at the 27th of april. My little plants are slowly becoming a little jungle of plants and I'm getting my first buds on a few plants. Since I don't really know what I'm doing I freak out a bit since the buds are at the top of the stem and I start to think the buds could be of the 'terminal' variety. I get friendly and great advice here on THP though and I've since calmed down a bit about it.
The observant reader will notice that my little late-sprouter has joined it's siblings now. So out of 20 planted seeds, I¨ve gotten 17 healthy plants. Not bad for a first-timer in my opinion.
The plant on the right side, closest to the camera, has very droopy, flimsy leaves and I'm thinking about pruning it, but I'm not sure it's necessary(or that it will help the plant).
I'll update in the next few days with better images(not taken with a mobile phone like these), and I'm getting close to the next repotting window, which of course will be documented and shared with you all.