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Plants Not Growing

chilehead70301

chilehead70301

Being a first year pepper grower, it seems like these plants are not growing. The stems are thin and the height seems to be about the same as a week ago. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?
I only used fish emulsion at 1/4 strength so for and have also spritzed with epsom salt once or twice.

My bhuts & long red slims were planted on 5/1. The banana peppers were planted 4/25. They all sit under a 6500k flour light for about 10-12 hrs a day.

Long Red Slim
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Bhuts
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Looks like a normal pace too me. Peppers are not the fastest growing plants, especially chinense.
It would be a good idea to separate those multiples in the cups now before they get to big.
 
I noticed you had written on the cup; sprouted 5/10. That's only 2 days. My advice is to chill a bit. When it needs watering try giving it a very (25%) dilute solution of fertilizer. I do this with my chinense and it "encourages" them (gently) to get going. I give them this dilute solution at every watering; it is the watering. I'm sprouting in coir which has no nutes; I don't know what your sprouting medium is so my recomendation is based on a "no nute" situation. Good luck.
 
POTAWIE said:
That soil looks very chunky, what type is it?
Click to expand...

I agree with Potawie here.

Try having a well balanced soil with enough organic matter.

In my village days as young boys, we would piss on Mango seedlings which did not grow fast enough.
 
The soil is a mixture of MG Organic and regular potting soil. I hate the Mg and I am no longing using it. I have some 16 oz stryofoam cups that will up-plant the seedlings in as I have Sta Green Potting soil. Not much of a variety available here. I wish i could find pro mix around my area but for some reason good potting soil is limited. I can't understand why MG is so widely available, especially with the horrible reviews and comments.

The Bhuts were planted on 5/1 and sprouted on 5/10. I was actually more concerned with the hot banana peppers as they were planted on 4/25. it just doesn't seem like they are getting any bigger. I have 5 gal buckets that the plants will eventually be planted into so I guess I am getting a little anxious.

I'll hit them with a weak fert solution today and see what happens.

Thanks for the info.
 
BTW, I may try to make up some home made soil if I can find the items needed. I know I can get peat, vermiculite, perlite and possibly manure. I could probably do mix 15 in the soil posting on this site, which I assume will be better than what is available.
 
Maybe its me but what your using for soil does look a little dry also. As far as them getting leggy I would get a fan on them asap. Blowing a fan on them will thicken and toughen their stocks up a bit. Good luck on your growing.
 
I have a ceiling fan in the room but it may not be enough. As for as the soil, the top part is fairly dry but under the surface it is a little moist. I was trying to keep them on the dry side. Maybe I do need to water them a little.

Being a beginner, I guess I am a little reluctant to over-water them.
 
chilehead70301 said:
They all sit under a 6500k flour light for about 10-12 hrs a day.
Click to expand...

Leave them under the light 24/7 until they reach 5 weeks of age, then cut it back to 20 hours on and 4 off. More light will definitely improve your growth speed and a better potting mix will help as well.
 
chilihead...
This is my first year also, and I was over-watering myself. You have to remember, these plants originated in EXTREMELY hot climates. They LOVE hot, and DRY soil. I used MG in the beginning, as well, and hated it, as well. I tried Sta Green. Its virtually the same. I took back the 3 bags that I hadnt opened, and bought all of the "ingredients" to make my own soil. I dont know if its me, but the plants LOVE the new stuff.
Anyways, here is the method that I use to water... It's simple, I wait until they just barely start to wilt, just a little, and I soak the soil. If you are using those styrofoam cups, which are fairly similar in size to my 3" pots, you shouldnt be watering any less than once a week. MAX.
I had even started to use MG starter soil, and it made it hard to figure out when to water because even though the top soil is dry, the bottom may not be so dry. I killed my 1st set of seeds this year. It sucked. But, someone suggested that I use peat pellets. I have heard mixed reviews on using them, but I figured anything was worth a shot. They did AWESOME! And let me tell ya, they help take the guess work out of when to water your plants. Plus, if you soak them in a bowl, "bottom-soaking," it helps give the little babies a "nudge" because the roots grown down trying to find the water. When you need to water, they turn a light brown, not to mention the fact that you can tell a difference in weight. As far as what you use to water with (i.e. fert, etc), none of that should change for ya.

Just MY .02.

Sean
 
Thanks Silver, I will start leaving the lights on 24/7 and see what happens.

Thanks Sean. If I water once a week, that is plenty. When I do water, I usually bottom feed and also a little on top. I usually wait 30 min and if there is any liquid left, then I empty it out. I bottom feed with fish fert mixed at 1/4 strength but I may switch to 15-30-15 mixed at 1/4 strength on a few of my plants just to see what happens. I also spray the leaves with pure water every couple of days and also foliar feed with epsom salt about once a week. I really don't see any advantage using the fish fert yet. Maybe the sprouts are still too young or maybe the 1/4 solution is not strong enough.

You say you mixed your on soil. What exactly did you use? I am thinking about doing that myself with some of the items listed in my post. I may do that this weekend and see what happens.

One thing that I have not done was check the soil ph. I can't find a decent gauge as the stuff they have at Lowes and HD appear to be pretty crappy. Maybe the soil nutes are not right. I guess I will have to figure out a way to check the ph levels.

Thanks everyone.
Eddie
 
MG Organic did the same thing to me this season. My plants grew for weeks and only developed one set of true leaves. I knew something was up so I switched out to pro-mix and worm castings with a pinch of some other nutes. Organic mix says it has fert in it, but from what I saw and the duration, it appeared to be nothing. I'd get them out ASAP.
 
I use 2 parts moss, 1 part manure compost, 1 part perlite, and a little lime for good measure. Not much at all though.
And like I said, I wait until the plant starts to wilt a little, THEN I water. That is just where I am at with my experience so far. I was told they like it hot and dry, so that is what I am giving them. When I do water, I use room temperature water, with a little chamomille mixed in. I was told by the member that introduced me to this website that the chamimille has anti-fungal properties. HE suggested chamomille tea. I have a health food store less than a mile away. So I just get an ounce of chamomille, and it only sets me back less than $2. What can it hurt, ya know?
Now that I am hardening off my plants, I use a 1/4 strength MG Bloom Booster. It promotes more flowers, meaning more fruit. Again, That is just what I use. Maybe I will try something different one day. I alternate that one week, and the next I will use a 1/4 strength epsom salt mixture. I was told that the plants need magnesium.
Also, when the plants I am hardening were little babies, not much bigger than your plants, I tried a little fertilizer. It didnt go so well for me. It started "burning" the leaves. The outside edges started drying out and turning yellow. A couple of the leaves actually got a little crispy on the very tips, and I had to take the leaves completely off. I completely stopped with the fertilizer, until now, and they are VERY healthy.
There are loads of people on here that have been doing this a LOT longer than the both of us, and they may have better methods. I am just doing what works for ME, at the momment. If one thing doesnt work, then I will try another. I have a feeling that may be the key to being a good gardener, ya know? Hopefully I will have plenty of years in me to figure out the perfect way, for ME, to do this. Not to mention everyone's soil is different.

Sean-
 
Well, when I got home from work, I went ahead and re-potted one Bhut, and some hot banana peppers into some 16 oz stryo cups. I punched 8 hole in the bottom. I used a mix of potting soil and Sta Green. I also added some Espoma Garden tone and a little bone meal. I watered from the bottom w/ 1/4 fish fert and a little on top. The root system was not very pronounced, but I guess that is expected at this stage. I am hoping the transplants make it. All are sitting under my flour lights, which will be on 24/7. Will have to add another set of lights this weekend as I am running out of room.

Will take pictures tomorrow so I can see how they look.

By the way Sean, you mentioned Sta Green is similiar to MG, but it seems to not have as many chunks. It really irritates me that no one offers good soil. I will go to Lowes this weekend to see how much it will cost to make my own soil. Really don't want to spend a fortune buying supplies this year.
 
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